THE 

WHIST REFERENCE BOOK 



"TIE 



'^HIST REFERENCE 



. . . . . Wherein Information is presented 
Concerning the NOBLE GAME, in all its 

iter the Manner of 

"YE r:?OYALL REGEPGIOUN." 



R£PROOUCED FROM THE ORIGINAU PICTUR 
PARRI8H, DESiQNED EXPRESSLY FOH 1 



'EDiA, iJl 



V'e King anJ^'Qiie'ne with plesaunce looke 
Vppon ye grete Whiitt Ref'rence 'Booke. 
" Now, wyffe" quoth be " let all ye playerei 
Wt meet in hatailt say their pray era '. " 
Whereat ye solemn Knaves bowe low ; 
And quoth ye Quene, " Aye, truly so I " 

(Chaucer Redivivut.) 

WIUJAM MlUy BUTj.II: 



ILLTTSTRATI^n 



IILADELPHIA : . . PRINTED AND PUB- 
I^iSHED BY THE JOHN C. --- ^^N 
PUBLISHING COMPANY. .Ml X. 



:<<"/■•-»? ■TNif.'St'i'W 




"iiiJO?;jMci 








Wherein Information is presented 

Concerning the NOBLE GAME, in all its 
Aspects, after the Manner of 



CYCLOPEDIA, DICTIONARY, AND 
DIGEST 

ALL COMBINED IN ONE 



BY 

WII.I.IAM Mllvly BUTI.br 



ILLUSTRATED 



PHILADELPHIA : . . PRINTED AND PUB- 
LISHED BY THE JOHN C. YORSTON 
PUBLISHING COMPANY. . MDCCCXCIX. 



.<i / .^ ^ ; 



(^K/ 2,7 7 
.':b3S' 



29953 



Entered at Stationer's Hall, London, Eng-Iand 

Copyrighted, Washington, U.S.A., 

BY 

William Mill Butler, 

1898, 

AH rights reserved. 



TWO COPIES RHCCIVEO 




APR 28 1899 



^W' 



^g/- ai CofC 






*0*0*0*0 


I DEDICA 1 ON * 


0*0*0* 0* 



To the American Whist League, the Woman's 
Whist League, and all other Organizations which 
inculcate the play of Whist for its own sake, this 
book is respectfully dedicated by 

The Author. 



ACCEPTANCE 



In December, 1897, a communication was addressed to the presidents 
of the American Whist I^eague and Woman's Whist I^eague, in substance 
as follows : 

"In tracing the history, rise, and progress of whist in America, I 
have been strongly impressed with the great work already accomplished 
by the American Whist League. The recently organized Woman's 
Whist League seems to me another powerful force whose good influence 
must soon be felt wherever whist is played. The future of the game 
rests with these two noble organizations. If they remain loyal to the 
principles enunciated at the first congress of American whist-players in 
1891, whist, in this country at least, will ever remain an elevating and 
intellectual recreation, as well as a powerful aid in mental training. The 

(iii) 



iv DEDICATION 

women especially have it in their power to maintain its purity and 
attractiveness. To them we look to keep it, as it now is, a game for the 
home circle, an educating influence, as well as an amusement. 

" In view of these facts, it would give me much pleasure to dedicate 
my forthcoming work, ' The Whist Reference Book,' to the two I^eagues. 
Permit me to ask you, as the presidents of your respective organizations, 
whether such dedication would be pleasing and acceptable?" 

The answers received are herewith reproduced by permission : 

Philadelphia, Pa., December 7. 
Mr. William Mill Butler, 
Dear Sir : 

Allow me, in behalf of the Woman's Whist I/Cague, to thank you for the 
proffered dedication of your magnificent work. It is a very great compliment, 
and appreciated and accepted in the spirit in which it is offered. :Every woman con- 
nected with our organization will heartily agree with the sentiments expressed con- 
cerning the game. Again thanking you cordially for the courtesy, and wishing you 
every possible success, I am, 

Very truly yours, 

Emma D. Andrews, 
1119 Spruce Street. President Woman's Whist I^eague. 



American Whist League, 
Office of the President, 
Detroit, Mich., December 22. 
Mr. William Mill Butler, 
Dear Sir : 

It becomes my duty and very great pleasure to acknowledge, on behalf of 
the American Whist League, the great compliment paid the League in having 
dedicated to it your splendid work. I take your kindly act as recognition of the success 
of the League in purifying and popularizing, as a means of education and as an intel- 
lectual pastime, the noblest of indoor games. Having developed, since the organiza- 
tion of the League, from a mere game into a science, it is to be hoped that whist, as it 
is a great discipliner of minds as well as a true test of mental skill, may soon be 
universally recognized as the most popular American game. As an instrument to 
this end I am sure your work will be welcomed by every lover of whist. 

Yours sincerely, 

Henry A. Mandell, 

President American Whist League. 



PREPA'^f" 



■ sement, it is bui , 
- xcell en t tex t-books and treati s 
of reference such as the present v 
other game which the ingenuity of mai; ■<■ 

. ..^■.> 'ic; n ,;-ni'i:-i:-f in nr^r^-*i^l^■ the 'Utention .-, 

Lord Folkestone?/ ^^^ brightest intel- 

,t eiForts 

, , - _ From the family portrait in possession of 

^ the Countess of Radnor ; now published for 

frorn ^ 

the first, time. , He was the first to en- 
courage the systematic study of whist. . , 

iIj'lS whose aisco\ dies are recognized -^u lo ./i-: 

_. of human knowledge; astronomers \\ 'cr of tl-' 

arry universe have interested millif 

laticians whose master minds have found pleasure in solving 
oost difficult problems — all these, and many others of 

.y. ..ii and ability, ^"--^ dmi-l jirir^T^ rl>c^ ^,■^^.^':• ^mi] 'r)i'\\\M.V'-. rl■^\ 

•' whist authors. 

That whist is a game of infinite variety is demo, 
lie numerous theories and modes of : 
■ have written upon its ted ■ ^ 
st felt in it that these U. 

wcreased rather than diminished 



PPEFACE 



If whist is indeed a science and an art, as well as an elevating 
recreation and amusement, it is but proper that, in addition to 
its many excellent text-books and treatises, it should have a gen- 
eral work of reference such as the present volume aims to be. 

No other game which the ingenuity of man has ever devised 
has been as fortunate in attracting the attention of those amply 
qualified to set forth its merits. Many of the brightest intel- 
lects of the present age have devoted their best efforts to its 
elucidation, beginning with the time, more than a century and 
a half ago, when Folkestone and Hoyle first brought it forth 
from obscurity. Philosophers, statesmen, and warriors have 
vied with one another in improving it. Scholars whose attain- 
ments have also won for them enduring fame in other pursuits; 
scientists whose discoveries are recognized as adding to the 
sum of human knowledge; astronomers whose studies of the 
starry universe have interested millions of readers; mathe- 
maticians whose master minds have found pleasure in solving 
the most difficult problems — all these, and many others of 
worth and ability, are found upon the long and luminous roll 
of whist authors. 

That whist is a game of infinite variety is demonstrated by 
the numerous theories and modes of play advocated by those 
who have written upon its technical side. So universal is the 
interest felt in it that these theories and modes of play have 
greatly increased rather than diminished of late years, and 

(V) 



vi PREFACE 

to-day the whist-player who wishes to be thoroughly grounded 
in its history and practice finds himself confronted by a bewilder- 
ing array of authorities and isms, such as might well dishearten 
all but the most courageous. 

The necessity for some method whereby order may be 
brought out of chaos is obvious; and we believe this can best 
be accomplished by means of a well-arranged and thoroughly 
impartial description and review of everything relating to the 
game. It is not our purpose, therefore, to add to it any new 
theory or hobby, but rather to so indicate those things which 
are already in existence that the earnest student may inform 
himself concerning them, and, by using his individual judg- 
ment, as well as the judgment of others, accept that which is 
good, and reject that which is of no permanent value. 

In order to make the gathered information easily accessible, 
the articles are arranged in alphabetical order, and supple- 
mented by an exhaustive index of cross-references. Every 
authority, from Hoyle down to the present day, is quoted, 
and the quotations will all be found of great value and benefit, 
especially in matters upon which there exists a difference of 
opinion. In order to enable the reader to estimate at its full 
value every statement made, the school to which each author- 
ity quoted belongs is plainly indicated by means of a system of 
abbreviations, enclosed in brackets, printed after each name. 

The task of digesting and arranging in orderly form the 
accumulated knowledge of centuries, as well as the information 
concerning multitudinous changes and improvements of recent 
years, has been a fascinating, if somewhat prolonged and 
arduous, one. We have endeavored to treat everything upon 



PREFACE vii 

its merits, and to be absolutely fair to every school and every 
individual. We have deemed it our duty to mirror whist in 
all its vigor and sometimes overflowing exuberance. It is 
whist with all its glories as well as imperfections — whist as it 
exists, and not as we or any other individual might wish to 
see it in narrower confines. The book necessarily contains 
some things which we may not personally favor; some views 
with which we may not personally agree; some methods of 
play which we may not personally endorse; but in each and 
every instance where there are grounds for a difference of 
opinion, where usage is not general, or where a thing is 
roundly condemned by one side or the other, we have tried to 
present the weight of authority, both for and against, in order 
that the reader may be in a position to examine and decide for 
himself. The only liberty we have taken is to speak freely on 
all matters affecting the morals and good repute of the game. 
There can be no doubt that the evolution of whist has 
brought with it a higher type of play in America than the 
world has ever known before. Its chief distinguishing feature 
is the abolition of stakes — no money consideration of any kind 
being found necessary to lend interest to the game. The 
credit for this great advance is very largely due to the Ameri- 
can Whist lyCague, which, at its organization in 1891, adopted 
the seven-point game, eliminated the count of honors and the 
preponderance of luck from the play, and above all adopted 
the splendid motto of, "Whist for Its Own Sake. " The efforts 
of the League to promote higher ideals, and maintain the purity 
and integrity of the game, are nobly seconded by the Woman's 
Whist League, a more recent organization, which is the out- 



viii PREFACE 

come of the immense activity of the fair sex in whist matters 
in this country. That activity, inspired by the modern scien- 
tific game, and by the instructions of a host of faithful and 
devoted whist teachers, is constantly growing, and cannot but 
have a great and beneficial effect, so that with woman and the 
home, as well as man and the club, behind it, whist may soon, 
as Dr. Pole puts it, "assume the position of a great social 
element which Herbert Spencer must reckon with in his prin- 
ciples of sociology." 

Much has been said about the conflict which has been for 
some years going on between the advocates of the long and 
short-suit games, and between the advocates and opponents of 
American leads and other conventional signals. We believe that 
all fears that these differences of opinion may prove injurious 
to whist may be dismissed as groundless. The splendid 
vitality of the game has withstood all the rivalries and antago- 
nisms of the past, and will, we are confident, survive those of 
the future. The sturdy oak laughs at the storms which bend 
its boughs, and finds them beneficial in the development of still 
greater strength. Whatever is best in whist will survive, and 
whatever is worthless will succumb to the force of honest criti- 
cism. The final result must be, and will be, still better whist. 

In presenting the "Whist Reference Book" for the approval 
of the whist world, we beg to extend our warmest acknowl- 
edgments to the host of correspondents, both in this and 
foreign countries, who so liberally seconded our efforts to 
obtain correct and authentic information for its pages. Among 
those whose personal co-operation and unfailing courtesy was 
especially helpful, we cannot forbear mentioning Henry Jones 



PREFACE ix 

("Cavendish"), N. B. Trist, General A. W. Drayson, Dr. 
William Pole, R. F. Foster, C. D. P. Hamilton, Cassius M. 
Paine, Milton C. Work, John T. Mitchell, Eugene S. Elliott, 
Matthias Boyce ("Mogul"), Charles Mossop, P. J. Tormey, 
E. C. Howell, Judge George Iv. Bunn, C. R. Keiley, W. H. 
Whitfeld, W. S. Fenollosa, Charles M. Clay, and Charles S. 
Boutcher. Also, among the ladies. Miss Kate Wheel ock, Mrs. 
T. H. Andrews, Mrs. Henry E. Wallace, Mrs. M. S. Jenks, 
and Mrs. Elizabeth Wager-Smith. 

Among the many portraits of whist notabilities with which 
the volume is embellished we have the pleasure of giving that 
of Lord Folkestone, who was the first to recognize the merits 
of whist and actively promote its study and improvement. For 
the likeness, now published for the first time, our acknowl- 
edgments are due to the Countess of Radnor, who kindly 
placed it at our disposal. All efforts to obtain portraits of 
Hoyle, Payne, Mathews, or Deschapelles proved unavailing. 

Should there be found, despite the care which has been 
exercised in its preparation, any serious errors or omissions in 
this book, we shall at all times be pleased to hear from those 
in possession of the facts, in order that the proper correction 
may be made in subsequent editions. In this way, with the 
active co-operation and support of the lovers of whist, wherever 
found, it is hoped that there may be maintained, as long as the 
king of card games endures, a standard work in which any and 
every reasonable question concerning whist, its history, science, 
practice, laws, and usages may be found intelligently answered. 

PHii,ADEr.PHiA Whist Club, 
October^ 1898 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



"Y% RoYAi.1, R:ece;pcioun " [Frinied in Colors) Frontispiece 

Ye King and Quene with plesaunce looke 
Uppon ye grete Whiste Ref 'rence Booke. 
"Now, wyffe," quoth he, " let all ye playeres 
"We meet in bataile say their prayeres ! " 
Whereat ye solemn Knaves bowe low ; 
And quoth ye Quene, " Aye, truly so ! " 

( Chaucer Redivivus. ) 

Reproduced from the original picture by Maxfield Parrish, 
designed expressly for this work. 

Portrait of Lorb Foi^kestone Facing Preface 

He was the first to encourage the systematic study of whist, 
in 1728. Frota the family portrait in possession of the Countess 
of Radnor ; now published for the first time. 

Modern Masters of Whist , . . . . Facing page 44 

Portraits of "Cavendish," James Clay, William Pole, A. W. 
Drayson, and Richard A. Proctor. 

Leaders of the " Cavendish " Schooi, in America, Facing page 88 

Portraits of Nicholas Browse Trist, Fisher Ames, C. D. P. 
Hamilton, Charles E. Coffin, and Cassius M. Paine. 

Opponents of the "Cavendish" School Facing page 132 

Portraits of R. P. Foster, " Mogul," Charles Mossop, " Pem- 
bridge," and E. C. Howell. 

Presidents of the American Whist League . . Facing page 176 

Portraits of Eugene S. Elliott, John M. Walton, Theodore 
Schwarz, Walter H. Barney, and H. A. Mandell. 

Teachers of Whist Facing page 220 

Portraits of Miss Kate Wheelock, Mrs. M. S. Jenks, Miss 
Bessie E- Allen, Mrs. S. C. H. Buell, and Miss Gertrude E. 
Clapp. 

Cxi) 



xii LIST OF Ilyl^USTRATIONS 

Whist Anai<ysTS Facing page 264 

Portraits of W. H. Whitfeld, John H. Briggs, George I,. Bunn, 
Charles M. Clay, and Bond Stow. 

Teachers oe Whist Facing page 308 

Portraits of Mrs. T. H. Andrews, Mrs. lyillian C. Noel, Mrs. 
William Henry Newbold, Mrs. George de Benneville Keim, 
and Miss Frances S. Dallam. 

Advocates oe American Leads with Modifica- 
tions Facing page 352 

Portraits of Milton C. Work, George W. Pettes, John T. 
Mitchell, Charles S. Street, and P. J. Tormey. 

Women Who Write About Whist Facing page 396 

Portraits of Mrs. Henry E. Wallace, Mrs. Mary d'Invilliers 
I,evick, Mrs. Elizabeth Wager-Smith, Mrs. F. H. Atwater, and 
Miss Annie Blanche Shelby. 

Teachers of Whist Facing page 440 

Portraits of William S. Fenollosa, Elwood T. Baker, Charles 
R. Keiley, F. E. Otis, and George E- Duggan. 

The Famous Hamii^ton Team Facing page 484 

Milton C. Work, Gustavus Remak, Jr., E. A. Ballard, and 
Frank P. Mogridge, winners of the first A. W. 1,. Challenge 
Trophy, for which they scored twenty victories, being thus 
entitled to its permanent possession. 

The Champions of 1897 Facing page 528 

Joseph S. Neff, E. Stanley Hart, I,eoni Melick, W. T. G. 
Bristol, and T. A. Whelan, who acted as substitute during the 
illness of one of the players. This team, from the Philadelphia 
Whist Club, won the Hamilton Trophy at Put-in-Bay, in 
thirteen matches, without suffering a single defeat. 



KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS 

USED AFTER THE NAMES OF QUOTED AUTHORITIES 

Indicating at a glance the school of whist or style of game followed 
and advocated by each. 



1/, A, — Advocates of tlie long-suit game and American leads. 

Tt. A-\ Long-suit advocates and players who are friendly to American 

leads, or who employ them to some extent, 

Ti-\-A. — Adherents of the long-suit game, in the main, who are liberally 
inclined toward short-suit play, and who employ American leads. 

Jy-j-A-j Advocates of the fundamental long-suit game who have liberal 

views concerning the use of short-suit play in emergencies, and 
who are friendly to American leads. 

Ti. A, S. — I/ong-suit advocates and players who employ American leads 
with Hamilton modifications. 

X. A. P. — Long-suit advocates employing American leads with Pettes' 
modifications. 

I^. O. — Long-suit advocates and players who employ old leads. 

I^, 0-\ Long-suit players and advocates who employ old leads, but are 

liberally inclined toward the modern scientific game. 

X-j-O. — Advocates of the long-suit game who make a hberal use also of 
short-suit tactics, and who employ old leads. 

O. — Players and advocates of the old leads as practiced by Hoyle and his 
immediate successors. 

S. -BT. — Advocates of the short-suit game who follow^the Howell system. 

S. O. — Advocates of the short-suit, or "common-sense," game who 
employ old leads. 

S-j-O. — Short-suit advocates who are liberally inclined toward the long- 
suit game, but employ old leads. 

(xiH) 



The Whist Reference Book. 



Abandoned Hand. — A hand at 
■whist, or so much of it as remains 
unplayed, thrown face upward upon 
the table by a player or players, 
for any reason. 

If all four players throw their cards on 
the table, face upwards, no further play 
ofthathandis permitted. The result of 
the hand as then claimed or admitted, is 
established, provided that, if a revoke is 
discovered, the revoke penalty attaches. 
— Laws of Whist {American Code), Sec. 27. 

If all four players throw their cards 
on the table, face upwards, the hands are 
abandoned; and no one can again take up 
their cards. Should this general exhibi- 
tion show that the game might have been 
saved or won, neither claim can be enter- 
tained unless a revoke be established. 
The revoking players are then liable to the 
following penalties : they cannot, under 
any circumstances, win the game by the 
result of that hand, and the adversaries 
may add three to their score, or deduct 
three from that of the revoking players. 
— Laws of Whist {English Code), Sec. 59. 

A-B, Y-Z. — The commonly ac- 
cepted manner of indicating the 
players or hands at the whist table 
is by means of the letters A-B, 
Y-Z, the former two being partners 
against the latter two. The letters 
A-B, C-D, have also been used to 
some extent in the past, among 
others by James Clay and G. W. 
Pettes. They are now used to des- 
ignate the challengers at duplicate 
whist, when two teams of four 
each play against each other, the 
home club, or holders, being desig- 
nated as W-X, Y-Z. 

Among several other writers on 
straight whist, "Aquarius" used 
the letters A-C, B-D to represent the 
four players at a table. In other in- 
stances the figures 1-2, 3-4 have 
been employed. In the Westmin- 
ster Papers the editor used A-B, 
X-Zj although his correspondents 



employed other formulas as well. 
In his recent work on " Short-Suit 
Whist," B.C. Howell adopts North- 
South, East-West, the terms gen- 
erally used to indicate the positions 
of the players at duplicate whist. 
The great preponderance of usage, 
however, is in favor of A-B, Y-Z, 
which is nearly always used in pe- 
riodicals and in the daily press 
when recording whist- play, and also 
in most of the late text-books. It 
is used in the works of ' ' Caven- 
dish," Pole, Drayson, Proctor, Fos- 
ter, " Pembridge," and many oth- 
ers, although in some instances the 
same author makes use of more than 
one kind of notation. The main 
objection to the N-S, E-W nota- 
tion is, that explanatory notes are 
required to give the positions of the 
dealer and the lead, and without 
these the hand is unintelligible. 

A is the first hand, or leader, and 
B is his partner, or third hand;Y 
is the second hand and partner of 
Z, who is the fourth hand and 
dealer in the opening play. There 
is a growing custom among writers 
on whist to speak of the first hand 
as A, the second hand as Y, the 
third hand as B, and the fourth 
hand as Z, without any qualifica- 
tion or explanation, the terms being 
regarded as synonymous. 

Ace. — A card containing one pip 
or spot. In whist the ace is the 
highest card in rank or value, ex- 
cept in the matter of cutting, when 
it is lowest. It is one of the four hon- 
ors counted in the English game. 

The ace is led more frequently 
than any other high card except the 
king. Under the old leads system 



(I) 



ACB 



ACB 



it is led from ace and four or more 
others without the king ; and from 
ace, queen, and jack, with or with- 
out others. 

Under the system of American 
leads, ace is led from any suit of 
five or more which does not contain 
both king and queen; and from 
any combination which contains 
both queen and jack, but does not 
include the king. Here are the 
leads in detail in which the ace 
figures : 

From ace, king, jack, and two or 
more others, lead ace followed by 
king. 

From ace, king, and three or 
more others, lead ace followed by 
king. (In trumps, lead fourth best, 
unless holding seven. ) 

From ace, queen, jack, and two 
or more others, lead ace followed 
by jack. 

From ace, queen, jack, ten, lead 
ace followed by ten. 

From ace, queen, jack, and one 
other, lead ace followed by queen. 

From ace and four or more 
others, the orthodox practice is to 
lead ace followed by fourth best, 
although many first-class players 
believe that in the American game, 
and especially at duplicate, it is 
better to lead fourth best. In 
trumps, the orthodox practice is to 
lead fourth best, unless holding 
seven when the ace is led. 

In forced leads, from ace, queen, 
jack, lead ace followed by queen. 

Adherents of the old leads object 
to the American lead of ace from 
ace, king, and others, because, they 
claim, it does not at once give your 
partner information concerning the 
whereabouts of the king. (Below 
will be found ' ' Cavendish's " argu- 
ment in favor of the American 
lead.) 

The ace lead does not figure in 
the so-called short-suit game. In 
fact, when led by short-suit players, 



it means either that they have con- 
cluded for that particular hand to 
play according to long-suit tactics, 
or they are playing the Howell 
variety of the short-suit game. In 
Mr. Howell's system, the lead of the 
ace figures in two of the five forms 
of strategy adopted to meet the 
various conditions of the hand. If 
followed by king, it means the 
high-card game, in which you don't 
expect to make anything except a 
trick or two in your strong suit. If 
followed by a small card, it means 
the rufiing game. 

Ace and Four.— There is no plain 
suit from which a hand is more frequently 
opened than ace and four or more others, 
and there is, therefore, no combination 
from which it is of more importance that 
the best trick-taking lead should be de- 
termined. In spite of this there is no 
whist question to-day upon which there 
is a wider divergence of opinion among 
good players. * * * After considering 
the whole ground, the writer is inclined 
to side with those who believe the low 
lead in five-card suits to be a winning 
one in the long run, and advises its adop- 
tion by players of the first class. With 
more than five cards, however, it seems 
distinctly dangerous unless the hand has 
sufficient strength in trumps to justify 
taking the short end of the chances for 
the prospect of a big gain. The recom- 
mendation to lead the fourth best is lim- 
ited to plaj'ers of the first class, as the 
bringing in of a long suit requires consid- 
erable skill, and poorer players who 
adopt the fourth-best lead frequently 
suflfer all its losses without the ability to 

f)rofit by its gains. — Milton C. Work 
L. A. H.\ " Whist of To-day." 

Holding ace and four below the knave, 
it is now thought wise to lead fourth best, 
unless trump strength is declared against 
you. With ace and four others, if one is 
the queen or knave, many of our best 
players are leading fourth best regardless 
of trump strength, to simplify the origi- 
nal lead of ace, which then indicates 
either the king, or both queen and knave, 
or six or more in suit. — Kate IVheelock 
[L. A.], ''Whist Rules." 

Should ace be led from ace and four 
small of a plain suit, or should the fourth 
best be led? This has been a vexed 
question for some years. As whist is 
played in England (straight, five up, and 
counting honors), it seems probable that 
the original lead of ace is best. The game 
is too short to admit of not making a 



ACB 



ACE 



certain trick (bar trumping) when able. 
There is, perhaps, one exception, viz., 
■with such strength in trumps as to war- 
rant a trump lead if partner can assist 
in the long suit headed by the ace. But 
when duplicate whist on the American 
method is the game, and every hand is 
played for what it is worth, the matter 
assumes quite a different aspect. Accord- 
ing to the best modern calculations, for 
which precise accuracy is not claimed 
(the problem not lending itself to abso- 
lute demonstration), there is a slight ad- 
vantage, so far as the probability of 
making tricks in the suit is concerned, 
in leading the fourth best rather than the 
ace. This, however, may be offset by 
other considerations vsrhich are of too 
remote and technical a character to be 
discussed here. One, however, may be 
mentioned, viz., that the lead of ace at 
once declares great strength in the suit, 
while the lead of fourth best leaves such 
strength uncertain during the early part 
of the hand. Hence, it may be fairly 
assumed that there is not much to it one 
way or the other; this bears out the 
premise that when doctors disagree, both 
sides may be justified in their opinions. — 
^'■Cavendish" [L. A.], Scribner^ s Maga- 
zine, July, iSgy. 

The first published hand in which ace 
is led, instead of king, for the declared 
purpose of showing five in suit, as dis- 
tinctly stated by the notes accompanying 
the play, appeared in the IVesiminsier 
Papers, November, 1869. Here it is, the 
heart nine turned by West, North to lead: 



0! 

tJ 


West. 


North. 


East. 


South. 

♦ 5 

♦ 2 

^ 4 
9 4 

K *l 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 


♦ 3 

« 8 

^ A 


* A 


* 10 
4k Q 
^ 2 

2 « 

3 Jl. 

<::? 6 

^ 7 
Q? 8 


^ K 


^ Q 
4. 4 

5 « 
^ 3 

6 « 

♦ 9 

7 

• J 


A « 


Q* 


Q\^\0 


^ J 


7 
8 
9 
10 
1 1 
12 
13 


Z> 9 
5 
8 A 
10* 
J * 
J 
K 


^ K 


♦ 7 

<^ 5 


7 Jl. 

3 
40 
lOO 
6 


« 6 
2 

AO 


♦ 4 
9 
8 


QO 



Score: N and S, 9: E and W, 4. 



The information given by North's leads 
should have enabled East to save a trick 
by refusing to trump at trick eight; be 
cause if North had five spades, South has 
only one more. 

See also answers to correspondents, 
explaining the reason for leading the 
king only when the suit contains less than 
five cards (July, 186S, p. 45; August, 1S69, p. 
63). Later numbers of the IVesiminsier 
Papers seem to indicate that the systemi 
of showing number was of no value and 
was abandoned. — R. F. Foster \S. 0.1, 
Whist, October, iSgy. 

AcE-KiNG. — In an original lead from 
a long suit containing ace and king, the 
orthodox practice was to play out the 
king first, then the ace, for reasons well 
considered and well known. But, in 
1888, Cavendish proposed to adhere to 
this only for a suit of four; if it was longer, 
this fact was to be intimated to the part- 
ner by beginning with an ace and follow- 
ing with a king. — William Pole \L.A-^\ 
^'Evolution of Whist." 

I ignore the so-called American leads of 
ace from ace, king, and three or more, 
and of queen from king, queen, and three 
or more. These are theoretically plausi- 
ble, but practically tend to cause tempo- 
rary doubt and confusion. In the first 
place, if the ace be trumped in the first 
round, as will happen occasioually, the 
partner of the leader is left in doubt as 
to where the king is. In the second place, 
there are other leads commencing with 
the queen, and it is simpler to keep them. 
The object of these leads is to induce the 
partner to unblock: this, even with the 
best of intentions, he is not always able to 
sS&ct.— W. M. Beane\L.A-'r1, "■Letters on 
Whist," 1894. 

Cavendish, in a letter to Theodore 
Schwarz, published in Whist for Febru- 
ary, 1893, gives the history of the change 
in the lead as follows : "You ask me for a 
history of the lead of ace, from ace, king, 
and more than two small; and of queen, 
from king, queen, and more than two 
small. I have much pleasure in comply- 
ing with your request. When the maxims 
of American leads were first formulated 
by Mr. Trist, I saw that the information 
given by these leads (the maxims being 
taken for granted) must result in a mod- 
ification of the play of the third hand for 
unblocking purposes when he holds four 
cards exactly of the suit originally led. 

" I thereupon set to work to make an 
analysis of all the cases in which the 
third hand should beg^n to unblock on 
the first round of his partner's suit, a high 
card being led originally. 

"I came to this very remarkable con- 
clusion, that when ace, queen, knave, or 
ten is led originally, the third hand, hold- 
ing four of the suit exactly, should always 
retain his lowest card on the first and 



ADMISSION TO CLUBS 



ADMISSION TO CLUBS 



second rounds; but that, when king is 
led originally the third hand should not 
attempt to unblock by retaining his low- 
est card on the first round. The excep- 
tion as regards the king seemed to me to 
be very strange, and I sought for an ex- 
planation, and, after some trouble, I got 
It. 

"The explanation is this : When ace, 
queen, knave, or ten is led originally, a 
certain amount of strength is declared. 
The high card (ace) declares ace, queen, 
knave, etc., or at least five in suit. The 
queen declares at least knave and ten. 
The knave declares king, queen, and at 
least five, or a quart major. The ten de- 
clares at least king and knave. In none 
of these cases (with rare exceptions) can 
the third hand lose anything by unblock- 
ing tactics. 

"But king, led originally, only declares 
either ace or queen (or possibly both). 
King may, therefore, be accompanied by 
only one other high card and two small 
ones. In every other case at least five in 
suit are declared, or if not, then at least 
two other high cards of the suit remain- 
ing in the leader's hand. 

"For a time I submitted to this conclu- 
sion, that king, led originally, is the 
high card of least information, and that, 
therefore, unblocking tactics must be sur- 
rendered when king is led originally, 
vi^hatever number of cards the leader may 
hold in his suit. But I was not satisfied. 
I argued with myself : ' Why should I 
lead the high card of least information 
and so prevent my partner from unblock- 
ing when I hold more than four of the 
suit?' When I have five (or more) and 
my partner has four exactly, that is just 
the combination with which I want him 
to unblock. I therefore proposed the 
lead of ace from ace, king, more than two 
small, and of queen from king, queen, 
more than two small, giving in detail the 
various advantages and disadvantages, 
and leaving my readers to choose between 
the two. After several years' experience, 
I came to the conclusion that the leads I 
proposed are of much use to players who 
take the trouble to unblock and to count 
the cards. I have, therefore, now made 
these leads a substantive part of my work 
on whist. 

" I should state that, before proposing 
these leads in print, I submitted them to 
Mr. Trist, with all the/rw and cons, and 
that Mr. Trist fully approved of them." 

AdmissFon to Clubs. — The ad- 
mission of uncongenial players, 
and especially of persons who per- 
sist in playing bumblepuppy in- 
stead of whist, has been the cause 
of the dissolution of many whist 



clubs. Great care should be exer- 
cised in admitting candidates to 
membership, and the plan upon 
which the Manhattan Whist Club, 
of New York Cit}^ has recently 
been organized, cannot be too 
highly recommended. This organ- 
ization is devoted exclusively to 
whist. Its certificate of incorpora- 
tion states its objects as follows: 
"The promotion and encourage- 
ment of the study and play of sci- 
entific whist." The constitution 
provides that the membership com- 
mittee shall inquire as rigidly into 
the candidate's skill as a whist 
player as they do into his personal 
character. If any doubt exists as 
to his ability as a player, the matter 
must be determined by a careful 
examination and observation of his 
play at duplicate whist. R. F. Fos- 
ter, the well-known whist teacher 
and author, is secretary of this 
club, and we have no doubt he had 
much to do with the formulation of 
its excellent rules and regulations. 
New York has also a new whist 
club for ladies, modeled on the 
plan of the Manhattan Club. 

That the example of the Manhat- 
tan Whist Club is not, as yet, very 
generally known or followed, seems 
to be indicated by the following 
questions and answers appearing in 
Whist of Julj^ 1897: 

(i) Is it customary to require appli- 
cants for whist club membership to pass 
an examination on the fundamental 
rules? 

(2) If not, what method is in use? 

(3) If examinations are advisable, are 
the whist teachers who are members of 
the club usually put upon the board ? 

(4) If players are classified, by whom 
is the classification made? 

Answers: (i) No, examinations are 
not customary. The mere fact of appli- 
cation for membership is presumptive 
evidence that the applicant plays the 
game. 

(2) The same that is generally used in 
all clubs that are formed for social pur- 
poses. 



ADVERSARIES 



5 ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS 



(3) If you have any whist teachers 
atnoug your members, put them on the 
board, by all means. It is decidedly for 
the benefit of the club to do so. 

(4) Any system of classification is un- 
necessary. If scores are kept, the players 
will quickly, and accurately, classify 
themselves better than any arbitrary 
system could do. 

In Whist for October, 1897, how- 
ever, the organization of the Capitol 
Whist Club, of Washington, D. C, 
is announced. It is a woman's 
club, and is presided over by Mrs. 
Walls, wife of Dr. George Walls, 
whose fame as a whist-plaver is 
well established. With a view to 
maintaining a high standard of 
play in this club, applicants for ad- 
mission are required to pass an ex- 
amination by experts. 

Adversaries. — ^The players sit- 
ting to your right and left; the 
two opponents who play against 
yourself and partner. In "Mort" 
(the French form of dummy) the 
term ' ' adversaries ' ' is used exclu- 
sively to indicate the two players 
who are opposed to the mort (dead 
hand, or dummy) and vivant (the 
living hand, dummy's partner). 
The word " opponents " is used in 
all other cases where opposition is 
indicated. 

Adversary's Game, Playing 

the. — Playing a losing game 
through carelessness, recklessness, 
or ignorance; employing a line of 
strategy unsuited to your hand and 
designed to benefit the adversaries. 

Whilst, therefore, it is true that one 
great use of trumjjs is to extract trumps 
from the adversaries, and thus to make 
your own or your partner's long suit, yet 
you must be careful that in this endeavor 
you do not play the adversary's game, 
and whilst you are extracting his trumps, 
your own are also extracted, and you 
have by your own act disarmed yourself 
and your partner, and left the adversaries 
in command of the trump suit: that is, 
with the remaining trump and a long suit 
to bring in. — A. IV. Dray son. \L-\-A-\-\ 
"The Art of Practical Whist.''' 



Adverse Lead. — The lead of a 
suit, command of which is held by 
your adversaries. 

Adverse Trick. — A trick which, 
at that stage of the round, or upon 
final play, belongs to your oppo- 
nents. 

Advice for Beginners. — Avoid 
all ruannerisms in play. 

Always return partner's trump ; 
lead. 

Be careful to play the correct 
leads. 

Silence is golden — especially in 
whist. 

Don't gloat over your opponents' 
defeat. 

Sort and count your cards before 
playing. 

Observe how many times a suit 
goes round. 

Don't ignore the value of the 
small cards. 

Don't play false cards; win with- 
out deception. 

Count your hand before the first 
card is played. 

Remember the suit originally led 
by each player. 

Play your own and partner's 
hand combined. 

Get rid of the command of part- 
ner's strong suit. 

If you must discuss the play, do 
it between deals. 

Force opponents when they sig- 
nal or lead trumps. 

Lead to the weakness of your 
right-hand adversary. 

Never throw your hand down 
before it is played out. 

Avoid changing suits unless there 
is good reason for so doing. 

First learn the rules; then learn 
when you may break them. 

Do not refuse to win a trick un- 
less sure of gaining by the play. 

Don't speak as if your ill-luck 
were entirely due to your partner. 



AGE 



'ALBANY LEAD " 



Pay penalties cheerfully and re- 
solve to be more careful next time. 

Avoid banging the cards on the 
table; you are not playing base- 
ball. 

Don't criticise your neighbor's 
play or call attention to his mis- 
takes. 

Watch the signals of opponents 
as well as of your partner, as far as 
possible. 

Return partner the highest of 
his suit from three, and the lowest 
from four. 

Play, if possible, against better 
players than yourself, and learn 
from them. 

Watch the fall of the cards, and 
remember which high cards have 
been played. 

Be philosophical; take a weak 
hand and play it just as you would 
a strong one. 

Don't hesitate in playing. You 
may convey information thereby 
to your opponents. 

Count each trump as played, so 
that you may know how many are 
still out at any stage of the game. 

Refuse to play for stakes, how- 
ever small. Whist is worth playing 
for its own sake, without any 
money incentive. 

Don't lead from weak trumps 
simply because you have a strong 
plain suit; you may strengthen 
your adversaries' hands thereby. 

Bear in mind the state of the 
score. If you only want one trick, 
take the safest way of making it; if 
several, risk a bold game to obtain 
them. 

Age. — The eldest hand; the first 
player to the left of the dealer. 

Aggressive Game. — A game in 
which the opponents are put upon 
the defensive; a great game. 

When trumps are declared in your 
favor, you play an aggressive game, fear- 
lessly weakening your weak suits and 



keeping your long suits intact. — C. D. 
P. Hamiltoti \L. J4.], "Modern Scientific 
Whist." 

"Albany Lead." — A conven- 
tional and commonly accepted lead 
in America, whereby a player indi- 
cates exactly four trumps without 
playing them. It consists in throw- 
ing a strengthening card, such as 
queen and a small one, or jack and 
a smaller one, and letting your 
partner take the initiative if he de- 
sires to do so. Popularly so called 
because it was supposed to have 
originated with the players of the 
Albany Club, of Albany, N. Y, 
This, however, is a mistake, al- 
though this club brought it into 
prominence by its play. 

There is nothing new in the lead of a 
strengthening card from a weak hand, 
but the players of the Albany Club make 
it a rule never to open with such a card, 
holding less than four trumps. With 
three trumps or less they prefer to open 
a four-card suit, although it contains no 
high card. That is why we have termed 
this play the "Albany lead," as it inva- 
riably shows four trumps. — Robert H. 
Weems [L. A.]. 

The "Albany lead" is another method 
of showing trump strength. When the 
original leader begins with a strengthen- 
ing card, it is assumed to be the top of 
three, and that he has no four-card suit 
in his hand but the trumps, therefore 
he has four trumps. The lead * * * 
is usually taken as an indication of great 
weakness in plain suits, for if there were 
any good winning cards in the short suits 
the leader would probably proceed to 
make them while in the lead. — R. F. Fos- 
ter [S. O.], ''Whist Tactics." 

Mr. J. T. Mitchell spoke of this being 
an old Milwaukee lead, and I have good 
Milwaukee authority for stating that this 
was first introduced into the Milwaukee 
Club by Mr. Rheinart, and that the latter 
got it from Deschapelles. The question 
then arises, is this a good or bad lead ? 
I think that answer depends largely upon 
the character of one's hand. Descha- 
pelles was pronounced by Clay to be far 
and away the best whist-player that ever 
lived, and anything that originated 
with him or was practiced by him must 
certainly have some merit. — Theodore 
Schwarz \L. A.]. 

The lead is not generally recognized 
by the text-books as having become a 
recognized conventional play (although 



ALLEN, MISS BBSSIK B. 



ALLISON, JAMES 



Work and Foster mention the play), and 
this fact may account for the wide diver- 
sity of views concerning this lead. As 
we understand the history of the play, it 
was first used to show exactly lour 
trumps and three three-card suits, and 
was resorted to by players who were 
averse to leading from only four trumps, 
when holding no suit. The play as origi- 
nated was confined to the lead of the 
jack, ten, or nine, on the theory that the 
irregularity of the lead would, in most 
cases, be apparent on the first round, 
either from the drop, or the cards that 
partner might hold in the suit. We think 
it would be dangerous to extend it below 
the nine or above the queen, for it would 
be more likely to be very misleading.— 
Cassius M. Paine [L. A.l, Whist, October, 
iS95- 

Allen, Miss Bessie E. — A very 
successful whist-teacher and player. 
She is a native of Milwaukee, and 
became inclined to whist by inher- 
itance, her father, "Uncle Dick 
Allen," oneofthebest-knownmem- 
bers of the Milwaukee Whist Club, 
having been for many years an 
adept at the game, playing it con- 
stantly in his family. Obliged 
often to be "fourth hand" at home, 
her interest was aroused. Her 
talent for the game being per- 
ceived, her father assisted and en- 
couraged her. Her instruction was 
entirely at home. A writer in the 
well-known ladies' journal, Vogue, 
for January, 1897, gives the follow- 
ing interesting particulars concern- 
ing Miss Allen's whist career: 

"In 1893 'Cavendish' visited Mil- 
waukee, and on becoming ac- 
quainted with Miss Allen's style of 
play, invited her to be his partner 
an entire evening, against all chal- 
lengers, an honor up to that time 
never accorded to any lady in this 
country. In 1895 she attended the 
Fifth Whist Congress in Minneapo- 
lis, where, by her brilliant play, 
she earned the title of the Whist 
Empress, by which her friends and 
the whist world know her. In 1896 
Miss Allen attended the Sixth 
Whist Congress in Brooklyn, add- 



ing to her reputation and firmly 
establishing her right to be called 
Whist Empress. Miss Allen's game 
is brilliant, and often original. She 
is quick to detect her partner's 
plan, and alert to assist him. Her 
memory is perfect, her judgment 
almost faultless. Yet she is modest 
and deferential to her partner, is 
free from irritation, and never finds 
fault. Miss Allen has taught the 
game in Milwaukee, and in Flint 
and Detroit, Michigan, and has 
been compelled from lack of time 
to refuse classes in other places." 

Miss Allen is a conscientious and 
intelligent teacher, and has a rare 
gift of imparting the science of 
whist. With beginners she is ar- 
bitrary, though with her "percep- 
tion" scholars she explains the 
opportunities of the "advanced 
game," bringing into use the strat- 
egy and finesse of the finest play. 
She is domestic in her habits and 
retiring in her disposition, and for 
some years has been the head of 
her father's family. 

In 1897 Miss Allen devised a 
pack of "Whist Quiz Cards," by 
means of which beginners may be 
drilled in the leads and other essen- 
tial features of whist. There are 
fifty cards in each pack, and on one 
side of each card queries are 
printed, which one is expected to 
answer, the correct reply being 
printed for purposes of comparison 
on the other side. Rules are given 
for using the cards as in a game, 
which can be played by any num- 
ber of people. 

Allison, James. — The inventor 
of an important improvement in 
duplicate whist; born in Glasgow, 
Scotland, February 21, 1848, where 
he is now engaged in business as a 
merchant, at 48 Bedford street. He 
first became interested in whist in 
1880, and in 1886 assisted as one of 



AMERICAN, ENGLISH I^AWS 8 



AMERICAN GAME 



the " sorters " in a duplicate match 
between eight players of his club, 
the Carleton. The old method em- 
ployed by "Cavendish" and his 
friends in 1S57 was used, but it was 
very slow and cumbersome work, 
and nettled Mr. Allison when he 
found that the " sorters " could not 
keep up with the players. Soon 
thereafter he devised his method by 
which the hands were kept separate 
as they were played, and the neces- 
sity of registering and re-sorting 
them was done away with. Each 
player was now required to play 
his cards, not in the centre of the 
table, but in front of and near him- 
self,cards of tricks won being placed 
perpendicularly, and cards of tricks 
lost horizontally. After scoring, 
each player took his cards, shuffled 
them a little, and left them lying 
at his place, ready for the overplay. 
No trays were used, the players of 
one table exchanging places with 
those at the other table. The new 
system was first used in a public 
match at Glasgow, on April 16, 
1888, by two teams of four from the 
Carleton and Wanderers' Clubs. 
Its success caused its immediate 
adoption in America, where the 
play was further improved by John 
T. Mitchell and others. (See, ' ' Du- 
plicate "Whist, History of.") 

American and English Laws. — 

The principal points of difference 
between the English whist laws 
and those adopted by the Amer- 
ican Whist League, and accepted as 
representatively American, are as 
follows: The American laws do 
away with the scoring of honors, 
and also do away with "singles," 
"doubles," and the rubber. The 
game is made seven points, instead 
of five. Stakes are abolished. It 
is not permitted to ask partner 
whether he has any of a suit which 
he renounces. Silence is promoted 



as an important factor in the game. 
The penalty for leading out of turn 
is reduced from the double penalty 
of p call or lead to the single pen- 
alty of a lead, and the penalty for 
a revoke is reduced from three to 
two tricks to be taken from the re- 
voking side. No one is allowed to 
examine a trick after it is once 
turned and quitted. In the Eng- 
lish code there are ninety-one laws; 
in the American code but thirty- 
nine. This is exclusive of the laws 
of duplicate whist, however; the 
latter are not recognized in the 
English code at all, being of com- 
paratively recent origin. 

The laws in both countries are almost 
identical; the few differences made by the 
Americans are, in my opinion, in nearly 
every case, improvements. — A. IV. Dray- 
son [7,+^+]. 

They [the Americans] have also com- 
piled a new code of laws which is an 
enormous improvement upon the singu- 
lar jumble of laws, definitions, and arbi- 
trary decisions under which we impo- 
tently writhe. — "Pembridge" [Z^+O.]. 

In course of time American players 
abolished the rubber, best of three 
games, and the score of honors, substi- 
tuting single games without honors. 
This must be allowed to be a simplifica- 
tion and an improvement; it is one of the 
things that America has done for whist. 
But, in abolishing points also, the change 
seems to the writer to have been in the 
wrong direction. A score of points is a 
better test of skill, in the long run, than 
a score of games. — ''^Cavendish" [L. A.], 
in Scribner^s Monthly, i8g6. 

American Code. — See, "Laws 
of Whist, American Code." 

American Game, The. — Whist 
as pla5'ed in America, fundamen- 
tally the same as that played in 
England from the earliest times, 
but with certain changes and im- 
provements which English whist- 
players have been slow to adopt. In 
fact, some of the changes — notably 
that by which the points of the game 
are made seven instead of five, 



AMERICAN GAME 



AMERICAN GAME 



honors not counting — have obtained 
little or no encouragement in the 
conservative mother country. Aside 
from the above, and the American 
leads, duplicate play, and other 
features, the American game is dis- 
tinguished by important difiFerences 
in the laws of whist, as adopted by 
the American Whist League, and 
acquiesced in by American play- 
ers generally. (See, "American 
Leads, ""American Whist," " Eng- 
land, Whist in," and "Laws of 
Whist.") 

In America short whist has by no 
means been generally adopted. Regular 
long whist, ten up, is, indeed, but little 
played; but long whist, seven up — that 
is, without honors — is so generally played 
in ihis country that it is quite properly 
called American whist. — R. H. Rhein- 
hardt, "IVhisi Scores and Card Table 
Talk," 1887. 

He ["Cavendish"] has repeatedly de- 
clared that there is no sort of comparison 
to be made between the European and 
American players — the latter pcssessing 
a general quality of excellence which is 
almo.st unknown here — or which, at any 
rate, it has been the habit to attribute 
only to exceptional persons like Des- 
chapelles, appearing once in an age. — 
William Pole \L. A-^], " Evolniion of 
Whist." 

The excitement consequent on the 
annual matches, and the preliminary 
practice required for any chance of 
winning the more important prizes pre- 
sented by the League, cause the game 
to be earnestly studied. The outcome 
of this earnestness is that, at the pres- 
ent moment, there are more and better 
players in the United States than in any 
other country. And, be it observed in 
conclusion, whist as now played in 
America is as big an advance on the 
game of thirty years since, as that was 
on the game of Hoyle and of the Crown 
Coffee House. — "Cavendish'" [L. A.], 
Whist, Sept., 1897. 

Long whist was played in America ac- 
cording to the old method, honors count- 
ing, until the middle of this century. In 
the fall of 1857, when the Ohio Life and 
Trust Company of Cincinnati made one 
of the most disastrous failures of the dec- 
ade, a party of gentlemen at the Tre- 
mont House, Chicago, solaced their grief 
for ill-fortune by a game of whist. The 
play became very interesting, and lasted 
many hours. For the first time within 
the writer's knowledge, honors were not 



counted; and after that date the players 
made the game of seven points the game 
of long- whist.— 6^. W. Petles [L. A. P.], 
^'American Whist Illustrated." 

It is contrary to the general principle 
of counting, in any game of cards, that 
more tricks can be made in one hand than 
are necessary to win the game. This 
principle was acted upon in the original 
count in whist, which consisted of ten 
points — four by honors and six by cards — 
the most possible, for the game in its in- 
cipiency was played with forty-eight 
cards, the four deuces being withdrawn 
from the pack. The points were after- 
wards arbitrarily reduced to five. * * * 
In the game of seven points, single 
games, and not rubbers, are played, and 
the losers get credit for any points which 
they may have won ; for instance, with 
four scored, they lose but three. This is 
somewhat analogous in its result to the 
English method of scoring. The seven- 
point game has the advantage of being 
shorter than the rubber, consequently 
the players who are out have not so long 
to wait before cutting in. Again, that 
game is akin to long whist, which Clay, 
"Cavendish," and other authorities pro- 
nounce to be a superior game to short 
whist.— yv. B. Trist [L. A .], Letter to First 
Congress of the A . W. L. 

We learn [from "Cavendish"] that in 
the ordinary American social clubs, where 
whist is not the chief object, but is merely 
an accidental recreation, it is customary 
to play, not rubbers, but single games, 
in which five is the winning score. The 
points are gained by tricks only, honors 
not counting at all. The stakes vary from 
one or two to five dollars per game, and 
when five points are scored by either 
party the game is won, no allowance 
being made for any points that have been 
scored on the opposite side. Thus, when 
I and my partner have scored, say four, 
if the other party make five, our four are 
entirely lost, doing us no good at all. [In 
the English rubber they are counted on 
the next game.] In the whisst clubs 
proper, however, established for whist 
only (and generally known as League 
clubs), a different form of scoring is used. 
In this, also, honors do not count; the 
only score is by tricks, each trick above 
six counting one. Single games are 
played, the winning score bein^ seven; 
the value of the game is determined by 
deducting the loser's score from seven. 
The reason for choosing the number 
seven is that this is the maximum which 
can be obtained in one hand. In these 
clubs, although mone}' stakes are not for- 
bidden, it is unusual to play for money, 
as the executive of the League wish that 
the play should be for the love of the 
game alone. — William. Pole [L. A +],^^£vo- 
lution of Whist." 



AMERICAN LEADER 



lO 



AMERICAN LEADS 



American Leader. — One who 

employs American leads in his 
play; an advocate of American 
leads. 

American Leads. — A system of 
leads at whist devised by Nicholas 
Browse Trist, of New Orleans, and 
Henry Jones ("Cavendish"), of 
England, and named American 
leads by the latter in honor of Mr. 
Trist's native land. Both had been 
working in the same direction for 
some time, in their efforts to im- 
prove the old-style game, by taking 
previous suggestions and plays, add- 
ing many new ones, and remodeling 
and systematizing the whole in a 
simple, lucid, and easily understood 
manner. They corresponded fre- 
quently, and arrived almost simul- 
taneously at the same conclusions 
in regard to some of the principal 
features of the new leads ; ' ' but, ' ' 
says " Cavendish " in a letter pub- 
lished in Whist of March, 1893, in 
speaking of the time "when the 
American system of leading from 
high cards " was first mooted by 
Mr. Trist and himself, "I think N. 
B. T. was a little bit in front." A 
complete history of the leads will 
be found in another article (see, 
*' American Leads, History of "), to 
which is added the testimony of 
"Cavendish," Foster, Pettes, and 
Trist concerning them. Another 
article tells of the changes which 
have been proposed, and another 
treats of the objections which the 
opponents of the leads have urged 
against them. Opinions on both 
sides are freely quoted, in order 
that as fair a presentation of the 
subject as possible may be made. 

American leads are designed to 
indicate number as well as charac- 
ter in suit, so as to enable partner 
to form an accurate idea concern- 
ing the same, as well as to estimate 
with some degree of probability 
what cards are held in suits other 



than the one led. American leads 
are one of the distinguishing feat- 
ures of whist as played in Amer- 
ica. Even those who are opposed 
to them, or wedded to the old 
leads, are obliged to recognize and 
teach them as well as their own 
theories; and portions of the new 
theory — especially the trump leads, 
and the use of the phrase ' ' fourth 
best" instead of "antepenulti- 
mate, ' ' etc. — find universal accept- 
ance in this country and in foreign 
countries as well. American leads 
are sometimes also called "Num- 
ber-showing Leads," "The Infor- 
matoryGame," and the "Signal- 
ing Game " {g. z/.). 

The first step toward correct and 
scientific play is a thorough knowl- 
edge of these leads. By their means 
legitimate information is exchanged 
between partners, so that in the per- 
fection of observation and practice 
both hands may be practically 
played as one. A table of the princi- 
pal leads, showing first and second- 
round play to complete the signal 
or information in each case, is 
given below. This table was per- 
sonally approved by the leading 
advocates of the American leads in 
1894, and showed the play then uni- 
versally followed. Since then sev- 
eral changes have been proposed and 
accepted by many of the best play- 
ers, although ' 'Cavendish ' ' and Trist 
both adhere to the system as origi- 
nally promulgated by them. (See, 
"American Leads, Changes in.") 
The following explanations of the 
abbreviations used in the table are 
made for the benefit of the novice : 

A stands for ace ; K, for king- ; Q, for 
queen ; J, for jack ; T, for ten. 

H indicates the highest card in suit. 

L indicates the lowest card in suit. 

F indicates the original fourth-best 
card, counting from the highest. 

A. This style of letter indicates first 
lead or play. 

A. This style of letter indicates the 
lead or play on second round. 



AMERICAN LKADS 



II 



AMERICAN IvEADS 



In the column under " Cards at 
head of suit " will be found the va- 
rious combinations from which the 
leads are made, as follows : 



s*rf T wins, lead F; if Q falls, lead K 
to show four,y to show live; if A falls, 
lead K. 

* If A falls, lead K, otherwise L. 

6 If A or K falls, lead jQ, otherwise L. 

* H or L according to fall of cards. 



PLAIN 
SUITS. 

Cards at 


Number, of Cards in 
Suit. 


head of 

siiit. 


7 


6 


5 


4 


3 


AKQ J 


JjQ 


JJfT 


3 A 


Ky 




AK Q 


ct^ 


Q,K 


QA 


Kfi 


Ki2 


A K 


XK 


AK 


AK 


K.-4 


K^ 


AQ JT 


A/ 


Ay 


Ay 


AT 




AQ J 


Ay 


Ay 


Ay 


AjQ 


A;Q 


A 


AF 


AF 


AF 


Fv4 


li^ 


KQ JT 


J Q 


JQ 


3 K 


K r 




K Q J 


JQ 


^Q 


3 K 


Ky 


KO 


KQ 


0,2 


Q,2 


Q2 


Ki 


K5 


K J T 


T 3 T 3 


T3 


T 3 


T A' 


K 


F i IF* 


F* 


F* 


li* 


Q JTg 


Q, r 1 Q, r 


a T 


O 9 




Q JT 


Q, r i Q, r 


d T 


ay 


ay 


Q J 


F6 1 FS 


F5 


1-6 


Q7 


Q 


F6 1 F6 


F6 


F6 


1,6 


Any low- 
er cards. 


F6 


F6 


F6 


Fs 


HZ, 



SPECIAL TRUMP SUIT LEADS. 



A K J 


AK 


AK 


A^ 


Kyi 


K^ 


A K 


AK 


V K 


F A- 


F A- 


K^ 


A 


AF 


-P A 


F^ 


F^ 


\^A 


KQT 


d^ 


Q,2 


a^ 


Ki 


-SS.Q 


KQ 


a^ 


F jQ 


FiS 


F A- 


-&Q 



In all other cases, trump leads are the 
same as in plain suits. 

^ If K wins, lead original F, other- 
wise Q. 

2 If d wins, lead F remaining, other- 
wise A". 



American leads have revolution ized the 
game, and the changes have all been in 
the direction of simplification.— C D. 
P.Hamilton [L.A.I, ^^ Modern Scientific 
Whist." 

If it were allowable to exercise some 
judgment in using these leads, they 
might not be open to so raany objections; 
but they are worse than useless unless 
the partner can depend on their being 
uniformly adopted. — R. F. Foster [S. O.J, 
^^ Complete Hoyle." 

The new, or American leads, are at 
times wonderfully effective in assisting a 
player to read his partner's hand, but 
there are times when they leave him ut- 
terly in the dark on the all-important 
first round, and do not give as much in- 
formation as the old leads would under 
the same circumstances. — Val. IV. Starnes 
[S. C], "Short-Suit Whist." 

The changes in the [old] leads by the 
new system are not so many or so great 
as is sometimes supposed, and being in 
the direction of simplicity, and based ou 
a principle which is of quite general ap- 
plication, ought not to be confusing. By 
the old system, the king led indicated 
nothing as to the number in suit. Now, 
it always means four, at most; and the 
ace or queen is led, instead of king, from 
suits of five or more. — Fisher Ames \L. 
A.], "A Practical Guide to Whist." 

The most notable contest has been be- 
tween the advocates of the various sys- 
tems of leads. It has proven a long and 
arduous discussion, which, at the pres- 
ent writing, is still being carried on, al- 
though any one, viewing the whole sit- 
uation from an unprejudiced standpoint, 
must at present, of necesiiity, admit that 
much the largest of the expert opinion 
of the country has declared in favor of 
the system commonly called American 
\^2.diS.— Milton C. Work [L.A.H.], "Whist 
of To-day. " 

The penultimate of "Cavendish" ad- 
vised simply that there was a card re- 
maining in the hand lower than that led, 
no matter how many higher. The Ameri- 
can lead [of fourth best] informs that 
there are exactly three cards higher than 
the card led, no matter how many 
lower. The second lead from the penul- 
timate play gave no indication of the 
quality or number of high cards left. 
The second lead by the American play 
gives information of both. — G. W. Pettes 
\L. A. /".], "American Whist Illustrated.^' 



AMERICAN LEADS 



12 



AMERICAN LEADS 



The first maxim of the Atnerican leads 
is: When you open a suit with a low card, 
lead your fourth best. The second maxim 
laid down by American leads may be 
thus stated: When you open a strong 
suit with a high card, and next lead a 
low card, lead your fourth best, counting 
from and including the card first led. 
The third maxim of the American leads: 
When you open a strong suit with a high 
card, and remain with two high indif- 
ferent cards, lead the higher if you 
opened a suit of four; the lower if you 
opened a suit of five. — '' Cavendish"\L A.}, 
"■IVhist Developments^^ (fourth edition, 
J891). 

The American leads have now become 
of a more intricate character, but though 
they are adopted in most of the London 
clubs by some of the leading authorities 
on whist, they have not yet come into 
general use by the majority of players. 
Many of them require long and elaborate 
explanation, and the older hands, who 
are still a majority in number, have not 
learnt to appreciate their value. The 
world of whist is passing through a pe- 
riod of transition, and in a few years 
many principles which are now accepted 
with doubt, or even openly rejected, may 
have been numbered among the indis- 
putable axioms of the game. — IV. P. 
Courtney [L + 0.\ " English Whist and 
Whist-Players;' 1894. 

It was natural that when the system of 
American leads was proposed in Kngland 
the opposition to its adoption should be 
violent and sincere. * * * There were, 
there are, obstinate objectors. * * * 
They say the game is complicated. * * * 
They do not tell wherein, since the Amer- 
ican svstem requires only, (i) that the 
leader' hold exactly three cards higher 
than the low card led; (2) that ifhe leads 
a high card and then a low one, he has 
exactly two cards higher than his second 
lead; and (3) that having led a high card, 
when following with another high one 
he plays the highest of two equally good 
if he has but four cards of the suit, and 
the lowest of the two if he has five. * * * 
This most admirable system of American 
leads may be used to greatest advantage 
by players of American and Knglish 
whist; the objections to it being invalid, 
it must come into universal use.— C W. 
Pettes [L. A. P.], ''American Whist Illus- 
trated." 

I adhere strongly as ever— perhaps even 
more strongly— to the opinion that arbi- 
trary ways of giving information, Amer- 
ican leads included, are opposed to the 
true spirit of the game, and tend with an 
ever-increasing force to spoil it as an in- 
tellectual amusement. Not only does 
the strain on the attention to petty de- 
tails which would otherwise have no im- 



portance, make plas'ing more of a task 
than a game, but it prevents the mass of 
players from noting the broader features 
of the play, and they become mere book- 
players, trusting to their memory of all 
they have learned by heart. They are 
slaves to the rules instead of being their 
masters. With rules of play as in Clay 
and the earlier editions of " Cavendish," 
which were purely rational, an intelli- 
gent player could easily master the rea- 
sons and see when they no longer ap- 
plied; but with arbitrary rules of play he 
cannot do so, and he must either adopt 
them or deceive his partner. — "Mogul" 
[L-\-0.'[, Extract from letter, August 14, 
1897. 

During the last twenty years the prac- 
tice of whist-players ha's undergone con- 
siderable modification. The discard from 
the strong suit (on adverse declaration 
of command of trumps), the lead of the 
penultimate (from suits of more than 
four cards), the echo of the call for 
trumps, and variations in the mode of 
leading from certain combinations of 
high cards, have been introduced at va- 
rious times, and have met with the ap- 
proval of the great majority of good 
players. Recently, still further advances 
have been made. The leads of the low- 
est from suits of four cards, and of the 
penultimate from suits of five cards, 
have been shown to be merely part of a 
general law, which requires the lead of 
the fourth best card when a strong suit is 
opened with a low card; and the same 
law requires, as a corollary, the lead of 
the fourth best on the second round 
(counting from the card first led), when 
a high card is led followed by a low card 
of the same suit. Also it has been seen 
that the practice, which has obtained 
when leading from certain combinations 
of high indifferent cards, is capable of 
generalization, which brings leads from 
high cards, as well as from low ones, 
under uniform rules.— "CawewrfwA" \L. 
A.], "Whist Developments" 1885. 

American Leads, Changes in. — 

During several years past there has 
been considerable discussion over a 
number of changes which have been 
proposed in the American leads. 
In fact, from their very adoption, 
these leads have been the subject of 
criticisms and suggestions, among 
the most radical modifications being 
those practiced and advocated by 
the late George W. Pettes {q. v.). 
These did not meet with any ex- 
tended acceptance, and have fallen 



AMERICAN LEADS 



13 



AMERICAN LEADS 



into disuse. But other suggested 
improvements have received more 
serious and general attention, es- 
pecially those known as the Hamil- 
ton modifications (see, "Hamilton 
Leads"), originated and practiced 
by Milton C. Work and his asso- 
ciates on the famous Hamilton 
team, from which they derive their 
name. The idea of Mr. Work and his 
colleagues is to remove from the 
American leads what is by many 
considered an objectionable feature, 
namely, the uncertainty in the lead 
of queen, that card being led from 
three different combinations — ace, 
king, queen, more than four in suit ; 
king, queen, more than four in suit ; 
and queen, jack, ten, four or more 
in suit. 

In order to simplify the queen 
leads, the Hamiltons abolished the 
lead of the queen from queen, jack, 
ten, and substituted in its place the 
lead of the ten. In order to do 
this they were obliged to take away 
the accepted lead of ten from the 
king, jack, ten combination, which 
they did, by substituting for the 
ten, in the latter case, the common 
lead of the fourth best. 

This solves the difficulty, and 
does away vdth the previous un- 
certainty of the queen lead, so that 
when that card is led, and forces 
the ace, partner knows you have 
command of the suit with king. 
This fact your partner cannot be 
sure of, if the queen is led from 
both king, queen, and three or 
more small cards, and from queen, 
jack, ten, and others. The Hamil- 
ton leads — or, more strictly, the 
Hamilton modifications of Ameri- 
can leads — have met with very large 
acceptance in America, and it is by 
many thought not improbable that, 
at some future day, they may be 
regularly incorporated in the sys- 
tem of American leads. Among 
other leading players who have 



given them their endorsement, are 
C. D. P.Hamilton, John T.Mitchell, 
and P. J. Tormey. The latter two 
have also accepted another change, 
which consists in substituting for 
the lead of king that of queen, in 
suits headed by ace, king, queen, 
jack ; or ace, king, queen. This was 
first suggested by R. F. Foster, in 
IVhist for July, 1895, when he said : 
"Suppose that we say that it is 
pretty generally agreed that the 
fourth best is a good lead from 
king, jack, ten, and others, and that 
the ten is the best lead from queen, 
jack, ten, with or without others, 
as it reduces the present confusion 
of the queen leads, why is not the 
queen a good lead from ace, king, 
queen, jack, and others? Such a 
lead would be about the same 
change as that from ten to jack, 
from king, queen, jack, ten; would 
not materially affect the mean- 
ing of a queen lead, and would 
restore to the jack that very val- 
uable and absolute denial of the 
ace in the leader's hand. Second 
rounds might be: Queen, then ace 
with five; queen, then king with 
six; queen, then jack with seven or 
more. A very careful analysis, just 
finished, of all published hands, and 
the one hundred and twelve of the 
correspondence tourney, prompts 
this suggestion." 

In the New York Stm of March 
I, 1896, Mr. Foster argued further 
in behalf of the proposed lead of 
queen from ace, king, queen, jack, 
and others: "This would," said 
he, "restore to the jack its old 
value as a card absolutely denying 
the ace, and warning partner, if he 
did not hold it, that it was held up. 
The queen would then be led from 
two combinations only: one with 
and one without the ace, but always 
with the king, and at least three 
others in the suit. ' ' 

Mr. Tormey, in 1896, published 



AMERICAN LEADS 



14 



AMERICAN LEADS 



in his "Whist Don'ts," a table of 
leads containing the various changes 
agreed upon by Mr. Mitchell and 
himself, as follows: 



Suits 


Headed 

BY 


Number of Cards in 
Suit. 




4 


5 


6 


7 


I. A 


K 


Q 


J 


Q A 


Q K 


Q J 


Q J 


2. A 


K 


Q 





Q A 


Q K 


Q K 


Q K 


3- A 


K 








A K 


A K 


A K 


A K 


4. A 


Q 


J 


10 


A 10 


A J 


A J 


A J 


5- A 


Q 


J 





A Q 


A J 


A J 


A J 


6. A 


Q 








4th 
best 


4th 
best 


4th 
best 


A 4th 


7. A 











4th 
best 


4th 
best 


4th 
best 


A 4th 


8. K 


Q 


J 


10 


J K 


J Q J 10 


J 10 


9. K 


Q 


J 





J K 


J Q J Q 


J Q 


10. K 


Q 








K4th 


K4th 


K4th 


K4th 


II. K 


J 


10 





4th 
best 


4th 
best 


4th 
best 


4th 
best 


12. Q 


J 


10 





10 Q 


10 J 10 J 


10 J 



Trump leads are the same as plain 
suits, excepting Nos. 3 and 10 combina- 
tions. 

No. 3 combination, lead fourth best, with 
four, five, or six in suit; with seven in suit, 
lead same as plain suit. 

No. 10 combination, with king, queen, 
ten, four or more in suit, lead king; with- 
out the ten, lead fourth best, unless seven 
in suit, then lead king, same as plain 
suit. 

Ace-lead. — The lead of ace does not pro- 
claim any particular holding of high 
cards; it says this, however: "My lead of 
ace is either from ace, king, two or more 
others; or ace, queen, jacls, one or more 
others; or ace and six others." The sec- 
ond lead has to be made to tell the story. 

King-lead. — The lead of king always 
says: " I have the queen, four or more in 
suit, but not the ace or jack." 

Queen-lead. — The lead of queen says: 
" I hold king and ace, four or more in 
suit." 

Jack-lead. — The lead of jack proclaims 
queen and king, yow;- or more in suit, and 
denies the ace. 



Ten-lead. — The lead of ten proclaims 
jack and queen, four or more in suit, and 
denies the king and ace. 

Mr. Mitchell, in a letter published 
in Whist for September, 1896, says 
of the changes embraced in the 
above table: 

" Now that the adoption of the 
ten-lead from queen, knave, ten, 
has become almost general, and in 
view of the fact that the knave is 
considered the proper lead from 
king, queen, knave, and the queen 
the proper lead from ace, king, 
queen, it seems to me that the com- 
mittee which was appointed at the 
last congress to formulate a code 
of leads and follows for recommen- 
dation to the League should con- 
sider the advisability of revising 
the table of American leads in con- 
formity with a general rule, such as 
the following: 

' ' With three or more cards in 
sequence, the lowest of which is 
not below the ten, lead the third 
from the top. 

"With only two honors in se- 
quence, both higher than the knave, 
lead the higher. With ace, queen, 
knave, lead ace; follow with queen 
to show four, knave to show five or 
more. 

" Without any high-card holding 
as good as either of the above, lead 
your fourth-best card. 

" If the above rule was adopted, 
it would do away with the ten-lead 
from king, knave, ten, and the ace- 
lead from ace and four or more 
small; but, as these leads have vir- 
tually been abandoned already, the 
new rule would not interfere with 
the general mode of play in that 
respect. The new rule, however, 
would make a radical change in 
one respect, viz., in the lead of 
queen to show five or more in suit, 
and the lead of king to show ex- 
actly four; and that is where the 
principal objection to the proposed 



AMERICAN LEADS 



15 



AMERICAN LEADS 



change will come in. However, 
according to some authorities, 
whose opinion is shared by quite 
a number of experts, the number 
of small cards shown by a lead is 
not so important as the exact 
strength displayed, and there is no 
question as to the superiority of 
the proposed change in the latter 
respect. 

" The lead of the ace would pro- 
claim the king or queen, knave; 
the lead of the king would proclaim 
the queen; the queen would pro- 
claim the king and ace; the knave 
would show the queen and king; 
and the ten, the knave and queen. 
Each of the high cards from the 
ace down to the ten, with the ex- 
ception of the ace, would proclaim 
a certain holding, and, as the ace 
usually wins, the next lead would 
clear away all uncertainty in regard 
to that also. 

' ' The high indifferent cards left 
in hand after the original lead could 
be used under the new system to 
show number of small cards in suit 
just the same as under the old, and 
the table of leads would not be al- 
tered much in this respect. 





Number Cards 
IN Suit. 


Holding. 


4 

L. F. 


5 
L. F. 


6 

L. F. 


AKQJ 


Q A 


QK 


Q J 


AKQ 


Q A 


QK 




AK 


A 


A 1 • • • 






AQ J . . . ... 


AQ 


A j|. . - 




KQ J 10 


J K 


J QlJ 10 


KQJ 


J K 


J Q| . ■ . 


KO 


K 


K • • • 






QJio 


10 Q 


10 J 





The Hamilton modifications (to 
say nothing of the other proposed 



changes) have thus far failed to re- 
ceive the approval of the two lead- 
ing authorities on American leads 
— Trist and "Cavendish" — al- 
though the latter has admitted 
their merits, while pointing out 
their disadvantages. (See, " Ham- 
ilton Leads.") Mr. Trist says, in 
a letter to Whist for February, 
1895: "Would the added strength 
to the qiieen-lead brought about by 
the proposed change compensate 
for the complication it brings to the 
present ten-lead?" He adds: "I 
am ready to take the negative side 
of that question." In the issue of 
IVkist for June, 1895, he says fur- 
ther, in his argument with Dr. Bond 
Stow, an ardent advocate of the 
changes: " He claims that it [the 
proposed new ten-lead] will affect 
another lead favorably — that is, it 
will free from ambiguity the pres- 
ent lead of the queen, which would 
then show five at least in suit and 
the holding of the king. To this 
I will answer that the showing of 
five cards by the first lead — except- 
ing when knave is led — is of no 
practical advantage, because the 
unblocking is begun on the first 
round on all high cards led, except 
the king, the second round disclos- 
ing number and rank of cards. In 
the case of the queen as now led, 
the nature of the holding is often 
immediately made manifest, when 
third hand holds one of the three 
tell-tale cards, the king, knave, or 
ten, or when one of them falls 
from an adverse hand. Should 
neither contingency happen, the 
second lead settles the question in 
ample time for all useful purposes. " 
In a letter under date of October 2, 
1897, he adds: 

"I am still of the opinion that 
the ten-lead, from king, jack, ten, 
is a much better one than the fourth 
best; therefore, I adhere to the old 
queen-leads, which do not bother 



AMERICAN LEADS 



l6 



AMERICAN LEADS 



me a bit on account of their dual 
signification. I also prefer the pres- 
ent lead of jack from ace, king, 
queen, jack, five or more, to the 
queen, as proposed, because it pos- 
sesses the considerable advantage 
of keeping the adversaries in the 
dark as to the position of the ace, 
if jack takes the trick — presuming, 
of course, that if either of them 
held the ace, he would have taken 
the trick — ^vfhilst, if jack denies 
the ace, it must be in third hand, a 
fact which it is better that the op- 
ponents should not know." 

Other advocates of American 
leads have also placed themselves 
on record as opposed to the Hamil- 
ton modifications. W. S. Fenol- 
losa, in Whist for May, 1896, 
says: 

" In the March number I ad- 
vanced some arguments to en- 
deavor to show, from actual trick- 
making considerations, that it is 
unsafe to lead ten from queen, jack, 
ten, and others, except from a very 
long suit, and accordingly that the 
lead of queen from that combina- 
tion is the correct one. The only 
objection ever urged against the 
latter lead is the inconvenience and 
confusion arising from the threefold 
character of the queen-leads. It 
has always seemed to me that this 
supposed difficulty was more im- 
aginary than actual." 

George L. Bunn, in the whist 
department of the St. Paul Globe, 
says: "It is very rare indeed, in 
actual play, that there is any con- 
fusion arising from the two mean- 
ings of the queen-lead. The slight 
advantage gained by doing away 
with one of these meanings is, we 
think, not sufficient to compensate 
for what we consider the distinct 
loss in trick-taking, which comes 
from the abandonment of the ten- 
lead from king, jack, ten." 

Fisher Ames, in Whist of Feb- 



ruary, 1897, sums up the situation 
as follows: 

' ' I desire to place myself on 
record as opposed to the lead of the 
ten from queen, knave, ten, etc., 
and of the fourth best, or low card, 
from king, knave, ten, etc. Having 
experimented with these new leads 
for now about a year, I have not 
noticed any material advantage 
from them, but, on the contrary, a 
failure to clear the suit so quickly 
by them as by the leads according 
to the regular rule. This is espe- 
cially so lately, now that covering 
by the second in hand player is so 
much more free and general than 
formerly. One may argue himself 
' black in the face' that the ten-lead 
will be covered as often as the 
queen by second hand holding the 
king and two low, even though 
knowing the leader to lead the ten 
from queen, knave, ten, etc., but 
the fact is otherwise. It may, per- 
haps, be said that it isn't well to 
cover with the king in either case. 
That I admit; but it doesn't alter 
the fact. It is when second hand 
holds ace and low he hardly ever 
plays ace on the ten led, no matter 
what rule the leader adopts; for 
there is always a chance, and lately 
a good chance, that the ten is a 
supporting card; whereas, if the 
queen is led, second hand, holding 
ace and low, almost always covers, 
or holding king and low, generally 
covers. In short, the play of second 
hand is very different in actual 
practice from what it used to be. 

"The same arguments apply to 
the lead of the ten from king, 
knave, ten, to wit, that the lead of 
the ten will clear up the suit better, 
on the average, than the lead of the 
fourth best. I need not amplify on 
this, as it seems to me a self-evident 
proposition. The possibility of 
second hand holding ace and queen 
isn't worth considering, it would 



AMERICAN LEADS 



17 



AMERICAN LEADS 



happen so seldom, and then it 
wouldn't make much difference 
what is led. 

' ' The confusion in the meaning 
of the queen-leads is not a suffi- 
cient ground or reason for changing 
the leads. There is very little, if 
any, injury resulting from such 
confusion, as compared to that re- 
sulting from a failure to clear the 
suit. One is occasional and not 
very probable; the latter most prob- 
able on every lead. 

"Whatever confusion it may 
cause is no greater than the confu- 
sion in the meaning of the lead of 
the ten by the new method. The 
ten is a very important and useful 
card. It is led as a supporting card 
very frequently under the present 
methods of play, and adopting it as 
the card to lead from queen, knave, 
ten, is introducing just as much new 
confusion as is taken out by the 
change in the lead. 

"These two rules have had the 
test of over one hundred years' ex- 
perience, and have stood the test 
without a waver. And now, for 
what seems to me a fanciful whim, 
they are to be thrown overboard. 
For my part, I need more solid 
argument than any I have seen 
adduced yet to change my belief. 
And the present method of play 
only makes the suggested changes 
seem to me more emphatically 
foolish." 

For more than a hundred years it has 
been the rule to lead the ten from king, 
jack, ten, and others; but of late the ex- 
perts have been advocating the lead of 
the small card, and this has led to cor- 
responding changes in the play of the 
second hand. It is remarkable that the 
experience of one hundred and fifty years 
has not been sufficient to settle this 
question. Thirty years ago " Pem- 
bridge" suggested the lead of the small 
card; but some of our foremost players, 
among them the famous analyst, George 
I,. Bunn, still insist that the ten is the 
better lead.— /?. F. Foster {S. 0.\ Roches- 
Uy (N. Y.) Post-Express, Oct. 24, 1896. 



American Leads, History of. — 

It would be absurd to claim that 
the American leads in their entirety 
are the marvelous product of one 
or two whist brains. These leads 
embrace to a large extent leads 
which are almost as old as whist 
itself; they are naturally grafted 
upon and preserve what is best in 
the parent tree. They are simply 
the_ outgrowth and systemization 
of informatory pla)^ Information 
has always been conveyed by the 
fall of the cards at whist, but as the 
game developed it was deemed wise 
andgood to add certain conventional 
plays, and to give them a meaning 
in card language that should be 
understood by all who would take 
the trouble to learn them. Lord 
Henry Bentinck's trump signal was 
the first great innovation of this 
kind, and marked a distinct era in 
the history of the game. Thirty 
years later, in 1865, Waller A. Lewis, 
better known in the whist world as 
" Cam," advanced the idea, in his 
"What to Lead," that small cards 
could be profitably used in convey- 
ing information aside from their 
employment in the trump signal. 
His proposition, that long suits 
which did not contain an honor be 
opened with the smallest card but 
one, in order to give partner infor- 
mation to that effect, met with some 
approval, but more opposition, and 
is now remembered only as an ex- 
periment. Among those who ob- 
jected to it was a writer in the 
Westminster Papers for November, 
1868, who thought his own proposed 
mode of leading the lowest of a se- 
quence, in intermediate sequences, 
was more important. Thus, from 
king, six, five, four, two, he would 
lead the four. 

All these, and similar discussions 
and proposals, seemed to make no 
permanent practical impression , 
until "Cavendish" brought the 



AMERICAN LEADS 



i8 



AMERICAN LEADS 



force of his whist genius to bear 
upon the situation. His book, " The 
Principles of Whist, ' ' had long since 
given him a standing with whist- 
players the world over, and every 
succeeding edition gave fresh evi- 
dence of his progressiveness and 
aggressiveness as well. His keen 
insight into the very heart and 
mystery of the game, so to speak, 
and his ability to grasp and solve 
its greatest problems, made him 
the acknowledged leader and ex- 
ponent of its latest improve- 
ments. The system which culmi- 
nated in what is now popularly 
known as the American leads, had 
its real inception in a number of 
innovationsproposed and advocated 
by him, and not the least of these 
was his famous " penultimate" lead 
from suits of five containing no 
high-card combination to lead from. 
This useful informatory device was 
incorporated by him in his book, in 
1872, and met with general favor, 
although it caused no little discus- 
sion as well. The idea of leading 
the last but one from suits of five 
naturally suggested other varia- 
tions, and among these was a prop- 
osition published in the Westmin- 
ster Papers for January, 1875, that 
" while you ought to lead the low- 
est card in four-suits {i. e., suits of 
four), you should lead the third from 
the top in five-suits." This was the 
first sprouting of the idea which 
was to figure so prominently in the 
American leads in a somewhat dif- 
ferent and more comprehensive 
form as the fourth-best principle; 
but the suggestion of 1875 fell un- 
heeded upon the ears of conserva- 
tive England. Likewise unheeded 
was a notable improvement pro- 
posed by Colonel (now General) 
Drayson, in his "Art of Practical 
Whist," in 1879. The latter had 
ingeniously supplemented "Caven- 
dish's " penultimate by the ante- 



penultimate lead from suits of six. 
Recognition of the value of this 
idea first came from America, 
where both the penultimate and 
antepenultimate were practiced, 
and where they led to the further 
extension and development already 
alluded to. Among the most origi- 
nal and brainy advocates of good 
whist in America was Nicholas B. 
Trist, of New Orleans, a regular 
correspondent of "Cavendish's," 
who had discussed many important 
points of whist practice with the 
great English authorit3\ " Caven- 
dish," as editor of the whist de- 
partment of the Field, frequently 
gave Mr. Trist's ideas to the public. 
In 1883, Mr. Trist conceived the 
idea of combining all the advan- 
tages which had previously attached 
to the old lead of the lowest from 
four, the penultimate, and the ante- 
penultimate, in one general rule, 
and that was to lead the fourth 
best from all suits in which there is 
no combination suitable for a high- 
card lead. The fourth best he 
counted from the top of the suit, 
and this important distinction car- 
ried with it an additional advan- 
tage. By means of the fourth best, 
thus counted from the highest card 
down, exactly three cards higher 
than the one led are always shown 
to be in the leader's hand. The 
new fourth -best generalization was 
communicated to and fully ap- 
proved of by " Cavendish," who, 
curiously enough, had arrived at 
about the same conclusion in regard 
to a uniform rule; independent of 
Mr. Trist, their letters on the sub- 
ject crossing each other on the 
ocean. " Cavendish" insisted, how- 
ever, that his American friend was 
a little ahead, and freely gave him 
the credit, at the same time apply- 
ing himself with energy to the in- 
troduction of the new lead, show- 
ing it, among the very first, to Dr. 



AMERICAN LEADS 



19 



AMERICAN LEADS 



Pole. The latter " fully concurred 
in the elegance of the simplifica- 
tion," and remarked that it seemed 
to have been in the air for some 
time, and might now be consid- 
ered fully established as a principle 
of play. 

There was another direction in 
which Mr. Trist rendered important 
assistance in perfecting the new sys- 
tem. He followed up some valuable 
suggestions of "Cavendish," who, 
several years previously, had intro- 
duced his now recognized leads of 
ace followed by queen to show ace, 
queen, jack, and one small, and ace 
followed by jack to show ace, 
queen, jack, and more than one 
small; and who had also formula- 
ted the rule that the higher of two 
indifferent cards on second round, 
meant a maximum of four; the 
lower, a minimum of five. Mr. 
Trist, having thus noticed the ad- 
vantageous use that had been made 
of variations iu the play of "in- 
different high cards ' ' — that is, cards 
of equal value for trick-making 
purposes— proposed to carry this 
further. Says Pole: "The cases were 
many where a player had to lead 
one card of a sequence; and, Mr. 
Trist reasoned, according to the new 
privilege, the leader might, by 
choosing different cards for the 
purpose, convey by convention dis- 
tinct items of information for each 
card. In settling how this should 
be arranged, he ingeniously took 
advantage of some ordinary expe- 
dients which had already prevailed 
for trick-making purposes. Mr. 
Trist reasoned thus: ' Here are 
two cases where it has been settled 
that differences are made in the 
card led, for the purpose of obtain- 
ing different results conducive to 
trick-making; why should not these 
differences be utilized also for giv- 
ing the partner information ? Why 
cannot we make it understood that 



in all cases of the leading of indif- 
ferent high cards, whether the gen- 
eral policy of trick-taking dictates 
it or not, the same rule shall ap- 
ply ?' He consulted 'Cavendish,' 
who warmly approved of the sug- 
gestion, and this at once was regis- 
tered and widely adopted as another 
item of American leads." 

After receiving all of Mr. Trist' s 
suggestions, from time to time, 
"Cavendish" rounded out and 
finished the whole scheme, and en- 
ergetically advocated it in public. 
He wrote, argued, discussed, an- 
swered questions and met objec- 
tions in the Field and other period- 
icals. He also lectured on the 
subject of the new leads, and in the 
following year (1885) published his 
book entitled " Whist Develop- 
ments, American Leads, and the 
Plain Suit Echo," which he dedi- 
cated to Mr. Trist, in honor of 
whose native land he had named 
the new system American leads. 
He described the leads at length, 
and laid down the following max- 
ims in defining them: " i. When 
you open a suit with a low card, 
lead your fourth best, 2. On quit- 
ting the head of your suit, lead 
your original fourth best, [This 
maxim caused considerable discus- 
sion for several years, and " Caven- 
dish " now prefers to say, lead the 
fourth best remaining in your hand, 
while Mr. Trist holds to it as first 
formulated.] 3. With two indiffer- 
ent high cards, lead the higher if 
you opened a suit of four; the lower 
if you opened a suit of five. ' * 

Although the promulgation of 
the leads gave rise to controversy 
and much violent opposition, which 
has by no means subsided as yet, 
they have been accepted by the 
great majority of whist-players in 
America. They were duly incor- 
porated, in 1886, by "Cavendish," 
m the edition of his " Laws and 



AMERICAN LEADS 



20 



AMERICAN LEADS 



Principles of Whist," as established 
rules of practice, and the American 
"Whist League, at its first annual 
congress, in 1891, formally adopted 
them as the system that should rule 
in the interplay of League clubs. 

As TOLD BY "Cavendish."— Long be- 
fore the system of Americau leads was 
thought of there were certain combina- 
tions of high cards, led in a particular 
way, which showed more than four in 
suit in the leader's hand. The most not- 
able, and perhaps the most ancient, of 
these, was the lead of king, from king, 
queen, knave, and one small card; the 
lead of knave, from king, queen, knave, 
and more than one small card. These 
leads are to be found in Hoyle, as early 
as 1742. 

But little progress was made in the di- 
rection of imparting information of num- 
ber, until I suggested that from ace, 
queen, knave, and one small, ace then 
queen should be led; that from ace, 
queen, knave, more than one small, ace 
then knave should be led. 

This was originally proposed by me at 
the same County Club where the penulti- 
mate was first played (see Whist of Janu- 
ary, 1894). A remarkably good player, 
my partner, led ace then queen from a 
very long suit, of which I had king and 
two small. I did not unblock, and the 
consequences were disastrous. My part- 
ner maintained that I should have played 
king on his queen. I maintained, if his 
suit was so long that he wished me to 
unblock, he should have followed the ace 
with the lowest of his queen-knave se- 
quence. A discussion ensued (I wish I 
had noted the date), and after consider- 
ing and analyzing the cases, I shortly 
after electrified the County Club players 
by announcing that, in future, from ace, 
queen, knave, more than four in suit, I 
should lead ace, then knave; and that 
from queen, knave, ten, more than four 
in suit, I should lead queen, then ten. 
This, I was informed, was another of my 
"dodges" for showing number, for 
which I was told later I had a " veritable 
craze." 

I replied that the exhibition of number 
was only a collateral issue of such leads, 
the true principle being that if you want 
your partner to win the second round 
you should play the lowest of cards in se- 
quence, such a card being a card of pro- 
tection in case your partner is weak. 
This is invitation to him not to pass the 
trick unless such a play suits his hand; 
the reverse play is a distinct invitation to 
him not to win the trick. Now, as it 
happened, from my analysis, that I 
should seldom lose by inviting my part- 



ner to win my trick when I held five of 
the suit, but that I should often lose by 
holding out the invitation to win a trick 
twice over, with only four, I had con- 
cluded only to make the winning invite, 
when I had more than four of my suit 
originally. 

Finally, I carried my point, as regards 
these two leads, and also as regards the 
lead of knave, from knave, ten, nine, 
etc., now abandoned in plain suits. The 
higher of two indifferent cards, on the 
second round, meant a maximum of four; 
the lower, a minimum of five. And here 
the matter remained for a long time, 
until Mr. Trist proposed to apply the 
same rule of play to the lead of ten from 
king, knave, ten, etc , on the second 
round, when queen is forced on the first 
round. Then simultaneously (our letters 
crossed on the Atlantic), we formulated 
the rule: with two high indifferent cards, 
lead the higher if you opened a suit of 
four cards; the lower if you open a suit 
of more than four. _ The advantage of 
this policy, once pointed out, is so ob- 
vious, that no serious opposition has 
ever been offered to the above-described 
method of leading from high indifferent 
cards. 

It also became obvious that on the lead 
of a knave, from king, queen, knave, etc., 
which shows five to start with, king and 
queen become high indifferent cards. 
Hence, the second lead of king proclaims 
the original possession of five exactly; 
the second lead of queen equally pro- 
claims the possession originally of six or 
more. 

Later on, the ace, king, queen-leads had 
to be reconsidered. It was finally agreed 
that an original lead of queen, which wins 
the trick, shows your partner to have a 
suit of more than four, provided he does 
not hold both ace and king. The ace and 
king become high indifferent cards; 
hence, queen followed by ace shows five 
exactly; queen followed by king shows 
more than five. 

It is not agreed that any great advan- 
tage results, as a rule, from showing more 
than five. As I stated in the previous 
article (see IVht'st of January, 1894), suits 
of six or seven cards in most cases de- 
clare themselves from the fall of the 
cards. Still, it is advisable, in order to 
complete the system, and to show how 
cards can be made to talk, to include the 
cases where more than five cards are 
held. The most important point is to 
enable partner to distinguish between 
four and more than four. 

The American system of leading was as 
yet incomplete, as no provision had been 
made for the case of leading a high card 
and then a low one. Thus, from ace and 
four or more small, lead ace, then small. 
But which of the small ones should be 



AMERICAN I^EADS 



21 



AMERICAN LEADS 



selected ? Mr. Trist and I set to work to 
answer this question. Five at least in 
suit is declared on the second lead. It is 
obvious that with knave, ten, nine, etc., 
in suit, the card to lead after the ace is 
the nine, to protect the suit if partner 
should hold neither king nor queen. 
With lower cards, the best second lead is 
still disputed. Mr. Trist is of opinion 
that the original fourth best should be 
led after ace. With all respect to that 
eminent authority, I am of opinion that 
the fourth best of those remaining in 
hand is to be preferred. Thus, from ace, 
knave, nine, eight, two, Mr. Trist would 
lead ace, then eight ; I should lead ace, 
then two. I have worked out all the 
principal combinations, and I find the 
pros and cons may be summed up as 
follows : The lead of the original fourth 
best after ace, gives the third hand a 
somewhat better chance of unblocking on 
the second round, than the lead of the 
fourth best of those remaining. On the 
other hand, the lead of the original fourth 
best after ace, gives the second hand a 
somewhat better chance of finessing 
successfully on the second round, than 
the lead of the fourth best of those re- 
maining in hand. Hence, what has to be 
decided, is the relative advantage or dis- 
advantage of these possibilities to either 
or both sides. In my opinion , the balance 
of advantage to the leader and his part- 
ner, is slightly with the lead of the fourth 
best remaining in hand after ace has 
been led. Mr. Whitfeld is of opinion that 
further experience is required; he favors 
the fourth of those remaining in hand, 
as against the original fourth best; but 
he does not feel sure that any but the 
lowest should be led after the ace. Hence, 
referring to the title of these articles, the 
"Origin of American Leads," I cannot 
say that this branch has as yet had an 
"origin," beyond the origin of consider- 
ation and discussion. 

Mr. Trist and I agree as to the best 
card to lead on the second round, when 
queen is led from king, queen, and three 
or more small cards and queen wins, only 
we class the lead somewhat differently. 
I lead the fourth best of those remaining 
in hand; Mr. Trist leads the original 
fourth best, ignoring the king (which is 
marked with the leader). Thus, from 
king, queen, ten, eight, five, two; we 
should both lead queen, then five. 

The only unconsidered case, under 
this head, is that in which ten is led 
originally, from king, knave, ten, etc., 
and wins. The third hand must hold 
queen. Hence, a small card has to be next 
led. If I led from a four-card suit, I can- 
not continue with the fourth best of those 
remaining in hand, as I only have three. 
I must lead my only low card, and can 
give no information as to number. I am 



inclined to the view that if I had five 
originally, I should still lead the lowest, 
i. e., the fourth of those remaining in 
hand, and not attempt to give evidence 
of number. With more than five origi- 
nally, I don't think it is of much conse- 
quence which of the small cards I lead, 
but I am prepared to lead the fourth best 
of those remaining in hand, if I have four, 
and Mr. Trist and other authorities 
agree. The lead of ten, from king, knave, 
ten, etc., is exceptional, in that it defies 
classification with other leads, and the 
subsequent play also defies classification. 
— "Cavendish" IL.A.}. Whist, Feb., i8gs- 

As TOLD BY Foster. — " American 
leads," as they are called, may be divided 
into three parts, none of which origi- 
nated in America: i. The lead of the penul- 
timate and antepenultimate. "Cam," 
about i860, suggested the lead of the low- 
est but one, when holding suits of five or 
more, not headed by an honor. This was 
published in 1865. "Cavendish," in the 
Field, November, 1872, suggested the lead 
of the lowest but one from all suits of 
five or more when a high card was not 
led originally. Drayson, in 1879, for the 
first time, proposed the antepenultimate, 
stating that he had played it for several 
years previously. From an American 
player, N. B. Tnst, came the suggestion 
to count from the top instead of the bot- 
tom. The idea had already been sug- 
gested in the Westminster Papers, eight 
years before (see vol. 7, p. i8g, January, 
1875). 2. The principle of long and short 
jumps, fully explained in F. W. M., pages 
40 and 42. This has been so long a part 
of the game that it is not peculiar to any 
system of leads. It is given in early 
editions of " Cavendish " long before 
American leads were heard of. 3. The 
unwritten fourth rule of American leads, 
which involves the most radical changes 
in all leads from high-card combinations. 
In the fourth edition of [" Cavendish's "] 
" Whist Developments, " pages 7 and 17, 
the first two rules are given, and the 
third on page 29, all in red ink; but the 
most important of all is in a two-line 
paragraph at the bottom of page 17. This 
hitherto unpublished fourth rule of 
American leads is as follows: "Never 
lead a king if you have more than four 
cards of the suit." This * * * is 
"Cavendish," pure and simple, with 
nothing American about it. For the sake 
of clearness, I have always called the 
system of leads which the adoption of 
this fourth rule entails, the anti-king 
leads.— .^. F. Foster IS. 0.\ "Duplicate 
Whist and Whist Strategy,^'' i8g4_. 

As TOLD BY Pettes. — The history of 
American leads is as follows: Six years 
ago in April, an illustrated hand of 
whist, by " N. B. T.," of New Orleans, 
was printed in the I/jndon Field. In it. 



AMERICAN IvEADS 



22 



AMERICAN LEADS 



A held ace, queen, knave, ten, seven, of 
a suit, and he led first ace, then ten. It 
was the germ of a revolutionary plan. 
"Cavendish " annotated the hand, and, 
as his comments clearly show, did not 
suspect the announcement of the fourth- 
best card. In June Mr. Trist printed 
another hand, in which A leads the 
original fourth best, and Z is made to 
lead first ace, then fourth best. Two 
■weeks later "I,incoln's Inn" furnished 
a hand in which A leads first ace spades 
then two spades, holding three more, 
and Y, holding ace, king, queen, seven, 
six diamonds, plays ace, then king, then 
queen. No adverse comment to either 
mode of play is editorially made. Mr. 
Trist, a few weeks later, in a letter to the 
Field, proposed that after the head of a 
suit had been quitted, the next lead 
should properly be the original fourth 
best, showing exactly two cards higher. 
"Cavendish" wrote that "to formulate 
such a rule would be more diflScult than 
Mr. Trist expected." Mr. Trist printed 
his illustrated play of the original fourth 
best, in defense of his position, in May, 
1884. That " Cavendish " had not at that 
date agreed to its supremacy is evident, 
for in June following "Cavendish" printed 
one of his own hands, leading the pen- 
ultimate from a suit of seven cards. 

Mr. Trist, having promulgated his plan 
of the leads of ace, then fourth best, and 
of original fourth best, and having clearly 
shown to the satisfaction of first-class 
players everywhere that his system was 
to supersede all others, printed his ex- 
planation of the manner in which the 
original leader, when he became second, 
third, or fourth player, should use his 
equal trick-making cards. He says: "As 
some of your readers may not be familiar 
with the American rule, I state it as fol- 
lows: ' On the second round of your suit 
which you originally led, if you remain 
with two high indifferent cards, both of 
which your partner can infer to be in 
your hand, play the higher if you opened 
a suit of four cards, the lower if a suit of 
five or more.' " 

Meantime, while Mr. Trist was pre- 
senting his American leads, he was met 
by the most determined opposition. The 
vituperative articles he distilled in his 
m.ental alembic. The following remark- 
able passage in one of his letters admits 
of no reply: "The great majority of 
players lack the quick perception which 
will enable them to take full advantage 
of the information imparted, but this is 
no reason why really first-rate players 
should be deprived of that information." 

"Cavendish" and some others began 
to see that the American system of leads 
must displace that to which they were 
accustomed, and they frankly made 
known their opinions. But the jealousy 



against Mr. Trist crept out among many 
ot the English players. Some of them 
wanted that 'Cavendish," because he had 
previously used the penultimate, should 
share the credit. But the editor of the 
Field would not have it so, and says of 
"N. B. T.": "Surely a man who con- 
ceives a general principle of play stands 
on a higher pedestal than one who 
proposes a special course in special in- 
stances." 

One of the English player-writers ad- 
vocated the claim of " Cavendish " to a 
share in the authorship of American 
leads, on the ground that he had pro- 
posed a knave from a queen, knave, five 
in suit. The editor of the Field very 
properly said to him: "You might as 
well credit Hoyle with the authorship of 
the American leads because, in 1742, he 
proposed the lead of knave from king, 
queen, knave, and two others." And the 
editor of the Field does not hesitate to 
state with emphasis: "The formulation 
of a general principle of play was first 
proposed by N. B. T. To him is due the 
extension to other cases, and the credit 
of the generalization." 

Mr. Trist gives "Cavendish" much 
praise for his assistance in the publica- 
tion of his plans In a letter to " G. W. 
P.." Mr. Trist says; "It is a source of 
great satisfaction to me to see that Ameri- 
can leads meet such hearty approval." 
And he adds: "'Cavendish' of his own 
accord has admirably analyzed the un- 
blocking system of the third hand, and 
he should have the credit, by his earnest 
efforts in the Field, magazines, and lec- 
ture-rooms, of getting American leads 
adopted by the best players." The un- 
blocking system is as old as Folkestone, 
but its application in the very extended 
analysis in " Whist Developments " is, 
on the part of "Cavendish," ingenious, 
and, before the recent introduction of the 
" New Play," -was well-nigh exhaustive. 
The enmity to anything original, how- 
ever good, did not abate among the Eng- 
lish players. On the twenty-fourth of 
January, 1885. "Merry Andrew" ar- 
ranged' a hand which by the order of 
American leads might lose a trick, and, 
placing out of view the whole value of 
information given to partner, insisted 
upon leading the lowest card from a suit 
of six. On January 10, 1885, " Mogul," 
one of the "uncompromising bull-dogs," 
who "agree to nothing," whose "per- 
sonal rights are paramount to all consid- 
erations " (the quotations are the words 
of one of "Mogul's" contemporaries), 
determined not to acknowledge whatever 
could be considered an innovation upon 
a plan that, once having been thought 
proper, must be forever defended, argued 
in the /^(Wrf that A, holding queen, ten, 
eight, seven, four, two of a suit, should 



AMERICAN IvEADS 



23 



AMERICAN LEADS 



lead the two. " Cavendish," who had 
been converted to the new theory, en- 
deavored to show him that even the 
" Cavendish " idea of the penultimate 
lead would not answer, but that the Amer- 
ican lead of the seven was the only proper 
lead to make. 

"Cavendish" tells " Mogul," as "Mo- 
gul" states, "with the tone of an abso- 
lute whist dictator, that the penultimate 
is to be abolished altogether— that it will 
abdicate in favor of the card of uniform- 
ity, the fourth best." " Mogul " says : 
" ' Cavendish ' twits me with being, as 
regards my view, a minority of one, but 
this only proves his ignorance of the 
views of the players. Does he think his 
disciples constitute the entire world ?" 

From a letter of an American whist- 
player we quote : " The short- whist play- 
ers seem to have an idea that Hoyle pat- 
ented whist, and that his patent having 
expired, ' Cavendish ' alone sells the 
manufactured article." And there are 
those who cry : " Hoyle is great, and 
' Cavendish ' is his prophet !" But " Cav- 
endi.sh," on the evening of Wednesday, 
February 25, 1885, in the drawing-room of 
the United Whist Club, in I/>udon, read 
his lecture upon American leads, ad- 
vising their adoption becau.se of their 
superiority, and stating that "they owed 
their full development to Nicholas Browse 
Trist, of New Orleans, U. S. A." 

American leads were adopted^ in this 
country, and put into practice immedi- 
ately upon their announcement. The 
fourth best, as a matter of principle and 
play, and not as a penultimate card, 
merely indicative of one lower held, was 
instantl3' in favor here among the best 
players —G. JV. Pettes [Z.. A. P.], ''Amer- 
ican Whist Illustrated." 

As TOLD BY N. B. Trist.— N. B. TrLst, 
the father of American leads, gives their 
history in an exhaustive and most inter- 
esting article in Harper's Magazine for 
March, 1891. He begins by calling atten- 
tion to the fact that the great majority 
of players have rather confused ideas 
as to the time when some of the most 
important features were incorporated 
into the game. Laboring under the im- 
pression that all there is good in whist 
has been introduced in comparatively 
modern times, they are surprised to learn 
that a good many of the rules, as laid 
down by Hoyle, are now^ followed by them 
in daily practice. Among these is the 
rule laid down in his book, in 1742, that 
with king, queen, jack, and two or more 
small cards, the jack should be led. The 
rule that when returning partner's lead, 
you should play the higher card having 
but two remaining, and the lowest hav- 
ing three, is al.so old, having been first 
printed by Payne. The next important 



development was the call for trumps, 
and then came " Cavendish," with his 
protective discard from strength (1867), 
the penultimate lead from suits of more 
than five cards (1872), the echo of the 
call (1874): and on September 11 and Oc- 
tober 16, 1S75, he published in the Field 
two articles which, to Mr. Trist's mind, 
"are so important as forerunners of the 
present system of American leads, show- 
ing what was then ' in the air,' as it has 
since been called," that he quotes from 
them at length. 

" From ace, queen, knave, and two or 
more small ones," said "Cavendish," in 
one of these articles, " the proper lead is 
ace, then knave, instead of the usual ace, 
then queen; because, with five of suit, 
you want partner, if he held king and 
two small ones originally, to put his king 
on second round." He also says: " The 
usual lead from ace, queen, knave, ten, 
is ace, then queen. This, however, is 
wrong, as it is not the game for partner 
to put king on queen led after ace, he 
having king and two small ones origi- 
nally. He, therefore, blocks the suit on 
the third round. The proper lead from 
ace, queen, knave, ten, with or without 
small ones, is ace, then ten. * * * The 
partner of the player who leads ace, then 
ten, should put the king on the ten — in 
plain suits — if he had three originally, 
but not if he had four. Hence * ■" * the 
third player's hand can be counted when 
he has the king." He then proceeds to 
show that, by a parity of reasoning, 
the proper lead from the queen, knave, 
ten combination is queen, then knave, 
with four in suit; and queen, then ten, 
with more than four. 

"These leads," says Mr. Tri.st, "were 
evidently so correct that they found im- 
mediate favor. They are introduced in 
the eleventh edition of ' Cavendish on 
Whist,' 1876. From the foregoing," he 
adds, " it would appear that a great whist 
advance was made between the years 1867 
and 1876." 

Drayson's recommendation, in T879, of 
the lead of the antepenultimate from a 
suit of six cards, is next noticed. Dray- 
son "furthermore suggested, with ace 
and five others, to lead the ace, then the 
smallest but one — that is, the original 
fifth best. This, to some extent, fore- 
shadowed American leads, although the 
object of the Drayson rules was solely to 
show number. In the Field for April 8, 
1882, the same author suggested that, 
when the trumps were all out, the play 
of an unnecessarily high card would be 
a direction to change the suit. He argues 
that the call for trumps is, in reality, a 
command to ' change the suit to trumps;' 
consequently when, the trumps being all 
out, you play an unnecessarily high card, 
you can only imply that you want the 



AMERICAN LEADS 



24 



AMERICAN LEADS 



suit changed to another plain suit. This 
suggestion appears to be sound, and will 
no doubt be eventually adopted as a rule 
of play by advanced players. 

" In three articles, the first of which 
appeared in the Field of April 28, 1883, 
Dr. William Pole applied the laws of 
probabilities to the ever-vexed question 
of the play of the king and a small card, 
second hand, with the result of confirm- 
ing the practice of playing the small card, 
as a general rule." 

With these preliminaries Mr. Trist ap- 
proaches the epoch of American leads; 
and first of all he states the rules by 
which they are governed, as follows: 

" I. When you open a strong suit with 
a low card, lead the fourth best. 

" 2. When you open a strong suit with 
a high card, and next lead a low card, 
lead the original fotirtli best, ignoring in 
the count any high card marked in your 
hand. 

." $• When you remain with two high in- 
different cards, lead the higher, if you 
opened a suit of four; the lower, if you 
opened a suit of more than four. 

"Rules land 2," he continues, "are 
component parts of the principle govern- 
ing the original lead, which demands that 
it should be from the longest suit, inas- 
much as they provide a system which 
points out the card to he uniformly led 
from the long suit, under the contingen- 
cies mentioned in those rules. The selec- 
tion of the particular card to be led is not 
purely arbitrary, but is founded on rea- 
son." This he next demonstrates, say- 
ing among other things: 

"A suit of four cards is considered to 
be numerically strong, because it con- 
tains a number of cards over the average 
due to each player. It is the long suit of 
minimum strength, and therefore is the 
one held most frequently. It is, so to 
speak, the type of the long suit. 

" One of the results of opening a four- 
suit from the bottom is, that the leader 
remains with three cards higher than the 
one led. The information contained in 
this simple fact is very important, as it 
often enables the partner of the leader 
to place certain cards in his hands." 

The opening of a four-card suit thus 
aflfording valuable information, he asks, 
"can not this information be imparted 
in the opening of long suits containing 
more than four cards ? The solution of 
the question is simple: Bring that class 
of cases under one system and treat every 
long suit opened with a low card as if it 
contained four cards only: therefore, lead 
your fourth best, and the rest follows. 

"The second branch of American leads, 
which comes under rule 3," continues Mr. 
Trist, " relates to the lead of high indif- 
ferent cards, marked in the player' s hand, 
and is based on the principle that with 



such cards, in opening suits of more than 
average numerical strength, the aim 
should be to get the master card out of 
partner's hand so as to free the suit. This 
principle is at least as old as Hoyle, and 
he put it in practice, as we have seen 
above, by directing that, with king, queen, 
knave, and two small ones, you should 
begin with the knave, and giving the 
reasons for so doing. This was an isola- 
ted case, which 'stood alone in its glory,' 
until 'Cavendish,' carrying the principle 
one step further, introduced, in 1875, the 
modification of the three leads quoted 
above." 

In July, 1883, Mr.Trist proposed another, 
in a letter which he wrote to " Caven- 
dish," and in which he says: "With a 
suit headed by king, knave, ten, the lead 
of the ten forcing out the queen, I always 
follow with king when I had originally 
five or more. I have no book authority 
for this, but I find it gives my partner 
valuable information." In publishing 
the letter, "Cavendish" said he had sub- 
mitted the lead to several good players, 
and they were all of the opinion that it 
was correct and justifiable. The idea was 
susceptible, however, of being carried 
still further, and in March, 1884, Mr. Trist 
sentto the/z^Wa short article in which he 
suggested the adoption of the now gener- 
ally accepted rule for the play of high 
indifferent cards, arguing that it was 
based on the extension of a recognized 
principle, and giving a number of exam- 
ples. He comments as follows: 

" Mark how slowly the application of a 
whist principle seems to work itself into 
the human understanding. Hoyle gives 
an isolated case — king, queen, knave 
lead — involving a principle. One hundred 
and thirty-odd years elapse before ' Cav- 
endish' applies it to other leads; eight 
years more go by before the principle is 
extended to another isolated case — king, 
knave, ten example; and it takes another 
twelve months' mental incubation to 
bring forth the generalization of the 
principle. What appears to be specially 
worthy of note is the fact that the king, 
knave, ten example was before the best 
whist-players of the world for several 
months, and not one of them seems to 
have perceived that it was but the appli- 
cation to one case of the extension of a 
well-established principle, and which was 
susceptible of being generalized so as to 
embrace numerous cognate cases. 

" During the interval between the pub- 
lication of the two articles on the lead of 
high indiflferent cards, I furnished to the 
Field a letter on ' the penultimate lead on 
the second round of the suit' in which the 
penultimate was recommended as the 
proper lead after quitting the head of the 
suit, in order to show number. In com- 
menting ou this suggested method of 



AMERICAN LEADS 



25 



AMERICAN LEADS 



play, 'Cavendish,' in a ^zWrf article, after 
giving one favorable position and two 
unfavorable ones, concluded by saying: 
'If N. B. T. will class the cases after 
analysis in which a trick cannot be given 
away by his method, and can thence for- 
mulate a plain rule of play, I think his pro- 
posed method might be advantageously 
employed. Perhaps he will kindly try 
his hand at this, and send result to the 
Field. I think, however, he will iSnd it 
more troublesome than he expects.' 

"This elicited the suggested analysis 
published in the Field, April 5, 1884, the 
result of which was the formulating of a 
rule of play which would leave a never- 
varying interval of two cards between 
the card first led and the one led to the 
second round; afterward put in a more 
concise way by directing the follow of 
the ' original fourth best.' 

"The lead of the fourth best when 
opening a suit with a low card was not 
advocated by me in print, but was settled 
between ' Cavendish ' and me by corre- 
spondence. What is not generally known 
— for Mr. Henry Jones has modestly 
kept it to himself— is that he independ- 
ently suggested this rule of play in a 
letter wliich crossed one from me of the 
same import. In his letter ' Cavendish ' 
said: ' I call four the normal number in 
strong suits. It is the type; more than 
four IS very strong. Treat every suit 
(except ace-suits and king, queen, knave- 
suits with five) as though you held only 
four, without the supernumerary small 
cards.' I wrote: ' Treat every long suit as 
if it were originally the ordinary long 
suit of four cards; consequently, lead the 
fourth from the top, or drop down to the 
fourth from the top, on quitting the head 
of the suit.' 

" It seems from the above that our 
ideas on the subject ran parallel, and 
whatever credit may attach to the intro- 
duction of the fourth best when a low 
card is led, ' Cavendish ' is certainly en- 
titled to his share of it. 

" For some time after the publication 
of the articles in the Field, nothing more 
appeared in print on the subject. In the 
meantime it was evident from the letters 
of Mr. Jones that ' American leads,' as he 
called them, were growing in his estima- 
tion. He wanted me to publish them in 
pamphlet form, but not being inclined to 
do so, I left it for him to champion the 
leads, and so on the ninth of August, 1884, 
there appeared in the Field the first arti- 
cle on American leads by ' Cavendish,' in 
the introduction to which he said: 
'Having satisfied ourselves that these 
leads are sound and in harmony with 
general principles of play, and that they 
are advantageous to those who practice 
them, there is evidently but one course 
open to us, viz., to give them our unquali- 



fied support.' In this, and in two other 

articles which followed during the same 
month, he explained the whole system 
of American leads in a clear and forcible 
manner, which must have carried con- 
viction to any unbiased mind. 

" That an unknown individual, signing 
himself N. B. T., was suggesting some 
innovations to the game seemed to be a 
matter of perfect indifierence to the con- 
servatives, who paid not the slightest 
attention to his articles; but when ' Cav- 
endish' declared that he intended to give 
his unqualified support to American 
leads, the mediaeval division of players 
rose up in arms against the proposed 
improvements. 

" ' Mogul,' a whist celebrity, put on his 
war paint, and made some savage attacks 
in the Field on American leads and their 
authors, denouncing the leads as ' abomi- 
nable modern inventions.' ' Pembridge,' 
the clever author of ' Whist, or Bumble- 
puppy?' rushed into print with 'The 
Decline and Fall of Whist,' in which he 
gave vent to his pent-up feelings 'of ab- 
horrence of the recent proceedings of the 
new academy;' and several of the lesser 
whist lights also entered the lists against 
American leads. 

"The denunciations of these parties 
did not in the least alter ' Cavendish's' 
opinion, for he continued to champion 
American leads in every possible man- 
ner. In February, 1885, he delivered a 
lecture on the subject to a large gather- 
ing of prominent whist-players, in the 
drawing-room of the United Whist Club, 
in London, a summary of which appeared 
in the New York Spirit of the Times, 
March 14, 1885. The following month he 
published, in the same paper, an article 
entitled ' Mr. Barlow on American Leads 
at Whist,' containing an instructive les- 
son under the guise of a clever travesty 
of the old-fashioned style of ' Sandford 
and Merton,' and of the pompousness of 
Mr. Barlow, who did not forget to back 
up Harry and snub Tommy, as was his 
habit. In December of the same year 
he published an article on American 
leads in Baile-ifs Magazine, and, finally, 
after the pros and cons had been pretty 
thoroughly threshed out in the Field, he 
incorporated the whole system of Ameri- 
can leads in the sixteenth edition of his 
'Laws and Principles of Whist,' 18S6, the 
recognized text-book of the whist-player. 
From that moment the future of those 
leads, as a permanent feature of the 
game, was assured." 

American Leads, Objections 

to. — The four most conspicuous 
opponents of the American leads 
among whist-writers of acknowl- 
edged ability were: "Mogul" 



AMERICAN LEADS 



26 



AMERICAN LEADS 



(Matthias Boyce), R. A. Proctor, 
and "Pembridge" (J. P. Hewby), 
in England; and R. F. Foster, in 
America. Bitter, indeed, was the 
war of words which these gentlemen 
waged upon the new system of 
leads, from its first promulgation. 
"Pembridge" wrote his "Decline 
and Fall of Whist" for the purpose 
of combatting the rapidly spread- 
ing heresy, and "Mogul" was 
savage in his denunciations, de- 
claring that ' ' the modern signal- 
game is fit only for sharpers and 
rogues, who may constantly play 
together and invent their own sig- 
nals. It is," he continued, "put- 
ting the cart before the horse to 
say that the old rules for leading, 
etc. , were devised to give informa- 
tion; the fact being that such rules 
are the result of calculation and 
experience as to the best chances 
of trick -making, and the inferences 
made from the play are rational and 
logical deductions, and not merely 
conventional knowledge. ' ' He in- 
sisted that arbitrary conventions 
were not only useless from a trick- 
making standpoint, but an insvilt 
to the intelligence of partner, who 
must be assumed so stupid that he 
can do nothing without special di- 
rections. If the system is known 
to all the players at the table, why 
not announce the combination by 
word of mouth ? " Partner, I have 
six clubs, ace, king, queen, at the 
head." This, he argued, is done 
in several card games, notably, 
manille, which closely resembles 
whist; and he further quoted, as a 
precedent, that in the old game of 
triontphe, or triumph, the part- 
ners could show their hands to 
each other. Proctor attacked the 
new system in numerous essays, 
among others in Longman' s Mag- 
azine for April, 1886. Mr. Foster, 
on this side of the water, also car- 
ried on a determined warfare against 



the new system; but so strongly 
in its favor was the weight of pub- 
lic opinion, swayed by the logic 
of "Cavendish," Trist, Ames, Ham- 
ilton, and other well-known ad- 
vocates, that the doughty champion 
of the old leads incorporated in 
his own works on whist disserta- 
tions on the heretical leads, and 
instructions how to learn them. 
Mr. Foster has not only constantly 
opposed the new leads on theoreti- 
cal grounds, but he has sought in 
every way to belittle the work of 
" Cavendish" and Trist in invent- 
ing and perfecting the new system, 
claiming that there is, practically, 
nothing new in it. In one of his 
recent articles in the Monthly Illus- 
trator, he saj's of the leads: " The 
author had the pleasure of discuss- 
ing them with Mr. Loraine Bald- 
win, the author of ' The Laws of 
Whist,' and in his day one of the 
most distinguished players in Eng- 
land. He could not see the slight- 
est advantage in the new leads, 
and said none of the best players 
of his acquaintance had adopted 
them. Mr. Trist, on the other 
hand, thinks their introduction 
'marks a great whist advance.' 
* Pembridge' says the advance is 
toward the decline and fall of 
whist." 

Owing to the uncertainty on the first 
round as to what combinations American 
leads may be from, those adopting them 
are taught never to trump the first honor 
led by their partners, and never to begin 
a trump signal with only two cards. Of 
course, the longer the suit, the more 
probability of some one being void of it, 
and many are the tricks lost by failing 
to trump the queens of American-lead 
partners.—/?. F. Foster \S. 0.\ 

" American leads" are a jumble of in- 
consistencies. They are not American at 
all, having been unsuccessfully urged 
upon the attention of whist-players 
several times during the century; always 
by Englishmen in English works and 
papers. They are called modern, but 
they were first suggested ninety years 
ago. They are called scientific, but" they 



AMERICAN LEADS 



27 



AMERICAN LEADS 



■will not stand the most superficial com- 
parative analysis. They are said to give 
more information than the old leads, 
but it has been conclusively shown that 
they do not give as much. They are said 
to have been invented for the sole pur- 
pose of showing the number of cards in 
the suit, but their inventor says they 
were designed solely to avoid unblocking 
on the king. They are said to take the 
place of the old leads, and to necessitate 
anyone who has learned those "un- 
learning" them in order to play the 
modern game; but no one can play the 
American leads with less than five cards 
in a Suit, so they all have to learn the old 
system, in order to know the leads from 
the more common suits of four cards. 
They are said to be the most "complete, 
harmonious, and perfect system of play 
ever invented;" but their advocates are 
continually suggesting new remedies for 
their admitted defects, and their original 
inventor, "Cavendish," even goes so far 
as to acknowledge that he thinks the 
second maxim is a fallacy. They are said 
to have been adopted by all the best 
players.but the players who have adopted 
them have lost every duplicate whist 
match on record, in which they have 
been opposed to players of the old leads. — 
R. F. Foster [5. 0.\" Whist Manual'' 
(third edition, i8g6). 

When " Cavendish '' visited this coun- 
try he met most of our strongest players, 
and he stated it as his opinion that Mr. 
Harry S. Stevens, of the Chicago Univer- 
sity Club, was the best player he met in 
America — an opinion which is well sup- 
ported by Mr. Stevens's enviable record 
as a successful tournament player. 
Judging from the published examples of 
his play, he is a staunch adherent of 
American leads: yet here is a [quotation 
from a] letter from him which will sur- 
prise many of our leading players: 

" I am glad of the opportunity of stating 
my position to you. I have felt from the 
beginning that for whist-players of the 
best class, the number-showing leads 
would prove a positive injury to the 
game. It seemed to me that the very 
fact that they would furnish an easier 
method of counting partner's hand was, 
for players of the highest order, against 
them; for they then must handicap in 
some degree the finer whist perception 
which, before their adoption, was accus- 
tomed to count the hands, not from any 
such manifest indications, but from the 
more difficult data afforded by the fall of 
the small cards. As I wished to give 
them a thorough trial before making up 
my mind in regard to them, I have used 
them in my play. But the more I use 
them, and study' their use by others, the 
more firmly I am convinced that my first 



impressions in regard to them were 
sound." 

Coming from such a well-known player, 
this is a very strong argument against 
American leads. At the same time, we 
should be very sorry to see them set 
aside, for it is unlikely that we shall ever 
again have such a powerful recruiting 
agency. In the whist literature of the 
past few years we find a vast army of 
writers and players upholding American 
leads as the quintessence of scientific 
whist. Opposed to them we find a single 
author who has consistently fought for 
what he considers the more intellectual 
game — the old leads, with an occasional 
resort to the short suits. The advocates 
of the new leads base their argument 
chiefliy on their almost universal adop- 
tion in America; but to our mind this 
only goes to support our assertion that 
the great majority of whist-players are 
still in the preliminary stages of their 
development. — R. F. Foster [S. O.], New 
York Sun, January 12, i8g6. 

There are only four combinations of 
cards affected by the new system of lead- 
ing, which are as follows: 

[{x) Ace, king, queen, jack, andanother; 
(2} ace, king, queen, and two others; (3) 
ace, king, and three others; (4) king, 
queen, and three others.] 

Under the old system these were all 
king-leads, and if the player adopts the 
system of unblocking on the king, they 
are still king-leads, according to " Cav- 
endish," who says that failure to unblock 
on the king was the only reason for 
changing them. The name, "American 
leads," originated with " Cavendish," 
and was given as a sub-title to his 
"Whist Developments," published in 
1S85. The work contained no mention 
of American leads, as we understand 
them, but on page S3 an attempt was 
made to show that it was unsafe to un- 
block on a king led. Not until some 
years afterwards was it proposed to in- 
vite the partner to unblock by not lead- 
ing the king, the present system of leads 
being invented for that purpose. The 
system has been widely advertised and 
tried. In EJugland it has been rejected 
as confusing and unnecessary, but in 
America it has been very generally 
adopted, even by good players. When it 
was found that it was not unsafe to un- 
block on a king led, the apologists for 
these leads claimed that they should still 
be retained because they gave " fuller 
and clearer information." This also has 
been shown to be a fallacy, because they 
give no definite information on the first 
round, and add little to the old leads on 
the second. The chief objection to them 
is that they necessitate a backward game, 
for the partner must refuse to trump any 



AMERICAN I,EADS 



28 



AMERICAN WHIST 



original lead of a high card, and cannot 
safely begin a signal on the first round. 
If we carefully study these new leads, 
we shall find them easily learned by the 
application of the following rules, the 
first of which might be called the fourth 
maxim of American leads: Never lead a 
king if you have more than four cards 
of the suit. Having applied this rule, 
we shall find that the following will en- 
able us to lead correctly from any of the 
four combinations under consideration: 
Always lead the lowest of your head se- 
quence.—^. F. Foster [5. 0.], " IVhisi 
Manual" {third edition, i8g6). 

"American leads" propose a syste- 
matic course when opening the strong 
suit at whist, thus bringing the whole 
scheme of leading within the purview 
of general principles. Three objections 
have been urged against the adoption of 
American leads: 

(i) That they complicate the game. 
It is no objection to an intellectual game 
that lit exercises the minds of the play- 
ers. There is yet another answer to this 
so-called " objection," viz., a simple de- 
nial of its truth. Seven years' experi- 
ence has caused many thoughtful players 
to conclude that American leads simplify 
the game; and others admit that, at 
least, the complication argument has 
been grossly exaggerated, 

(2) That they seldom affect the result. 
The explanation is that American leads 
add little which is new to the game. They 
rather aim at consolidating the old prac- 
tice, and at extending a law of uniform- 
ity to cases not hitherto provided for. 

(3) That the precise information af- 
forded may be of more use to the oppo- 
nents than to the leader's partner. Under 
similar whist conditions, it is an acknowl- 
edged advantage to convey information 
of strength, notwithstanding that it is 
published to the whole table. It seems 
unlikely that a player will be at a disad- 
vantage, in the long run, because he im- 
parts too much information. No further 
answer could be made to this objection on 
the first introduction of American leads. 
Now the necessary experience has been 
obtained, it may be stated without fear 
of contradiction, that no players who have 
once adopted these leads have volun- 
tarily relinquished them, on the ground 
that the adversaries have benefited more 
than the leader and his partner, in con- 
sequence of the information afforded. 

No doubt, moderate players may lack 
the quick perception which would enable 
them to take full advantage of the Amer- 
ican maxims. This is no reason why 
better players should be deprived of that 
advantage. Beginners can at least be 
drilled fnto playing according to rules 
which practical experience has shown to 
be sound in theory. Whether the student 



will be able to profit by the application 
of such rules must depend upon his apti- 
tude for the game. At all events, he may 
easily learn to speak its language intelli- 
gibly, for the benefit of partners who 
understand it. 

Two cautions are necessary to the would- 
be American leader as regards the use 
to be made by the adversaries of the in- 
formation given. The first is, that these 
leads are valueless unless partner is a 
player who counts the cards and who is 
prepared to unblock the long suit in the 
manner detailed in this volume. The 
second is, that when the opponents have 
shown considerable strength in trumps, 
and especially when they have the com- 
mand, it is not advisable, in many cases, 
to provide them with opportunities for 
counting, with precision, the unplayed 
cards in the weak hands. This is a mat- 
ter of judgment, for which no general 
rule can be laid down. — " Cavendish " 
[L. A.\ ''Whist Developments" (fourth 
edition, 1891). 

"American Whist."— This term 
was brought into prominence by 
George W. Pettes, the first Ameri- 
can to publish an original work on 
the game. Mr. Pettes was an en- 
thusiastic advocate of American, as 
distinguished from English or 
foreign, whist. He was one of the 
first in this country to play the 
now generally accepted game of 
seven points without honors; and 
while his writings and ideas have 
not lacked opposition and criticism, 
in some respects, even in his 
native land, there can be no doubt 
of their interest and value, or of 
the influence which they have ex- 
ercised upon the development of 
whist in America. It seems to 
have been his ambition to have all 
the improvements and systems of 
play in this country united under 
the name of American whist, with 
himself as special advocate and de- 
fender. In conformity with this 
idea, he incorporated the American 
leads as part of his system, supple- 
menting the labors of Trist and 
"Cavendish" with what he called 
the "New Play" [q. v.). The 
material differences between his 



AMERICAN WHIST 



29 AMERICAN WHIST LBAGUB 



system and the American leads 
proper were as follows: Leading 
ace also from ace, queen, ten, 
nine; and from ace, jack, ten, 
nine. Leading queen from queen, 
jack, and two below the seven; 
and from queen, jack, nine, and 
two or more. Leading jack from 
jack, ten, nine, and one or more; 
and from jack, ten, and two small. 
Leading ten from ace, king, queen, 
jack, and ten only; from king, 
queen, jack, ten, and one or more; 
and from king, jack, ten, and one 
or more. The nine he treated as a 
high card, and led from a single 
combination — ^king, jack, nine, 
with or without otiiers (except ace 
and queen). 

Short whist, not counting honors, as 
played in America and France, is known 
as American whist. It is played now a 
good deal in England, and is there grow- 
ing in favor. — A. J. Mcintosh \L. A^, 
''Modern IVhist," 1888. 

In 1878, the Berkeleys, of Boston, framed 
a series of orders to govern the revision 
of long whist, and called the new play 
the American game. In 1889, the Des- 
chapelles Club, of Boston, adopted a com- 
pleted code of laws for the government 
of American whist.— G. IV. Pettes[L.A.P.], 
^''American IV/iisi Illustrated." 

About ten years ago a small club was 
formed in Boston, whose members, hav- 
ing great respect for the creed of the 
Folkestone circle, determined to study 
whist to the promotion of a like purpose, 
the glory of the game. Study convinced 
them not only that it was necessary for 
the development of the power of the 
cards that all of them should be played, 
but that it was not essential to shorten 
the game by giving points to cards 
which did not make tricks. They 
adopted James Clay's golden maxim, " It 
is of more importance to inform your 
partner than to deceive your adversary;" 
and his precept, "The best whist-player 
is he who plays the game in the most 
simple and intelligent way." They be- 
lieved that the laws for that player should 
be simple and intelligible, and framed a 
code of distinguished difference from the 
voluminous one that regulates the Eng- 
lish play. Their method was at once 
prepared for assimilation with and ac- 
ceptance of improvements and inven- 
tions which were somewhat rapidly to 
follow each other, and which were 



destined to be of the first importance to 
the permanency and credit of the game. 
The discard from the strong suit upon 
the opponent's trump play, the lead of 
the penultimate, and the echo of the call 
had been incorporated into the play of 
both long and short whist; but it was 
after the introduction of the amended 
and revised game, in practice in this 
country, to which these students gave 
the name of American whist, that the 
leads of ace, then king, if no more of the 
suit are held; of king, then knave, from 
the four honors; and of the nine when 
king and knave, and not ace or queen, 
are in hand, were adopted as standard 
plays in the best-ordered game. — G. IV, 
Peltes [L. A. P.], ''American IVhist Illus- 
trated." 

American Whfst League. — ^This V^ 
great organization, to which more 
than to any other one cause may 
be ascribed the wonderful popular- 
ity which whist enjoys in this 
country, was formed at Milwaukee, 
Wis., April 14-17, 1891. It was the 
outcome of the enthusiasm in whist 
play aroused by the Milwaukee 
Whist Club — the first at which 
whist was exclusively played at the 
time. Its high standard of play, 
and its almost unbroken line of 
victories over all the teams that 
could be mustered against its chief 
players, had given it deserved pres- 
tige at home and abroad, so that 
when it issued an invitation to the 
lovers of whist in America, to meet 
in the first whist congress ever held, 
the response was hearty and gen- 
eral. The leading spirit in the 
movement was Eugene S. Elliott, 
the founder of the club, and he is 
universally honored now as the 
founder of the League and its first 
presiding officer. 

The opening session of the con- 
gress was called to order, in the 
Ladies' Athenaeum building, by 
Cassius M. Paine, president of the 
Milwaukee Whist Club, and Mr. 
Elliott was made temporary and 
then permanent chairman. Twen- 
ty-five clubs were represented, and 
at various times, during subsequent 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 30 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



sessions, thirty-nine clubs partici- 
pated, being represented by eighty- 
three delegates. The work of the 
congress included the appointment 
of a committee which formulated 
a code of laws for the American 
game, differing in many important 
respects from that in force in Eng- 
land. Another important action 
was the adoption of the following 
resolution, offered by A. G. Safford: 
" Resolved, That the First Ameri- 
can Whist Congress, while it does 
not assume to dictate to the players 
of the game of whist whether or 
not such players shall lay wagers 
upon the result of the game, hereby 
declares itself of the opinion that 
betting on the result of the game 
by players or outsiders is contrary 
to good morals, tends to injure the 
game, and to deteriorate the style 
of plaj'." The congress also re- 
commended the American leads, as 
set forth in the appendix of the 
eighteenth edition of" Cavendish," 
as the system for the interplay of 
League clubs. 

One of the most interesting feat- 
ures of each annual congress of the 
League are the matches played by 
individuals and clubs. At the first 
congress, the straight whist match, 
twenty -six tables, Milwaukee vs. 
Visitors, was won by Milwaukee, 
by a score of 1525 to 1258. The 
Streeter diamond medal, for highest 
individual score at duplicate play, 
was won by E. Price Townsend, 
of the Hamilton Club, Philadel- 
phia. The duplicate whist match, 
Orndorff system, two tables, twenty- 
four deals, Milwaukee vs. Visitors, 
was won by the visitors by one 
trick. At this congress the cele- 
brated Hamilton Trophy {q. v.) 
was tendered to the League by Dr. 
M. H. Forrest, of the Hamilton 
Whist Club, Philadelphia, and duly 
accepted, 

Henry Jones ("Cavendish") and 



N. B. Trist were elected honorary 
members. Of the thirty-nine clubs 
represented at the congress, twenty- 
five joined the League, which was 
organized with Eugene S. Elliott 
as president, as did also twenty- 
three clubs not represented at the 
congress, thus making the total 
membership forty-eight clubs at the 
end of the first year. 

The Second Annual Congress. — 
At the second congress, held in New 
York, July 19-23, 1892, with an at- 
tendance of two hundred and thirty- 
eight delegates and sixty-nine al- 
ternates, representing thirty-four 
clubs, the laws governing the Amer- 
ican game, adopted at Milwaukee, 
were revised, as was also the League 
constitution, and Eugene S. Elliott 
was unanimously re-elected presi- 
dent. Sixteen clubs participated 
in the first match for the Hamilton 
Trophy, and in the final contest 
the Hamilton team and the Capital 
Bicycle Club team were tied for 
first place. The tie was played off 
at the next congress, when the 
Capitals, consisting of Messrs. Low, 
Wooten, Barrick, and Borden (the 
latter two taking the places of 
Messrs. Bingham and Eakin in the 
previous play), came off victorious. 

The total membership reported at 
the second congress was 69 clubs. 

The Third Annual Congress. — 
The third whist congress was held 
at Chicago, June 20-24, 1893. and 
was attended by two hundred and 
eighty-four delegates and fifty- 
three alternates, representing forty- 
six clubs. At this congress the 
work of the previous gatherings 
was perfected, the laws of whist 
being again revised and adopted, 
together with the etiquette of whist, 
Eugene S. Elliott was again elected 
president. The match of Chicago 
vs. AU-Americans, duplicate whist, 
eighty players on a side, was won 
by Chicago, by nineteen tricks. In 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 3 1 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



the match of Chicago vs. All- Amer- 
icans, straight whist, the visitors 
won by one hundred and thirty 
tricks. The first prize went to 
Messrs. Hinsley and Carleton, of 
the Carthage Whist Club, and the 
second prize to Messrs. Flint and 
Norton, of the Chicago Whist Club. 
The Hamilton Club Trophy (eigh- 
teen clubs entering) was won by 
the following team from the Min- 
neapolis Chess, Checkers, and Whist 
Club: J. H. Briggs, J. F. Whallon, 
O. H. Briggs, and George L. Bunn. 
The contest for club pairs (twelve 
clubs entering) was won by the 
Capital Bicycle Club, of Washing- 
ton. The free-for-all match, dupli- 
cate whist, progressive pairs, was 
won by W. H. Hawes and J. H. 
Baldwin, of the Chicago Whist Club. 
During the year five clubs withdrew 
or disbanded, and thirty-one joined, 
making a total of ninety-five when 
the next congress assembled at 
Philadelphia. There were thirty- 
six independent whist clubs; eigh- 
teen of which were departments of 
other clubs; three chess, checkers, 
and whist clubs; five athletic clubs, 
and thirty-three social clubs. The 
ninety-five clubs were situated in 
sixty-four cities and towns, in 
twenty-three States and the District 
of Columbia. The total member- 
ship of the clubs was 14,455, out of 
which 5166 were active whist-play- 
ers. There were also five honorary 
members of the League — Henry 
Jones ("Cavendish"), N. B. Trist, 
Fisher Ames, William Pole, and 
A. W. Drayson — and fourteen as- 
sociate inembers. 

The Fourth Annual Congress. — 
At the fourth congress, held at 
Philadelphia, May 22-26, 1894, the 
laws of duplicate whist were 
adopted. At this meeting there 
were present about four hundred 
and forty-four delegates and forty- 
seven alternates, representing fifty 



clubs. Captain John M. Walton, 
of Philadelphia, was elected presi- 
dent, to succeed Eugene S. Elliott, 
who, having served continuously 
from the organization of the League, 
declined further election. The 
organization of State leagues of 
whist clubs and inter-State leagues 
was suggested. The Hamilton Club 
Trophy (twenty-three clubs enter- 
ing) was won by the following team 
from the University Whist Club, of 
Chicago: J. L. Waller, W.Waller, J. 
H. Baldwin, and H. Trumbull. The 
progressive match for fours (twenty- 
nine teams entering) was won by 
the Albany (N.Y. ) Whist Club. In- 
dividual prizes went to E. L. Smith 
and B. Lodge, Jr., of the Albany 
Club, and Messrs, Walker and Staf- 
ford, of the Hyde Park Whist 
Club. The American Whist League 
Challenge Trophy, played for the 
first time (sixteen clubs entering), 
was won by the following team from 
the Minneapolis Chess, Checkers, 
and Whist Club: J. H. Briggs, O. 
H. Briggs, W. H. Wheeler, and W. 
G. Bronson, Jr. The straight whist 
match (one hundred and twenty- 
four players) was won by E. C. 
Howell and L. M. Bouve, of the 
American Whist Club, Boston. In 
the progressive match for pairs (fifty 
pairs entering), the winners were: 
Messrs. Taylor and Harban, each 
eleven tricks ahead of average 
north and south score; and Messrs. 
Evans and Russell, ten tricks ahead 
of average east and west score. 
The record prize was won by the 
University Whist Club, of Chicago. 
During the year eleven clubs 
withdrew or disbanded, but forty- 
four were added, making the total 
membership one hundred and twen- 
ty-eight. These clubs were situated 
in eighty-seven cities and towns, 
in twenty-five States and in the 
District of Columbia. New York 
State had twenty-eight clubs, in 



AMERICAN WHIST L:E)AGUE 32 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



eleven cities or towns; Illinois, thir- 
teen, in eight cities or towns; Penn- 
sylvania, eleven, in two cities or 
towns; Massachusetts, nine,in seven 
cities or towns; California and Wis- 
consin, seven each, in six cities or 
towns each ; Missiouri and Indiana, 
six each, in five cities or towns 
each; Michigan and Minnesota, 
five each, in five cities or towns 
each; New Jersey and Iowa, four 
each, in four cities or towns; Rhode 
Island, four, in two cities or towns; 
Washington, three, in three cities 
or towns; Oregon, three, in one 
city; South Dakota and Nebraska, 
two each, in two cities or towns; 
Delaware, Maryland, North Caro- 
lina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Ohio, 
Tennessee, and West Virginia, one 
each. Brooklyn had fourteen 
League Clubs; Philadelphia, ten; 
Chicago, six; Providence, Albany, 
Boston, New York, and Portland, 
Ore., three each; Indianapolis, 
St. Louis, Oakland, Cal., and Mil- 
waukee, two each. The clubs rep- 
resented in the League had a total 
membership of 21,758, of which 
6956 were whist-players. 

The Fifth Annual Congress. — At 
the fifth congress, held at Minne- 
apolis, Minn., June 18-22, 1895, 
fifty-five clubs were represented by 
delegates, and the attendance was 
large, as usual. President Walton 
was unable to attend, much to his 
regret. In a letter to the congress 
he made the following reference to 
a most important subject: "As 
long as our contests are not 
prompted by motives of gain they 
will commend themselves to the 
consideration of honorable and 
cultured men of all ages; and to 
maintain the integrity of our great 
American Whist League, so favor- 
ably known throughout the land, 
the policy inaugurated of depre- 
cating the playing for profit should 
be fearlessly adhered to." These 



words met with the hearty approval 
of all present. Attention was called 
to the fact that the League had, in 
February, been incorporated under 
the laws of Rhode Island, ' ' for the 
encouragement and promotion of 
the study and play of whist, and 
for other literary, educational, and 
social purposes connected there- 
with or incident thereto." The 
executive committee reported the 
following concerning private con- 
ventions, which was adopted by the 
League: "The committee ac- 
knowledges the right of contestants 
to use any well-known and estab- 
lished method of play, and any 
original method not given a secret 
pre-arranged meaning; but this 
committee emphatically disap- 
proves of private conventions, and 
defines a private convention to be 
any unusual method of play based 
upon a prior secret agreement." 
Theodore Schwarz, of Chicago, was 
elected president of the League, 
and Walter H. Barney, who for 
four years had faithfully served as 
recording secretary, was made vice- 
president; B. D. Kribben, of St. 
Louis, was elected recording secre- 
tary; R. H. Weems, of Brooklyn, 
was re-elected corresponding sec- 
retary, and B. L. Richards, of Rock 
Rapids, Iowa, was re-elected treas- 
urer. A cup was donated by the 
Minneapolis Chess, Checkers, and 
Whist Club, to be used as a trophy 
to be played for by pairs at each 
annual congress. The holding of a 
correspondence tourney between 
League clubs the coming winter 
was approved. 

The matches at the congress re- 
sulted as follows : The contest for 
the Hamilton Trophy for the year 
i895-'96, was won by the team 
from the Hyde Park Whist Club, of 
Chicago (Messrs. Rogers, Mitchell, 
Walker, and Parsons), by twelve 
tricks. The contest for the first 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 33 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



possession of the American Whist 
League Challenge Trophy for 1895- 
'96, was won by the team from the 
Nashville Whist Club (Messrs. 
Shwab, Cooper, Branner, and Mc- 
Clung), by five tricks. In the 
match for club pairs, Messrs. 
Smith and Snow, of the Albany 
(N. Y.) Whist Club, were the win- 
ners. The first progressive match 
for fours was won by Messrs. 
Wood, Parsons, Mitchell, and W. 
J. Walker, of the Chicago Whist 
Club. For the second progressive 
match for fours, the Executive Big 
Four (Messrs. Morse, Weems, 
Wooten,and Kribben) and the four 
from the Hamilton Club of Phila- 
delphia (Messrs. Work, Remak, 
Ballard, and Mogridge) were tie for 
first place, and prizes were awarded 
to both teams. The straight whist 
match was won by Messrs. Sperry 
and Wither! e, of the St. Paul Chess 
and Whist Club. 

During the year the League lost 
twenty-three clubs and enrolled 
thirty, making the total member- 
ship one hundred and thirty-four 
clubs, located in ninety-two cities 
and towns, with 25,765 members, 
of which 7208 where whist-players. 

The Sixth Annual Congress. — 
The sixth congress of the League 
was held at Manhattan Beach, 
Brooklyn, N. Y., June 23-27, 1896, 
when sixty-seven clubs were rep- 
resented by a large number of dele- 
gates. President Schwarz, in his 
opening address, made the follow- 
ing reference to a very important 
matter : ' ' There is still another sub- 
ject which I approach with some 
hesitation, because there is a differ- 
ence of opinion as to the policy to 
be pursued. At the first congress 
Mr. Trist was not present, but he 
sent us a communication in which 
he advocated the adoption of some 
text-book upon the game, for the 
purpose of making v;hist what it 



was intended to be, a language, and 
every card an intelligible sentence. 
He said, in that paper, that if a 
whist-player from the East met one 
from the West, it should not be 
necessary for them to ask each other 
what system they played, but the 
cards should speak for themselves. 
Nothing was done at that congress, 
and nothing has been done since. 
In common with others, I hoped 
that after that congress there would 
be a blending, and that the annual 
meetings would have a tendency to 
harmonize different systems and 
different methods. Instead of that, 
however, we have been getting 
wider and wider apart, until to-day 
a whist-player cannot sit at a table 
with a stranger without asking him 
what system he plays. New con- 
ventions have arisen. The echo 
means two or three different things. 
There are a half-a-dozen different 
methods of discard; there are long- 
suit theorists and short-suit theor- 
ists, and taken altogether there is 
a wider difference to-day than there 
was at the start. Now, it seems to 
me that it is the duty of the Ameri- 
can Whist League to correct this 
state of affairs, if it is possible. We 
can appoint a committee of expert 
players, men who have fought their 
way to the front, and let them sift 
the different methods in vogue at 
the present time, and recommend 
to the whist-players of the country 
that which they think is best. I do 
not mean by this that we should 
adopt any text-book upon the game, 
or that we should arbitrarily impose 
upon the players of the country 
any system, nor would I restrain 
individual liberty of action. It 
would be simply in the nature of a 
recommendation, and would tell the 
players of the American Whist 
League, and the whist-players at 
large, just what we thought was 
best, without preventing them 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 34 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



from playing something else, if 
they desired to do so. " A resolu- 
tion was adopted later, that the 
president appoint an advisory com- 
mittee to consider the feasibility of 
carrying out the suggestion in his 
opening address, "that a standing 
committee be appointed to sift the 
different methods or systems of 
play, etc., and recommend that 
which, in their judgment, is the 
best." The president appointed as 
such advisory committee: P. J. 
Tormey, Milton C. Work, R. H. 
Weems, Cassius M. Paine, N. B. 
Trist, H. A. Mandell, C. A. Hen- 
riques, George L. Bunn, and E. C. 
Howell. This committee, with one 
dissenter only — and that one with 
an " if" — approved the recommen- 
dation of President Schwarz, and 
asked the appointment of a per- 
manent standing committee to re- 
port at the seventh congress a sys- 
tem of play which, in their judg- 
ment, was the best, etc., and this 
was done, as follows: Committee on 
System of Play— Milton C. Work, 
Philadelphia; John H. Briggs, Min- 
neapolis; George W. Keehn, Chi- 
cago; George L. Bunn, St. Paul; 
Thomas A. Whelan, Baltimore; E. 
A. Buffintpu, Brooklyn; L. M. 
Bouv^, Boston. 

It was announced that the act of 
incorporation had been amended 
so as to provide for the admission 
to the League of " voluntary associ- 
ations and clubs ' ' of foreign coun- 
tries as well as those of this coun- 
try. A resolution was adopted 
that "the Hamilton Club Trophy be 
and the same is hereby declared to 
be the Championship Trophy of 
the American Whist League for 
teams of four representing League 
clubs." It was also decided that 
it be kept as a perpetual trophy to 
be played for at each annual con- 
gress, and held by the club winning 
it until the next succeeding con- 



gress. The annual dues of asso- 
ciate members were raised from 
two to five dollars. It was decided 
that the committee on laws con- 
sider the question of revising the 
code of both straight and duplicate 
whist during the coming year, and 
receive recommendations from 
clubs or individuals, and formulate 
a report. The only change in the 
ofl&cers made was the election of 
W. H. Barney as president, and H. 
A. Mandell as vice-president. 

The various contests at this con- 
gress resulted as follows: The Ham- 
ilton Trophj' was won by the team 
from the Hamilton Club, of Phil- 
adelphia (Messrs. Milton C. Work, 
GustavusRemak, Jr., E. A. Ballard, 
and Frank P. Mogridge). The A. 
W. L. Challenge Trophy was won 
by the team from the Whist Club, 
New York (Messrs. C. A. Hen- 
riques, W. E. Hawkins, C. R. 
Keiley, and E. A. Bufifinton). The 
contest for the Minneapolis Tro- 
phy, for pairs representing League 
clubs, resulted in a tie between 
the pair from the Hamilton Club, 
of Philadelphia ( Messrs. Paul Clay- 
ton and Arthur D. Smith), and the 
team from the Baltimore Whist 
Club (Messrs. Beverley W. Smith 
and A. H. McCay). The final re- 
sult was determined by the trick 
score, and the Baltimoreans thereby 
won the trophy. The contest for 
the Brooklyn Trophy, for teams rep- 
resenting auxiliary associations, 
was won by the fourteen players 
representing the New England 
Whist Association, by nine tricks. 
In the first progressive match for 
pairs, Messrs. Faber and Rich had 
the high score for north and south, 
and Messrs. Langmuir and Stiles 
for east and west. In the second 
match, the winners of north and 
south were Messrs. Neuman and 
Bouton; and east and west, Messrs. 
Williamson and Britton, The 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 35 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



match for progressive fours was 
won by the team from the Balti- 
more Whist Club ( Messrs. Thomas, 
Dennison, Huntley, and Dr. W. F. 
Smith). The straight whist match 
was won by Mr. and Mrs. Payot, 
and the match between men and 
women was ungallantly carried oflf 
by the former by twenty tricks. 
The highest scores for women were: 
Mrs. T. H. Andrews and Miss Bessie 
E. Allen, plus 3^; Mrs. Fenollosa 
and Miss Harrison, plus 3>^; the 
highest score for men, W. H. Whit- 
feld and C. D. P. Hamilton, plus 

The Seventh Annual Congress. — 
The seventh congress of the League 
was held at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, July 
6-10, 1897. Sixty-eight clubs were 
represented, and upwards of three 
hundred whist-players were in at- 
tendance. Among these was a del- 
egation from the newly-organized 
Woman's Whist League. 

President Walter H. Barney, in 
his annual address, noticed the for- 
mation of four local or auxiliary 
leagues during the past year, 
namely, one in the State of Michi- 
gan, one in Tennessee, another in 
New York, and another under the 
name of the Atlantic Whist Asso- 
ciation, consisting of clubs in the 
States of Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland, and in the District of 
Columbia. Two had been admitted 
to auxiliary membership in the 
League. After dwelling upon the 
importance of such organizations 
as a proper supplement to the 
League, and warmly commending 
and welcoming the Woman's Whist 
League, he touched upon an old 
but interesting subject, as follows: 

"The work of the American 
Whist League in creating interest 
in good whist-play — whist in its 
best form — is now practically an 
accomplished fact; and the League 
should now devote its energy and 



eflforts to the development of the 
game. The contests held at these 
annual gatherings, and the matches 
for the Challenge and Brooklyn tro- 
phies, with their published scores 
and play, are doing a work of the 
greatest educational value; but it 
falls far short of what our members 
have a right to expect of an organi- 
zation like the American Whist 
League. The country looks to the 
League for a standard of play. The 
failure to meet and present a re- 
port on the part of the special com- 
mittee on system of play, appointed 
at the last congress, is most unfor- 
tunate. Very many looked forward 
to this report as something which 
would form the beginning of a 
foundation upon which a more en- 
during structure could be erected. 
* * * There is a great demand 
for something which the young 
student may tie to, as agreed upon 
by the majority of players. * * * 
We need something which can be 
referred to as the 'standard system;' 
and to which all can refer their own 
game as presenting such and such 
variations. Although the work has 
difficulties, it should not be impos- 
sible to present some scheme which 
would be accepted as a standard; 
though, I have no doubt, there are 
few players who would not, in a 
greater or less degree, vary from 
it in some particulars. 

' ' It seems to the chair that the 
League should go further in the 
work of assisting its members and 
the thousands of students of the 
game. We ought to use our great 
organization for a more systematic 
study of the game. Our efforts 
should be combined; the results of 
those efforts should be classified. 
Thousands and tens of thousands 
of experiments are tried almost 
daily in clubs of the League, and 
the results are kept in a most lim- 
ited circle. Still more would be 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 36 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



tried, if the results of those exper- 
iments could be made more gener- 
ally useful." 

Upon the president's recommen- 
dation, vacancies in the committee 
on system of play were filled, and 
the committee was asked to report 
at this congress. The committee, 
as thus constituted, consisted of 
George W. Keehn, Lander M. 
Bouve, E. A, Buffinton, W. G. 
Bronson, Jr., Charles F. Snow, and 
H. A. Mandell. 

The most important thing done in 
the way of legislation was the re- 
vision of the laws of duplicate whist, 
the laws of straight whist being left 
untouched. The report of the com- 
mittee on laws contained the fol- 
lowing explanation for this action: 

' ' During the past year very many 
changes in the code have been sub- 
mitted to and considered by your 
committee, but after careful deliber- 
ation the committee is unanimously 
in favor of leaving wholly un- 
changed the present code, which 
is the work of masters, and which 
has been in existence for four years, 
giving, upon the whole, entire satis- 
faction. Tinkering and tampering 
with such a code is to be deprecated, 
and we believe that no change 
should ever be made in it unless it 
should be vitally important. This 
is not the case at present, nor is it 
likely ever to be. Respect for a 
good code grows and increases as 
time passes, and the various pro- 
visions become imbedded in the 
minds of the whist-players of the 
world. Duplicate whist, however, 
requires some special provisions, 
and hence this League promulgated 
a code for its government at the 
Chicago congress in 1893. At the 
fourth congress in Philadelphia, in 
1894, the present code was enacted, 
and has stood without change since. 
Your committee proposes certain 
changes in the laws of duplicate 



whist, as hereafter stated, and it 
believes that whist-players generally 
will apply to straight whist such of 
the special laws of duplicate as are 
applicable, and thus the alleged de- 
fects and deficiencies of the present 
code will be obviated." 

The committee was composed of 
P. J. Tormey, San Francisco, chair- 
man ; Gustavus Remak, Jr. , Phila- 
delphia; Irving T. Hartz, Chicago; 
Robert H. Weems, Brooklyn; Cas- 
sius M. Paine, Milwaukee. 

The amendments, as adopted on 
the report of the committee, were 
as follows: 

(i) Law "A." Amend paragraph 4 so 
as to read: " Each side shall keep its own 
score, and it is the duty of the players at 
each table to compare the scores there 
made, and see that they correspond." 

(2) Law "A." Amend sections so as to 
read: "In a match between two teams, 
the total number of tricks shall be divided 
by two, and the team whose score of tricks 
taken exceeds such dividend, wins the 
match by the number of tricks in excess 
thereof." 

(3) Law "D." Amend so as to read: 
" The trump card must be recorded, before 
the play begins, on a slip provided for 
that purpose. When the deal has been 
played, the slip on which the trump card 
has been recorded must be placed face 
upwards by the dealer on the top of his 
cards, but the trump card must not be 
again turned until the hands are taken up 
for the purpose of overplaying them, at 
which time it must be turned and left 
face upwards on the tray until it is the 
dealer's turn to play to the first trick. The 
slip on which tlie trump card is recorded 
must be turned face downwards as soon 
as the trump card is taken up by the 
dealer; if the trump card has been other- 
wise recorded, such record must also be 
then turned face downwards. 

" The dealer must leave the trump card 
face upwards on the tray until it is his 
turn to play to the first trick, when it 
should be taken into his hand. If it is 
not taken into the hand until after the 
second trick has been turned and quitted, 
it is liable to be called. 

"After it has been lawfully taken up, it 
must not be named, and any player 
naming- it or looking at the trump slip 
or other record of the trump is liable to 
have his highest or lowest trump called 
by his right-hand adversary at any time 
during the play of that deal before such 
adversary has played to any current 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 37 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



trick, or before the preceding; trick is 
turned and quitted, in case it is the 
offender's turn to lead. The call may be 
repeated until the card is played, but it 
cannot be changed." 

(4) Law " G." Add an additional para- 
graph, viz.: "A player raay ask his ad- 
versaries if they have any of the suit re- 
nounced; but the question establishes 
the revoke, if it is his partner vrho has 
renounced in error." 

(5) Add the following: " Cards liable to 
be called.— The holder of a card liable 
to be called can be required to play it only 
by his right-hand adversary; if such ad- 
versary plays without calling it, the 
holder may play as he pleases; if it is the 
holder's turn to lead, the card must be 
called before the preceding trick is turned 
and quitted, or the holder may lead as he 
pleases. The unseen cards of a hand 
faced on the table are not liable to be 
called." 

" Enforcing penalties. — A player hav- 
ing the right to call a suit loses such right, 
unless he announces to the adversary 
first winning a trick, before the trick so 
won by such adversary is turned and 
quitted, what particular suit he desires 
led." 

"A player has the right to remind his 
partner that it is his privilege to enforce 
a penalty, and also to inform him of the 
penalty he can enforce." 

"A player has the right to prevent his 
partner from committing any irregu- 
larity, except renouncing in error." 

In confirmation of the action of 
the executive committee, the con- 
gress amended the rules governing 
the contests for the Challenge 
Trophy so as to stimulate interest 
in all parts of the country. (See, 
" Challenge Trophy.") 

The annual report of the record- 
ing secretary showed a member- 
ship of one hundred and fifty-six 
clubs in the League, with a total 
membership of 31,733 persons, of 
which number S655 are active 
whist-players. New York State 
leads, with thirty-two clubs; Illi- 
nois, Massachusetts, and Pennsyl- 
vania have fourteen clubs each; 
New Jersey has twelve; Michigan, 
Missouri, and Ohio, seven each; 
Wisconsin, six; California and Min- 
nesota, five each; Iowa and Ten- 
nessee, four each; Indiana, Rhode 



Island, and Washington, three each; 
District of Columbia, Maryland, 
Nebraska, and South Dakota, two 
each; and Colorado, Delaware, Ken- 
tucky, Louisiana, Oregon, Texas, 
Vermont, and West Virginia, one 
each. Among the cities, Brooklyn 
leads, with fourteen clubs; Philadel- 
phia has twelve; Chicago, six; Al- 
bany and Boston, four each; New 
York, Providence, and St. Louis, 
three each; and Indianapolis, To- 
ledo, Milwaukee, San Francisco, 
Los Angeles, Washington, Kala- 
mazoo, St. Paul, Utica, and Seattle, 
two each. Thirty-one clubs were 
added to and eleven taken from the 
membership during the past year. 
The present membership is made 
up as follows : 

„ No. Total 

piV.h.. Whist. Mem- 

v^moB. Players, bership. 
Independent Whist 

Clubs 66 4,430 4,430 

Departmental Whist 

Clubs 16 669 6,348 

Chess and Whist 

Clubs II 709 1,597 

Social Clubs .... 52 2,194 12,677 

Athletic Clubs ... 11 653 6,643 

Total 156 8,655 31,695 

Associate Members 33 

Honorary Members 5 

31,733 

The recommendation of Presi- 
dent Barney, with regard to the es- 
tablishment of a bureau for experi- 
mental play, was referred to the 
executive committee to report at 
the next congress. The committee 
on system of play was, on motion, 
continued, and directed to report to 
the executive committee at its mid- 
winter meeting, and afterwards to 
the next congress. 

It was decided to limit the League 
membership to one hundred and 
seventy-five clubs, and the associate 
membenship to forty persons. One 
of the novel features of the congress 
was the publication of a daily 
whist journal called Echoes, which 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 38 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



was ably edited by Tracy Barnes, of 
Toledo. 

The thirteen general contests 
participated in by the various 
teams and individual players re- 
sulted as follows: The Hamilton 
Trophy (fourteen teams contesting) 
was won by a team from the Phila- 
delphia Whist Club, consisting of 
Dr. Joseph S. Ne£F, E. Stanley 
Hart, Leoni Melick, and W. T. G. 
Bristol. Out of the thirteen 
matches, not a single defeat was 
recorded against the Philadelphia 
team. The play was begun at 
two o'clock Tuesday afternoon, and 
continued every afternoon and 
evening for the rest of the week. 
In the final match, Philadelphia 
was opposed by the team from the 
Chicago Duplicate Whist Club 
(John T. Mitchell, captain; J. B. 
Norton, G. W. Keehn, and W. J. 
Walker). Philadelphia won by 
twelve tricks. 

The contest for the first posses- 
sion of the new Challenge Trophy 
was won, by sixteen tricks, by the 
following team from the Toledo 
(O.) Whist Club: Dr. Frank Hart, 
captain; Clarence Brown, C. H. 
Beckham, and C. L. Curtis. The 
other team in the final match 
consisted of E. Le Rov Smith, cap- 
tain; C. D. P. Hamilton, C. F. 
Snow, and D. Muhlfelder, repre- 
senting the Albany Whist Club. 
Fourteen clubs participated in this 
contest. 

In the contest for the Minne- 
apolis Trophy [q. v. ) for club pairs 
there were fifteen entries. Six sit- 
tings were held, and F. W. Mathias 
and D. J. Mathias, the pair from 
the Toledo Whist Club, won, with 
the lowest losing score of 76, the 
next being 85. 

In the contest for the Brooklyn 
Trophy (q. v.) for teams represent- 
ing auxiliarj'^ associations, there 
were three contestants — the New 



York State, New England, and At- 
lantic Whist Associations. New 
York was the victor, winning both 
matches against the others. At- 
lantic won one match from New 
England and lost one to New York. 
New England lost both matches. 

In the first progressive pairs 
match (Tuesday), forty-two pairs 
participated. F. S. Wilson and F. 
Iv. Clark, of the Dartmouth Club, 
New Bedford, made high score 
north and south, with one hundred 
and fifty-two tricks; plus score, 
nine. William Gorton and L. 
McL. Jackson, of the Toledo 
Yachting Association, made high 
score east and west, with one hun- 
dred and thirty-eight tricks; plus 
score, eight. 

In the second progressive pairs 
match (Wednesday), there were 
fifty entries. The Columbia Ath- 
letic team (Dr. George Walls and 
George W. Morse) made the 
highest score north and south, 
with one hundred and eighty-nine 
tricks; plus score, eleven. The 
Top-of-Nothing team ( R. F. Foster 
and Miss C. H. Schmidt) made the 
highest score east and west, one 
hundred and fifty-eight tricks; 
plus score, eleven. 

In the third progressive pairs 
match (Thursday), there were 
thirty -four pairs. The highest score 
was made by E. T. Baker and R. F. 
Foster for north and south, one 
hundred and twenty-nine tricks; 
plus score, six; and for east and 
west two pairs were tied, each 
having one hundred and five tricks, 
with a plus score of seven. They 
were Dr. George Walls and C. A. 
Henriques, and E. C. Kieb and L. 
J. Bruck. 

In the fourth progressive pairs 
match (Friday ) , forty-four pairs were 
entered, and the successful winners 
of the prizes were: Yale (O. S. 
Bryant and N. B. Beecher), north 



AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 39 AMERICAN WHIST LEAGUE 



and south, one hundred and forty- 
nine tricks; plus score, thirteen. 
Greater New York (E. T. Baker 
and R. F. Foster), east and west, 
one hundred and fifty-nine tricks; 
plus score, nine. 

In the first progressive fours con- 
test (Tuesday), for individual prizes 
presented by the Trist Duplicate 
Whist Club, of San Francisco, thir- 
ty-one tables were filled — match 
score to win. The four from the 
Buffalo Whist Club (M. E. Ander- 
son, E. P. Thayer, C. S. Davis, and 
W. Shepherd) won by twenty and 
one-half matches. Three teams 
tied for second place, and of these, 
the Top-of-Nothing team (R. F. 
Foster, Miss C. H. Schmidt, E. C. 
Fletcher, and Mrs. C. S. Water- 
house) made the highest score for 
tricks, being twenty points plus, 
while Buffalo was seventeen. 

In the second progressive fours 
(Wednesday), fifteen tables were 
filled — trick score to win. The suc- 
cessful contestants were H. K. 
James, William C. Emerson, C. J. 
McDiarmid, and C. F. Johnson, 
constituting the Cincinnati team. 
Their score was two hundred and 
four tricks. 

In the third progressive fours 
(Thursday), nineteen tables were 
filled — match scores to win. The 
Greater New York team was de- 
clared the winner by thirteen and 
one-half matches, the players con- 
stituting the team being E. T. 
Baker, Mrs. F. H. Johnson, Dr. 
George Walls, and Miss M. H. Camp- 
bell; the Topof-Nothing team 
(R. F. Foster, Miss C. H. Schmidt, 
E. C. Fletcher, and Mrs. C. S. 
Waterhouse) being second. 

In the fourth progressive fours 
(Friday), nineteen tables were filled. 
Wayne, of Detroit (J. W. Weston, 
C. W. Rogers, C. H. Springer, and 
G. W. Heighs), tied with Nashville 
(W. N. Wright, Jr., C. S. Lawrence, 



J. E. Shwab, and E. B. Cooper), 
the trick score standing two hun- 
dred and forty-two each; but on the 
match score Wayne won, being 
twelve and one-half matches to ten 
for Nashville. 

In the progressive straight whist 
contest, on Saturday evening, twen- 
ty-two pairs entered. The winners 
were Mrs. Clarence Brown, of To- 
ledo, and Walter H. Barney, ex- 
president of the League, who made 
one hundred and fifty-four tricks. 
Miss Bessie E. Allen, of Milwaukee, 
and William C. Harbach, of Des 
Moines, were second. 

The highest scores for the indi- 
vidual events were mostly made by 
the advocates of the short-suit 
game, but in the main the long-suit 
game predominated. The teams 
which reached the finals in the two 
most important contests (Philadel- 
phia and Chicago for the Hamilton 
Trophy, and Toledo, Albany, and 
American for the Challenge Tro- 
phy), are all adherents of the long- 
suit system. 

It was decided to hold the eighth 
annual congress in New England, 
at a place to be designated by the 
executive committee. 

The ofiicers and committees of 
the League for 1897- '98, are as 
follows: 

Henry A. Mandell, president, Majestic 
Building, Detroit, Mich.; H. Le Roy- 
Smith, vice-president, 619 Broadway, Al- 
bany, N. Y.; Clarence A. Henriques, re- 
cording secretary, 25 West Forty-ninth 
street, New York City, N. Y.; L. G. Par- 
ker, corresponding secretary, L. S. & M. 
S. Building, Toledo, Ohio; Benjamin T,. 
Richards, treasurer. Rock Rapids, Iowa. 

Eugene S. Elliott, ex-president, Pabst 
Building, Milwaukee, Wis.; John M. 
Walton, ex-president, 4205 Chester ave- 
nue, Philadelphia, Pa. ; Theodore Schwarz, 
ex-president, 517 Royal Insurance Build- 
ing, Chicago, 111.; Walter H. Barney, ex- 
president. Industrial Trust Co. Building, 
Providence, R. I. 

Directors— Term expires 1900: S. St. J. 
McCutchen, 170 Broadway, New York; 
P. J. Tormey, 220 Sutter street, San Fran- 



A. W.L. CHALLENGE TROPHY 40 



AMES, FISHER 



Cisco, Cal.; Bertram D. Kribben, Bank of 
Commerce Building, St. Louis, Mo. ; Wil- 
liam Hudson, 392 Main street, Buffalo, N.Y. 
Term expires 1899: J.E. Shwab, Nashville, 
Tenn.; John T. Mitchell, Union National 
Bank, Chicago, 111.; Thomas A. Whelan, 
Fidelity Building, Baltimore, Md.; Rob- 
ert H. Weems, 220 Lincoln place, Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. Term expires 1898: Geo. h. 
Bunn, New York Life Building, St. Paul, 
Minn.; George H. Fish, corner Seven- 
teenth street and Broadway, New York; 
George W. Morse, 26 State street, Boston, 
Mass.; Joseph S. Neff, M. D., 2300 Locust 
street, Philadelphia, Pa.; Cassius M. 
Paine, 28 Chamber of Commerce, Mil- 
waukee, Wis. 

Committee on Laws — P. J. Tormey, San 
Francisco, Cal.; Robert H. Weems, 
Brooklyn, N. Y.; Theodore Schwarz, Chi- 
cago, 111.; Leoni Melick, Philadelphia, 
Pa.; Milton F. Smith, Baltimore, Md. 

Tournament Committee — Walter H. 
Barney, chairman. Providence, R. I. 

Committee on Sy.stem of Play — George 
W. Keehn, Chicago, 111.; Lander M. 
Bouv6, Boston, Mass.; B). A. Buffinton, 
Jackson, Mich.; W. G. Bronson, Jr., St. 
Paul, Minn.; Charles F. Snow, Albany, 
N. Y.; H. A. Mandell, Detroit, Mich. 

Lander M. Bouv^, 657 Washington 
street, Boston, Mass., representative to 
executive committee from New England 
Whist Association. 

L. J. Bruck, Ridgewood, N. J. , represen- 
tative to executive committee from New 
Jersey Whist Association. 

Barrington Lodge, Jr., 69 First street, 
Albany, N. Y., representative to executive 
committee from New York State Whist 
Association. 

C. D. P. Hamilton, Easton, Pa., repre- 
sentative to executive committee from 
Atlantic Whist Association. 

General L- W, Heath, 103 Jefferson ave- 
nue, Grand Rapids, Mich., representative 
to executive committee from Michigan 
Whist Association. 

American Whist League Chal- 
lenge Trophy. — See, "Challenge 
Trophy." 

Ames, Fisher. — An American 
whist author, and one of the chief 
disciples and exponents of the 
school of " Cavendish " and Trist. 
Mr. Ames was born in Lowell, 
Mass., January 24, 1838, and is a 
graduate of Harvard College. He 
has practiced law in the city of Bos- 
ton for upwards of thirty years, hav- 
ing been for a large part of the time 
one of the assistant city solicitors. 



He comes of a renowned ancestry, 
his grandfather having been Fisher 
Ames, the great orator and tribune 
of the people during the stormy 
times of the forming of the Con- 
stitution of the United States. The 
father of the subject of our sketch 
was Seth Ames, one of the justices 
of the Supreme Court of Massa- 
chusetts, of whom it was said by 
the chief justice that his style in 
speech and writing embodied the 
purest and best English of this 
generation. 

Fisher Ames has the scholarly 
attributes and qualities of his an- 
cestors, all of whom, like himself, 
were Harvard men. He wrote 
" Modern Whist, " which was pub- 
lished by the Harpers in 1879. His 
" Practical Guide to Whist " was 
published by the Scribners in 1891, 
and his " American Leads at 
Whist," in 1891. The latter books 
have had several revisions and gone 
through many editions. He is also 
the inventor of the Ames Whist 
Lesson Cards, by means of which 
the proper leads are taught, being 
indicated on the margins of the 
cards. Another helpful contrivance 
of his is " Whist in Brief " (1895), 
which he himself considers about 
as good as anything which he has 
accomplished in the whist line. It 
contains almost every essential di- 
rection for correct play in whist, 
all in the compass of a card the 
size of an ordinary playing-card 
(printed on both sides). 

As a whist-player, Mr. Ames is 
studious, analytical, and conserva- 
tive. He has studied all the meth- 
ods and systems so that he may 
know how to meet them and occa- 
sionally adopt them as special 
hands may apply. However, his 
own system of play is the long-suit 
game with American leads, and is 
very effective. He resides at New- 
ton, a suburb of Boston, and was 



AMUSEMENT 



41 



ANSON, GEORGE 



for a long time a member of the 
Newton Club team, which held high 
rank, winning in two successive 
tournaments of the New England 
Whist Association. 

The "Practical Guide to Whist," by 
Fisher Ames, of Boston, is a valuable 
condensation of the " Caveudish"-Trist 
system of play. — IV. P. Courtney [/.H-C], 
' ' English IVh ist. ' ' 

Mr. Fisher Ames has added to his book, 
"A Practical Guide to Whist," a chapter 
entitled, " Some Modern Innovations in 
Whist," in which he discusses all the 
recent developments, explaining their 
construction and criticising their merit. 
Mr. Ames does not accept every new idea 
that presents itself. On the contrary, he 
leans to the conservative side, and so 
when he does approve an innovation it is 
pretty certain to possess merit. His plan 
of discus.sing the questions is of great 
advantage to students, as it gives them 
a full understanding of the plays, which 
is always desirable, even if they do not 
put them into practice. — IVhist [L.A.], 
April, i&gj. 

Amusement, Playing for. — The 

fact that whist in played for amuse- 
ment is often made an excuse for 
bad play by bumblepuppists. A 
player has no more right to inflict 
such play upon his partner, or op- 
ponents, however, than he would 
have to play wrong notes in music 
or talk bad grammar, simply be- 
cause he found enjoyment therein. 

People in general entertain strange 
notions concerning whist. Many say, 
*' Oh, I don't know much about the game. 
I only play for amusement. You must 
not expect me to know about it. I haven't 
the time." As well say, " Oh, I don't 
know much about the meaning ofwords. 
I only read for amusement ' Ivanhoe,' or 
' Middlemarch.' You must not expect 
me to understand them. I haven't the 
time."— ff. IV. Peties [L. A. P.], ''Ameri- 
can Whist Illustrated.^' 

Four people sit down nominally to play 
whist, when suddenly one of them an- 
nounces, to the consternation of his 
partner, that he is not there with any 
such intention, but solely for his own 
amusement. * * * Now, no one has the 
slightest objection to your amusing your- 
self as long as you do not annoy anybody 
else. I go further than this, and admit 
your abstract right to amuse yourself at 
your partner's expense; but I protest 
against your expecting him to rejoice 



with you in his own discomfiture.— 
''Pembridge" [L+0.] 

Analyst.— See, "Whist Analyst." 

Andre ws , M rs . T. H . — First presi- 
dent of the Woman's Whist League 
of America (^. v.), which she was 
largely instrumental in organizing, 
at Philadelphia, April 27-29, 1897. 
Although Mrs. Andrews had never 
played whist up to within five 
years prior to the organization of 
the League, she soon developed 
into a player and teacher of na- 
tional reputation. She organized 
the Trist Whist Club, of Philadel- 
phia, in 1894, and originated a 
whist tournament for women in the 
fall of 1895 (the first of the kind 
ever held), out of which grew the 
still broader idea of the Woman's 
League. On June 20, 1896, she was 
elected to associate membership in 
the American Whist League. 

Mrs. Andrews is very success- 
ful as a teacher, her keen percep- 
tion, quick insight into character, 
and ready sympathy contributing 
largely to the efiiciency of her in- 
struction. 

Anson, George. — One of the 

foremost of English whist-players 
in his day. He was a brother of 
the first Earl of Lichfield, and 
served in the army as an ensign at 
the battle of Waterloo. Later in 
life he was made commander-in- 
chief of one of the Indian depen- 
dencies, and this was followed soon 
after by his appointment to the 
post of commander-in-chief of all 
the British forces in India. To him, 
John Loraine Baldwin first sugges- 
ted his plan for revising the Eng- 
lish whist laws. He was named 
second in the list of the best play- 
ers he had ever met, by Lord Ben- 
tinck. His mode of play appears 
to have included some ideas which 
to-day would be classed -with those 
of short- suit players. For in- 



ANSWERING TRUMP 



42 



ARTICLES ON WHIST 



stance, he claimed that it was the 
height of bad play to lead from a 
long suit containing nothing higher 
than a ten if you had a suit with 
an hQnor to lead from, unless from 
strength of trumps there was a pos- 
sibility of bringing in the small 
cards. He died in India, May 27, 
1857, and his remains were brought 
to England and buried in Kensal 
Green cemetery, three years later. 

Answering Trump Signal. — See, 
"Echo." 

Antepenultimate Lead. — The 

lead of the last card of a suit but 
two, first announced by A. W. Dray- 
son, in 1879, to indicate the pos- 
session of six cards. (See, "Ameri- 
can Leads, History of. " ) 

" Aq ua ri us. " — A pseudonym 
under which Lowes d'Aguilar Jack- 
son, an English writer, published 
a number of books on the game. 
His best-known compilations are 
"Easy Whist" (1883) and "Ad- 
vanced Whist " (1884). Copies of 
his books were sent to ' 'Cavendish" 
for review in the Field, but the 
latter declined to notice them, as 
he considered them "downright 
rubbish." 

A series of text-books, ranging from 
" Easy Whist" in 1883, to " Improved 
Whist" in 1890, have been favorably re- 
ceived by the younger lovers of the game. 
Their authorship is concealed under the 
title of "Aquarius," but he is understood 
to be Lowes d'Aguilar Jackson, a civil 
engineer. — W. P. Courtney \L-\-Oi\, '^Eng- 
lish Whist:' 

Arbitrary Signals. — Signals to 
which a meaning is attached by 
agreement, as distinguished from 
natural inferences drawn from the 
fall of the cards. When the mean- 
ing of such arbitrary signals is 
known only to those originating or 
employing them, they are called 
private conventions [q. v.). 



Arlington Club. — A celebrated 
whist club in London, which, in 
1863, appointed a committee of 
nine to co-operate with John Lo- 
raine Baldwin in revising the Eng- 
lish laws of whist. The club was 
originally called the Turf Club, but 
in order to rid itself of some ob- 
jectionable members, dissolved and 
reorganized as the Arlington. Later 
on the club moved to the premises 
it now occupies, and at the same 
time resumed its original name, be- 
ing now known as the Turf Club. 

"Artful Dodger, The." — In 

Dickens's novel of " Oliver Twist, " 
the Artful Dodger, when playing 
dummy in Fagan's den, is com- 
mended for " wisely regulating his 
play by the result of his observa- 
tions on his neighbor's cards." 

Articles on Whist in Periodi- 
cals. — An attempt is here made to 
present, in alphabetical order, the 
titles of the more important articles 
that have appeared in English and 
American periodicals, upon the 
subject of whist, from the earliest 
times to the present day. When 
taken in connection with the nu- 
merous text-books and other vol- 
umes published upon the ' ' game of 
games" (see, " Books on Whist"), 
this list may well impress the stu- 
dent with the magnitude and im- 
portance of the subject, which has 
engaged the attention of many of 
the ablest minds of the day. 

"American Leads," by A. W. Drayson, 
The Field, London, Jan. 31, 1885. 

"American Leads," by " Merry Andrew," 
The Field, London, Jan. 10, 1885; 
March 28, 1885. 

"American Leads," by " Mogul" (Mat- 
thias Boyce), The Field, London, Dec. 
20, 1884; Feb. 7 and March 21, 1885. 

"American Leads," by N. B. T. (Nicho- 
las Browse Trist), The Field, Lon- 
don, Feb. 28, 1885; March 28, 1885. 

"American Leads," by " Quisquis," Tke 
Field, London, Feb. 21, 1885. ! 



ARTICLES ON WHIST 



43 



ARTICLES ON WHIST 



"American Leads at Whist," F. H. Lewis, 
The Field, London, March 7, 1885. 

"American Leads at Whist and their His- 
tory," byN. B. Trist, Harper' s Maga- 
zine, vol. 82, p. 599, March, 1891. 

"American Leads at Whist," by Caven- 
dish," Macmillan' s Magazine, vol. 53, 
p. 235. 

"American Whist," by G. T. Lanigan, 
American Magazine, vol. 1, p. 55. 

'American Whist," Saturday Review, vol. 
69, p. 748. 

"Card-Playing and Free Whist," Na- 
tional Review, vol. i5, p. 347. Reply 
thereto, by H. A. Cohen, National Re- 
view, vol. 16, p. 614. 

"Cards [Whist] Played by Machinery," 
William Pole, Macmillan' s Magazine, 
vol. 33, p. 241, J^an. 1876. 

' Catechism of Whist," Blackwood' s Mag- 
azine,-vo\. 38, p. 637. (Humorous.) Nov. 
1835. 

"Cheating at Whist," Spectator, London, 
April 5, 1879. 

"Club Whist," Blackwood's Magazine, 
May, 1877. 

'Conventions at Whist," by W. Pole, 
Fortnightly Review, vol. 31, p. 576, 
April, 1879. 

"Developments of Whist," (a review of 
"Cavendish"), London Spectator, 
vol.58, p. 1259. 

"Duplicate Whist," by G. Fletcher, New 
Review, vol. 11, p. 490, Nov. 1S94. 

' English Whist and English Whist-Play- 
ers," Temple Bar, vol. 97, p. 527, April, 
1895; vol. 98, p. 103, May, 1893. Same 
article in Littell's Living Age, vol. 197, 
p. 515, May 27, 1893, and vol. 198, p. 
217, July 29, 1893. 

"Game of Whist, The," All the Year 
Round, vol. 2, p. 480. 

" Game of Whist, The," by " Cavendish," 
London Society, vol. 9, pp. 65 and 
161. 

"Game of Whist, The, " Chambers' s Jour- 
nal, vol. 39, p. 133. 

"Game of Whist, The," London Society, 
vol. 7, p. 57. 

"Game of Whist, The," by William Pole, 
Macmillan' s Magazine, vol. 7, p. 201. 

'Hints to Players of Whist," by " T. 
Pam," London Magazine, vol. 14, p. 
102, Jan. 1826. 

"How to Play Whist," (a review of Proc- 
tor's book) by J. I. Minchin, Acad- 
emy, vol. 27, p. 128. 

' Home Whist," by R. A. Proctor, /knowl- 
edge, vol. 8, p. 323, Oct. 9, 1885. 

" Improved Whist," Saturday Review, 
vol. 71, p. 419. 

"Is there any Science in Whist?" by R. 
A. Proctor, Knowledge, vol. 11, p. 34. 

"Is Whist Signaling Honest ?" by R. A. 
Proctor, Longman' s Magazine, vol. 7, 
p. 602. 

"Ladies' Whist," London Spectator, vol, 
66, p. 47, Jan. 10, 1891. 



"Language of Whist, The," by R. A. 
Proctor, Lon^tnan's Magazine, vol. 6, 
p. 596, Oct. 1S85 

"Mrs. Battle's Opinions on Whist," by 
Charles Lamb, London Magazine, vol, 
3, p. 161. 

" Modern Whist," by William Pole, Quar- 
terly Review, vol. 130, p. 43, Jan. 1871, 
Same article in Littell's Living Age, 
vol. 108, p. 707, March 28, 1871. 

"Modern Whist," Temple Bar, vol. 79, 
p. 544. 

"Our Whist Column," by " Five of Clubs" 
(R. A. Proctor), Knowledge, vol. 5, pp. 
153, 489; vol. 6, pp. 19-534; vol. 7, pp. 
39-513; vol. 8, pp. 103-148; vol. 9, p. 33, 
Same in New York Tribune, 1885, 
Feb. 8, 15, 22, March i, 8, 15, 30, April 
5, 12, May 3. 

"Rational and Artificial Whist," by M. 
("Mogul"), Cornhill Magazine, vol. 
53, p. 143, Feb. 1886. 

" Rules for Playing the Game of Whist," 
Sporting Magazine, 1793. 

"Short Whist," Blackwood's Magazine, 
vol. 97, p. 461. 

" Teaching Whist." by K- L. Godkin, 
The Nation, New York, vol. 45, p. 187. 

"Trump Leads in Whist," Outing, N. Y., 
Apnl-Sept. 1885. 

"Unscientific American Whist," A!woze//- 
edge,_ vol. 6, p. 307, Oct. 10, 1884. 

"Varieties of Whist," Saturday Review, 
London, vol. 66, p. 533. 

" What America has Done for Whist," by 
"Cavendish," Scribbler's Magazine, 
New York, vol. 20, p. 540, Nov. 
1896. 

" Whist," Tem.ple Bar, vol. 91, p. 521. 

" Whist," Blackwood's Magazine, vol, 
157, p. 64, Jan. 1895. 

"Whist," by "Cavendish," London So- 
ciety, vol. 7, p. 57, Jan. and Feb. 1865. 

"Whist," Eclectic Magazine, vol. 72, p. 
687; vol. 84, p. 523; vol. 108, p. 707; vol. 
133, p. 626. 

"Whist," by William Pole, Chatnbers's 
Journal, vol. 39, p. 133. 

"Whist," by B. E. Pote, Foreign Quarterly 
Review, No. 48. 

" Whist and its Masters," by R. Frederick 
Foster, Monthly Illustrator, Sept. 
1896, to March, 1897, inclusive. I. The 
Old School. II. The New School. 
III. The Signaling School. IV. The 
Scientific School V. The Number- 
showing School VI. The Duplicate 
School. VII. The Private Conven- 
tion School. 

"Whist and Whist-Players," by A. Hay- 
ward, Eraser's Magazine, vol. 79, 
p. 487. 

"Whist as a Business," London Society, 
vol. 37, p. 42, Jan. 1880. 

"Whist as a Recreation," Knowledge, vol, 
9, p. 190. 

"Whist at Our Club," Blackwood's Mag- 
azine, vol. 121, page 597, May, 1877. 



ASK FOR, TRUMPS, THE 44 ATWATER, MRS. FRANK H. 



"Whist at the English Court," by Geo. 
W. Curtis, Harper^s Magazine, Easy 
Chair, vol. 52, p. 936. 

"Whist by Deschapelles," Foreign Quar- 
terly Review, vol. 24, p. 335. 

"Whist Fads," by "Cavendish," Scrib- 
ner's Magazine, July, 1897. 

"Whist in America," by F. W. Crane, 
Cosmopolitan, vol. 19, p. 196, June, 
1895. 

"Whist Chat," by R. A. Proctor, Long- 
tnan's Magazine, vol. 5, p. 369, Feb. 
1885. 

"Whist Convention of 1896, The," by 
F. W. Crane, Illustrated American, 
vol. 20, p. 56, June 4, 1896. 

" Whistology," ^// the Year Round, vol. 
2, p. 480, March 17, i860. 

" Whist Reminiscence " (a story), Black- 
wood's Magazine, vol. 205, p. 345. 

"Whist Signaling and Whist Strategy," 
by R. A. Proctor, Longman's Maga- 
zine, vol. 9, p. 365. 

"Whist Spoilers," by A. Stuart, Temple 
Bar, vol. 90, p. 118. 

"Whist Stories," London Society, vol.43, 
P- 95- 

"Young Whist Players' Novitiate," by 
F. B. Goodrich, Harper's Magazine, 
vol. 81, p. 112. 

Ask for Trumps, The. — See, 
"Trump Signal." 

Associate Members of the 
League. — The by-laws of the 
American Whist League provide 
that individual whist-players may 
be admitted as associate members 
of the League by a vote of the ex- 
ecutive committee, provided they 
are not members of any League 
club. The aggregate number of 
associate members shall not ex- 
ceed forty. Associate members 
have the rights of delegates at all 
meetings of the League so far only 
as to permit them to speak, make 
motions, serve on committees, and 
participate in contests for individ- 
uals; but they shall not be eligible 
to office, or privileged to vote unless 
otherwise qualified. The dues to 
be paid by each associate member 
are five dollars per annum. The 
number of associate members re- 
ported at the annual meeting of the 
League in 1897, after deducting 
eleven resignations, was thirty, as 
follows: Mrs. Isabella H. Adams, 



Mrs. Charlotte L. Ainsworth, Miss 
Bessie E. Allen, Mrs. T. H. An- 
drews, Miss Susan D. Biddle, Mrs. 
Julia B. Bradt, Mrs. Clarence 
Brown, Colonel A. S. Burt, Mrs. 
William E. Earle, H. H. Everard, 
Mrs. S. B. Farnum, Richard Fenby, 
Mrs. Martha W. Fenollosa, Cap- 
tain E. B. Fuller, Miss R. Frances 
Harrison, Mrs. J. R. Hawley, I. W. 
Holman, Mrs. M. S. Jenks, John 
E. Lundstrom, Mrs. Henry McCrea, 
Mrs. William Henry Newbold, Mrs. 
Lillian C. Noel, Mrs. Lavinia S. 
Nowell, Mrs. J. W. Pilling, Miss 
Charlotte H. Schmidt, Madame la 
Vicomtesse de Sibour, Mrs. Henry 
E. Wallace, Mrs. Hattie Waterman, 
Miss Kate Wheelock, and S. Wolfif- 
sohn. 

Attention at the Whist Table.— 

One of the first requisites of good 
whist is attention. No one should 
attempt to play who is not willing 
to pay the game that respectful at- 
tention which its high merits de- 
mand. This cannot be too earnestly 
urged upon the beginner, and upon 
other players as well who insult 
the noble game by treating it as 
they might euchre — as an excuse 
for social intercourse and conver- 
sation. Nobody can play whist in 
that manner. 

To become a whist-player, one must 
learn to see what is taking place before 
his eyes, and to comprehend the meaning 
of it. — "Major Tenace" [L. O.]. 

Carefully study your hand when you 
take it up. * * * Having done this, 
keep your eyes constantly on the table, 
never looking at your hand, except when 
it is your turn to play. No one can be- 
come even a moderately good whist- 
player whose attention is not constantly 
given to the ta.hle.^ames Clay \_L. 0+\. 

Atwater, IVIrs. Frank H. — A 

highly-esteemed whist-woman of 
Petaluma, California, whose good 
work as a contributor to the whist 
journals, and as a teacher of the 
game, has made her known not 







a .w, 



:^ 






AvSK 



\NK H. 



Modern Masters of Whist 



•th, 


Miss 


11. 


, An- 


iUe,' 


al rs. 


Clarence 


irf 


Mrs. 




■..rd, 




Cap- 




,i.!lCe3 




:. W. 




fohn 




v.rea, 




Mrs. 



■.v'nisi Vli' 
vloodricli. 

— Ja-mesClay. 
Ask for Trumps:, 



U 



A'' A. W. Drayson, 



fttt«nt5on at the Whist Table. — 

who is not willing 



Cavendish. 



Richard A. Proctojr;t . and upon 

-.v'lo insult 

-J. as 

vcuse 

.iver- 
.nsi in 



r, one must 
place befoi - 



to OiiV-.i . ' •! 

otherwise q 

be paid by '. 

are five cloilais ptf 

number of associate 

ported at the annual ' 

Ivcafriie in 1897, aft- 

resignations, \v-i ....,.., 
.: Mrs. Isabella H. Ad' 



ui of 

, :)od 



!.3 mide iitr known n- 



AUTHORITY, WHIST 



45 



AUTOMATON 



only on the Pacific coast, but else- 
where. She is an earnest student 
of whist for its own sake. For 
several years she has taught a class 
of from ten to twenty interested 
pupils, and many of them have be- 
come very proficient as players. 
She has persistently and continu- 
ally refused remuneration of any 
kind for her labors, the love of 
whist being sufficient inspiration 
for her best efforts in its behalf. It 
was almost wholly through her 
efforts, and those of her husband, 
that the Petaluma Whist Club was 
organized and kept alive until able 
to stand alone. Mrs. Atwater was 
made an associate member of the 
American Whist League, January 
II, 1896. She is also one of the 
most active and energetic members 
of the Pacific Coast Whist Associa- 
tion, of which she was elected cor- 
responding secretary in 1897. She 
is an advocate of the long-suit 
game and American leads. Mr. 
Tormey says of her in the San 
Francisco Call: ' ' In the whist de- 
partment of the Call Mrs. Atwater's 
opinion is frequently asked, and in 
justice to her ability we will say 
that she is without doubt one of 
the greatest students and expert 
players in the State. Her writings 
in Whist have attracted the atten- 
tion of the whist world." 

Authority, Whist. — An authority 
on whist is one who has made the 
subject a profound study, and who 
is able to give opinions or advice 
based on correct principles and 
actual knowledge. An expert 
player who has tested every mode 
of play, and whose judgment and 
abilities recommend him to the 
great majority of players, is an au- 
thority upon whist-play. 

of all the amusing types of whist- 
players, perhaps the most amusing is 
the local whist authority who is in real- 
ity only a third-class performer. — A, W. 



Dyayson \L-\-A-\-\ " The Art of Practical 
Whisty 

Automaton Whist-Player, An. — 

Dr. Pole, in Macmillan's Maga- 
zine ior }annary , 1876, described a 
wonderful automaton, exhibited at 
the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, Lon- 
don, which, among other things, 
could play scientific whist. The 
name of this marvelous contri- 
vance was "Psycho." He was a 
little less than adult size, and sat 
cross-legged. Oriental fashion, on 
an oblong box, about 22 x 18 x 15 
inches. The box, with the figure 
on it, was entirely detached and 
carried - about by those in charge. 
When in action, " Psycho" was 
placed on the top of a strong hollow 
cylinder of transparent glass. The 
cylinder was placed on a loose 
wooden platform about four feet 
square, which in turn rested upon 
four legs about nine inches clear of 
the floor. Before the performance 
began the platform was turned over 
and shown , as was also the cylinder. 
When placed in position, the spec- 
tators were requested to walk 
around the figure, and to pass their 
hands over his head, to satisfy them- 
selves that there was no wire or other 
means of communication between 
" Psycho" and the sides or ceiling 
of the room. A whist-table was 
now prepared, and three persons 
from the audience invited to play, 
' ' Psycho' ' making the fourth. The 
cards were dealt, and "Psycho's" 
taken up and placed upright, one 
by one, in a frame forming the arc 
of a circle in front of him. When 
it was his turn to play, his right 
hand passed with a horizontal cir- 
cular motion over the frame until 
it arrived at the right card, which 
he seized between his thumb and 
fingers. Then, by a vertical move- 
ment of his hand and arm, he took 
it up, lifted it high in the air and 
exposed it to the view of the audi- 



AUXILIARY ASSOCIATIONS 46 AUXILIARY ASSOCIATIONS 



ence; after which the card was 
taken by an attendant and placed 
upon the table, to be gathered into 
the trick. "Psycho" also played 
other games at cards, and could 
add, multiply, and perform several 
tricks of conjuring. The figure 
was operated on the same princi- 
ples as the automaton chess-player, 
"Ajeeb," in the Eden Musee, New 
York, and still more closely re- 
sembled the famous " Yellow Kid" 
automaton of the New York Jour- 
nal, which was exhibited in 1896. 
All the figures named, it is said, 
were built by the same genius. 

On one occasion, Coleman and [Charles] 
Reade went to the Egyptian Hall, when 
it was in the hands of Maskelyne and 
Cooke, to see "Psycho" play a rubber of 
whist. Reade was convinced that he had 
discovered the mystery of the perform- 
ance, and mounted the platform with 
the object of proving his system to the 
discomfiture of "Psycho." The same 
result occurred to Reade that happens to 
the rash performers who play on a " sys- 
tem" at Monte Carlo. He descended from 
the platform the picture of the deepest 
woe. " To his astonishment he had been 
beaten easily, almost ignominiously." 
His mortification was visible in his face 
and in his tones. He complained without 
ceasing, that he had been beaten "three 
games running by a beastly automaton." 
W.P. Courtney [L\-0.]," English IVhist." 

Auxiliary Associations. — The or- 
ganization of the American Whist 
League was followed by the estab- 
lishment of numerous subordinate 
leagues, inter-state associations, 
etc., in various parts of the coun- 
try. At the close of the year 1894 
there were in existence, among 
others, the following bodies: The 
New England Whist Association, 
comprising some thirty-odd clubs; 
the Interclub Whist League, of 
Brooklyn, N. Y., twelve clubs; 
the Interclub Whist League, of 
Albany, N. Y., twelve clubs; the 
New Jersey State Whist League, 
some five or six clubs; the State 
Whist League of Indiana, in pro- 
cess of formation; the Iowa Whist 



League, and the Interstate Whist 
League, formed at Portland, Ore- 
gon, with ten clubs. The Pacific 
Coast Whist Association had also 
been formed in San Francisco. 

Among those who foresaw that 
such associations could be made a 
great element of strength in the 
American Whist League was P. J. 
Tormey, of San Francisco, and his 
suggestion, acted upon by the 
fourth congress, at Philadelphia, in 
1894, led to the adoption of provi- 
sions in the by-laws of the League, 
June 21, 1895, whereby any ten or 
more clubs ( at least three of which 
are members of the League) which 
are associated together for the pur- 
pose of promoting the game in any 
particular locality might be admit- 
ted to the League as an auxiliary 
association. Each association of 
this kind is " entitled to one repre- 
sentative to the executive commit- 
tee of the League, with the privi- 
lege of the floor and of debate in 
matters relating to such associa- 
tion." 

In 1895 the Interstate Whist 
League, organized the previous 
year at Portland, Oregon, changed 
its name to the North Pacific Whist 
Association. At its second annual 
meeting a membership of twenty- 
one clubs, representing eight cities, 
was reported. Its territory com- 
prises the States of Oregon and 
Washington, and British Columbia. 

The New England Whist Associ- 
ation, with a membership of thirty- 
five clubs, was the only auxiliary 
association represented in the 
League at the fifth congress, in 1895; 
but at the sixth congress the New 
Jersey Whist Association, com- 
posed of fourteen clubs, and the 
Indiana Whist Association, com- 
posed of ten clubs, were also re- 
.ported as having been duly admit- 
ted. At the seventh whist congress, 
the Atlantic Whist Association and 



47 



BAD PIvAYBR 



the New York State Association 
(the latter organized in 1S97) were 
also represented, and similar asso- 
ciations were reported as recently 
organized in Michigan and Ten- 
nessee. 

In 1896, at Manhattan Beach, at 
the sixth congress of the American 
Whist League, a trophy for auxili- 
ary associations was first played for, 
and won by the New England As- 
sociation; in 1897, at Put-in-Bay, 
it was won by the New York State 
Association. (See, " Brooklyn Tro- 
phy.") 

The real importance of associations be- 
coming auxiliary to the League is that 
we may secure a unification of interests. 
The necessary adoption by such associa- 
tions, on coming into the I^eague, of the 
laws, rules, and practices of our organiza- 
tion insures harmony and uniformity in 
the practice of the game throughout the 
country which cannot be otherwise ob- 
tained. * * * These associations are a 
logical result of the League movement, 
and the proper supplement to its work; 
they are beyond question destined to be- 
come a most important feature in the 
development of whist in the next decade. 
— President Walter H. Barney \_L. A.], An- 
nual Address before the A. IV. L., iSgj. 

B. — The letter B is usually em- 
ployed in published whist games 
to denote the partner of A, the 
two playing against Y-Z; the 
third hand; "south," is duplicate 
whist. 

Bad Play. — Play made through 
ignorance or carelessness, or both, 
whereby tricks or games are lost at 
whist. A severe form of chronic or 
confirmed bad play is known as 
" bumblepuppy " {q. v.). Bad play 
is sometimes made by even the best 
of players, through errors of judg- 
ment. A good player, however, 
will not stick to his bad play, or 
defend it. 

Do not accustom yourself to judge by 
consequences. Bad play sometimes suc- 
ceeds when good would not. — Thomas 
Mathews [L. O.]. 



Bad play is any kind of solecism per- 
petrated by somebody else; if by your- 
self, it may be either just your luck, 
pardonable inattention, playing too 
quickly, drawing the wrong card, or— in 
a very extreme case — carelessness, but it 
is never bad play. Sometimes the differ- 
ence is even greater than this, and what 
would be bad playing in another in your- 
self may be the acme of skill. — '' Pem- 
bridge" [L+O.]. 

Bad Player.— One who plays at 
playing whist, or who, in ignorance, 
carelessness, or with malice afore- 
thought,manages to make life mis- 
erable for his partner at the whist- 
table; a bumblepuppist {q. v.). 
Deschapelles, the great French 
player, being suspected of revolu- 
tionary tendencies, a search of his 
private papers revealed a list of 
persons whom he had selected for 
the guillotine. Among these was 
a citizen against whom he had 
marked the accusation of being a 
very bad whist-player. Although 
a rather summary manner of dispos- 
ing of such players, it is needless to 
say that Deschapelles' plan had 
many admirers. 

The bad players are divided into two 
classes. The one set plays by rule, the 
other by instinct. — C. Mossop {L-yO.'], 
IVestminster Papers. 

The usual fault of Dad players is that 
they play whist apparently with an ab- 
sence of common sense, and commit acts 
which, in any business habits of life, 
would cause them to be considered little 
better than imbeciles. — A. W. Drayson 
\_L-\-A-V\, ■ The Art of Practical Whist.'' 

There is nothing so trying to the pa- 
tience and temper as when there are three 
good players and one bad player. This 
bad player spoils the rubber, and entirely 
upsets all the calculations of the good 
players; and as there seems to be com- 
pensation in some games of chance, the 
bad player usually holds very good cards, 
and necessarily wins. He then boasts 
that, in spite of his adversaries Deing 
supposed first-class players, yet he won 
the rubber against them, so that he must 
be more skillful than they are. — A. W. 
Drayson [L+A +] , '' Whist Laws and Whist 
Decisions." 

Some twenty years ago 1 was playing 
whist, my partner beiug the governor, 
and one of my adversaries a distinguished 



BAKBR, B. T. 



48 



BAKER, B. T. 



general. My partner played execrably, 
and lost when he ought to have won. 

When our game had finished, the gen- 
eral said to me: " I pitied you having the 
governor for your partner; he is terribly 
bad, but it is to be expected." 

"Why expected?" I inquired. 

" Because he has been so long an am- 
bassador and a governor, and is so very 
pompous, that no one presumes to find 
fault with his play, so he fancies he 
is a first-class player. If he had been 
accustomed, as I was, when a subaltern, 
to be sworn at when he made a great 
blunder, he might have become a good 
player, but now it is hopeless." — A. IV. 
Drayson \L-\-A^\ Whist, May, 1897. 

Baker, E. T. — A highly success- 
ful teacher of whist, and a fine 
player of the game, was born in 
Marion, Ohio, July 12, 1853. After 
leaving school he served sev- 
eral years in a bank in his na- 
tive city, and then removed to 
Bvansville, Ind. He was private 
secretary to the general freight 
agent of a leading railroad there 
for a time, and embarked in the 
telephone business with him in 
1879. This business took Mr. Baker 
to Nashville, Tenn., in 1883, where 
he was treasurer and manager of a 
telephone company, and where, as 
a member of the Hermitage Club, 
he first learned to play the English 
five-point game of whist. Later he 
removed to Chicago, where he be- 
came acquainted with John T. Mit- 
chell and others, who had just 
formed the famous Chicago Dupli- 
cate Whist Club. He played with 
Mr. Mitchell, as partner, all one 
winter, and in 1891 removed to New 
York; and on locating in Brooklyn 
he naturally became acquainted 
with Robert H. Weems, and was 
by him induced to join the Carle- 
ton Club. He played on the team of 
the Carleton Club for three succes- 
sive winters in the Interclub Whist 
League, and was one of the team 
that first secured the handsome 
silver placque, the trophy of the 
League. Afterwards, as a member 



of the Union League Club team, he 
again helped to win this placque, 
and at this writing (October, 1897) 
it is once more held by the Carleton 
Club, of which he is a member. 
The Brooklyn Whist Club was 
started by Mr. Weems and Mr. 
Baker, who associated with them- 
selves a number of prominent gen- 
tlemen who were interested in the 
game. Mr. Baker has been its 
treasurer ever since its organiza- 
tion, and was captain of its team at 
the Minneapolis congress and after- 
wards. 

Mr. Baker has only devoted a 
portion of his time to teaching 
whist, but has been very successful 
in New York and Brooklyn during 
the last two years,having had in that 
time some of the best players as his 
pupils. Among these is Mrs. Baker, 
who is very thorough in both the 
long and short-suit game, and 
adapts herself to any kind of part- 
ner with ease. With her as a partner, 
Mr. Baker got into the finals at the 
first Woman's Whist Congress, in 
Philadelphia, and v/on second prize 
in the tournament of the New York 
Whist Club, in the spring of 1897, 
being in the lead up to the final 
game. At the recent congress of 
the American Whist League, at Put- 
in-Bay, he accompanied the presi- 
dent and treasurer of the Ladies' 
Whist Club of New York, Mrs. 
Johnson and Miss Campbell, whom 
he had instructed for a short time 
previously in the short-suit game. 
As a team of four, with Dr. Walls, of 
Washington, they tied for second 
place in the first match for fours, 
and in the third match they won 
first prize. Mr. Baker also won 
two other prizes in the pair contests. 

Mr. Baker was, until a year ago, 
a firm believer in the long-suit 
game, although he never advocated 
or endorsed American leads. He 
played the American leads when 



BAIvDWIN, JOHN lyORAINB 49 BARNEY, WAIvTER H. 



associated with those who preferred 
them, but always leaned toward the 
old leads in preference. During 
the past year he has given the 
short-suit theories and various fads 
that have been introduced into the 
game a thorough examination and 
trial, and has adopted and recom- 
mended as his choice what is known 
as the " Common Sense " game, or 
as he calls it, the "Combination" 
game [q. v.), with certain features 
and modifications of his own. He 
says: " That it is not a losing game, 
the result of my experience, and 
of scores of my pupils who have 
adopted it, will prove, and that it 
is a better intellectual exercise, and 
a more enjoyable game to play, all 
will testify who have once given it 
a fair trial." 

Baldwin, John Loraine. — The 

father of the present English code 
of whist laws. Through his efforts 
a revision of the laws (which had 
received but slight alteration since 
the days of Hoyle) was brought 
about, and in 1864 he published 
"The Laws of Short Whist," to 
which was added a treatise on 
the game by James Clay. The fact 
that short whist (the five-point 
game) had almost entirely super- 
seded the old style, or long whist 
of ten points, was one of the chief 
reasons for the revision of the laws. 
These were framed by a committee 
appointed by the Arlington (now 
the Turf) Club, and by this club 
submitted to the Portland Club. 
The latter appointed a committee 
(of which Henry Derviche Jones, 
F. R. C. S., father of " Cavendish," 
was chairman) to consider them. 
The Portland Club made some sug- 
gestions and additions, which were 
accepted, and on April 30, the Ar- 
lington Club, with the Duke of 
Beaufort in the chair, resolved 
unanimously, " that the laws of 



short whist, as framed by the whist 
committee and edited by John 
Ivoraine Baldwin, Esq., be adopted 
at this club. ' ' 

Mr. Baldwin died in London in 
the latter part of November, 1896, 
at the age of 87 years. 

Barney, Walter H. — Fourth pres- 
ident of the American Whist 
League, was born September 20, 
1855, at Providence, R. I., the son 
of Josiah K. and Susan (Ham- 
mond) Barney. He was educated 
in the common schools, and in 
Mowry & Goflf English and Classi- 
cal High School, in which he pre- 
pared for college. He was gradu- 
ated from Brown University in 
1876, with the valedictory, and took 
the degree of A. M. in course, in 
1879. He next studied law in the 
office of Colwell & Colt, and was 
admitted to the Rhode Island bar 
in January, 1879. He has been 
engaged in active practice ever 
since that time. From 1883 to 1894, 
he was associated with his old in- 
structor. Judge Colwell, taking the 
place in the firm of the Hon. L. B. 
B. Colt on the latter's election to 
the United States judgeship. In 1893 
the partnership was dissolved on the 
election of Judge Colwell as city 
solicitor. Mr. Barney has been 
engaged in many large corporation 
and equity cases, and has been in 
most of the important constitu- 
tional litigation carried on in his 
State. He was a member of the 
State legislature in 1 892-' 93, and in 
the city council from 1892 to 1896. 
He has been a member of the school 
committee of the city of Providence 
since 1888, and president of that 
body since 1889. He is very deeply 
interested in educational ques- 
tions, and has been largely in- 
strumental in bringing the school 
department of his native city to its 
present high state of efficiency. He 



BARNEY, WAI^TER H. 



50 BARNEY, WALTER H. 



has been especially interested in 
the subject of special training for 
teachers, in the arrangement of the 
public school courses to meet the 
special requirements of different 
classes, and in the modification of 
the administration of the school de- 
partment so as to eliminate politics 
and personal influence in the se- 
lection of teachers and other em- 
ployees. 

He has been interested in whist 
since his college days, and was 
among the charter members of the 
famous Narragansett Whist Club, 
of Providence, which was organ- 
ized in 1884; was president of the 
club from 1892 till 1897, and has 
been active in the whist depart- 
ment of the Providence Athletic 
Association since its organization, 
and also as a member of the Provi- 
dence Whist Club. He was a dele- 
gate to the First American Whist 
Congress at Milwaukee, in 1891, 
and has been present at every suc- 
ceeding congress. He was chair- 
man of the committee on consti- 
tution at the first congress, and 
reported the constitution under 
which the American Whist League 
was organized. He was elected 
recording secretary of the Ameri- 
can Whist League at the first con- 
gress, and held that position till 
the fifth congress, at which time 
he was elected vice-president. At 
the sixth congress he was elected 
president, and after the custom 
of the League, retired at the 
next succeeding congress. He was 
a member of the committee on 
laws of the first and second con- 
gresses, and chairman of the special 
conunittee appointed to revise the 
laws in the interim between the 
second and third congresses. He 
was chairman of the committee on 
laws at the third congress which 
reported the final revision of the 
laws of whist. He was also a mem- 



ber of the committee on laws at the 
fourth congress, and made the ma- 
jority report on the laws of dupli- 
cate whist which was adopted by 
that congress. He took an active 
part in the organization of the New 
England Whist Association, in the 
fall of 1894, and was its president 
until the annual meeting of 1897, 
at which time he was elected hon- 
oi'ary director. 

He has been actively interested 
in the movement for the formation 
of auxiliary associations in various 
parts of the country, especially in 
the formation of the New York 
State Association, of which he is an 
honorary member. In 1897 he was 
made chairman of the tournament 
committee in charge of the arrange- 
ments for the eighth annual con- 
gress. 

Mr. Barney is a skillful and en- 
thusiastic whist- player, and a firm 
advocate of the long-suit game and 
American leads. He is also the 
originator of an important improve- 
ment in the arrangement of the 
players in duplicate whist matches. 
By his method a difficulty is obvia- 
ted in the moving of players and 
trays in matches between teams of 
eight. (See, " Duplicate Whist 
Schedules.") 

When several quartette teams compete 
with each other, Howell's system, of 
arrangement will be found the best. 
There are two methods: for odd and for 
even numbers of teams. * * * There is 
a choice between two systems of arrang- 
ing even numbers of teams. The first is 
Mr. W. H. Barnej''s improvement on 
Howell's system. The other is Mitchell's, 
which is better suited to social gather- 
ings, at which persons naturally wish to 
play all the time. The former is the 
more accurate for match play. — R. F. 
Foster \S. C], " Complete Hoyle," iSgj. 

There is little that has been written on 
the game but he has read and carefully 
considered, and but few whist publica- 
tions, modern or antique, but are on the 
shelves of his library. He has also studied 
the game from a mathematical and ana- 
lytical side, and has worked out many 
of the most intricate problems. For 



BATH COUP, THE 



51 



" BATTLE, SARAH " 



instance, he has devoted weeks of labor, 
and hundreds of pages of figures, to an 
analysis by the doctrine of probabilities 
of the value of the G. W. P. play of the 
nine from king, knave, nine, in suits not 
containing the ten. He has also a very 
carefully prepared analysis of the situa- 
tion and relative value of the lead of ace 
and nine from ace, queen, ten, nine, and 
ace, knave, ten, nine. Some of his friends 
say that he would rather work out these 
problems than to play the game itself. 
He, however, will not admit that any- 
thing outranks the game in interest. — 
C. S. Boutcher [L. A.], " fVhisi Sketches;' 
1892. 

Bath Coup, The. — A strategic 
play at whist which originated at 
Bath, England, in the time of 
Hoyle. The fourth hand, holding 
ace, jack, and others, refuses to take 
a king when it is led, presumably, 
from king, queen, and others. He 
retains the ace and allows the king 
to win, for the chance of winning 
the next two tricks, or perhaps 
deceiving the adversaries and profit- 
ing still more by the demorali- 
zation which sometimes ensues. 
There are circumstances under 
which this coup, or any other non- 
conventional play, is justifiable; but, 
as a rule, it should be employed 
with caution, as it may prove a 
boomerang. 

A bad habit of fourth-hand players is to 
hold up the tenace, ace, jack, when a king 
or queen is led originally. This is called 
the Bath coup, and the suit must ^o 
around three times for it to succeed in 
making two tricks. The holder of the 
tenace should equally make two tricks 
by playing the ace at once, provided he 
does not lead the suit back. — R. F. Fos- 
ter {S. 0.\ ''Complete Hoyle." 

The reader must be governed by circum- 
stances in making this play. If the ad- 
versaries are not likely to be deceived by 
your holding up the ace, do not attempt 
It unless_ strong in trumps, for 5'ou may 
lose a trick, and can only gain the one 
resulting from the tenace. But if you 
think the enemy are likely to be misled 
by the coup, you should adopt it by all 
means; for under the most unfavorable 
circumstances you lose only one trick, 
while you may gain three or four if the 
leader wrecks his hand by leading trumps 
under the impression that his suit is es- 



tablished.— f^a^. fT. Sifarww [5. O.], "Short- 
Suit IVhisi." 

♦♦Battle, Sarah." — An imagi- 
nary character described in one of 
Charles Lamb's " Essays of Elia." 
She was a gentlewoman with a 
great fondness for whist, and em- 
bodied Lamb's ideas of what a per- 
fect whist-player should be like. 
Several ladies' whist clubs in the 
United States have been named in 
her honor. 

When asked whether he regarded 
Sarah Battle as simply a creation 
of fancy or a real personage, ' ' Cav- 
endish " replied: "Sarah Battle I 
know nothing about, beyond what 
I have read in Lamb's 'Essays.' 
Many writers of fiction draw their 
characters from life, but you can- 
not be sure of Lamb's methods." 
W. P. Courtney, on the other hand, 
says: " Every one knows the per- 
fect picture of a whist-player given 
to us in the person of Sarah Battle; 
and from Lamb's own opinions, and 
the habits of those around him at 
these festive gatherings, her char- 
acter must have been painted. ' ' 

■■ "A clear fire, a clean hearth, and the 
rigor of the game." This was the cele- 
brated wish of old Sarah Battle {now with 
God), who, next to her devotions, loved a 
good game of whist. She was none of 
your lukewarm gamesters, your half-and- 
half players, who have no objection to 
take a hand if you want one to make up 
a rubber; who affirm that they have no 
pleasure in winning; that they like to win 
one game and lose another; that they can 
while aw^ay an hour very agreeably at a 
card-table, but are indifferent whether 
they play or no; and will desire an ad- 
versary, who has slipped a wrong card, 
to take it up and play another. These 
insufferable triflers are the curse of a 
table. One of these flies will .spoil a 
whole pot. Of such it may be said that 
they do not play at cards, but only play 
at playing at them. 

Sarah Battle was none of that breed. 
She detested them, as I do, from her 
heart and soul, and would not, save upon 
a striking emergency, willingly seat her- 
self at the same table with" them. She 
loved a thorough-paced partner, a deter- 
mined enemy. She took and gave no 



BEGINNER 



52 BENTINCK, LORD HENRY 



concessions. She never made a revoke 
nor even passed it over in her adversary 
without exacting the utmost forfeiture. 
She fought a good fight— cut and thrust. 
She held not her good sword (her cards) 
"like a dancer.' She sat bolt upright, 
and neither showed you her cards, nor 
desired to see yours. All people have 
their blind side— their superstitions; and 
1 have heard her declare, under the rose, 
that hearts was her favorite suit. 

I never in my life — and I knew Sarah 
Battle many of the best years of it — saw 
her take out her snuff-box when it was 
her turn to play, or snuff a candle in the 
midst of a game, or ring for a servant 
until it was fairly over. She never intro- 
duced or connived at miscellaneous con- 
versation during its progress. As she em- 
phatically observed, " cards were cards;" 
and if I ever saw mingled distaste in her 
fine last-century countenance, it was 
at the airs of a young gentleman of a 
literary turn, who had been with diffi- 
culty persuaded to take a hand, and who, 
in his excess of candor, declared that he 
thought there was no harm in unbending 
the mind now and then, after serious 
studies, in recreations of that kind! She 
could not bear to have her noble occupa- 
tion, to which she wound up her faculties, 
considered in that light. It was her busi- 
ness, her duty, the thing she came into 
the world to do — and she did it. She un- 
bent her mind afterwards over a book. — 
Charles Lamb, '■'Essays of Elia." 

Beginner. — A beginner at whist 
is one who is learning, or trying 
to learn, the rudiments of the 
game. Strict attention to rules is 
necessary on his part; he must learn 
to creep before he can walk. When 
he has learned the rules, and be- 
come proficient in applying them, 
he may proceed to learn how to 
play in exceptional cases, often 
contrary to general rules. 

Maxims and rules adapted for begin- 
ners are disregarded as the player a.A' 
■vances.— Charles Mossop \L-\-0.\ West- 
minster Papers, November i, 1878. 

Beginners, Mistakes of. — Mis- 
takes of beginners are excusable in 
a measure, especially if an effort is 
made to correct the errors and to 
profit thereby. Three common 
mistakes of beginners are thus 
stated by Milton C. Work [L. A. 
H.] in his "Whist of To-day:" 



" I. Trying to learn all at once. 
2. Imagining you know it all before 
you know it half. 3. Trying to 
learn without combining practice 
with precept. ' ' 

A beginner who attemps to handle the 
weapons of the expert simply plays with 
edged tools, which will probably cut no 
one but himself and his partner. — R. P. 
Foster [S. C], " Complete Hoyle." 

Study and become familiar with the 
laws and the leads. Play printed games 
with the cards before you. Understand 
the reason for each play. Play practice 
games with good players. — G. IV. Pettes 
\L. A. P.\ "American IVhist Illustrated." 

Bentinck, Lord Henry. — The 

originator or inventor of the trump 
signal, or "blue peter," as it was 
humorously dubbed upon its ap- 
pearance, the phrase being nautical, 
and referring to a signal hoisted on 
shipboard. He was born Septem- 
ber 14, 1774, and was a brother to 
the fourth Duke of Portland. From 
1827 to 1835 he was Governor-Gen- 
eral of India. He was also a gen- 
eral officer in the army, colonel of 
the Eleventh Dragoons, and mem- 
ber of Parliament for Glasgow. He 
died June 17, 1839. 

Lord Bentinck was one of the 
players at Graham's Coffee House, 
a celebrated whist headquarters, 
and was considered one of the finest 
players of his day, being rivaled 
only by James Clay. He himself, 
on being asked whom he considered 
the four best whist-players he ever 
knew, mentioned Lord Granville, 
the Hon. George Anson, and Henry, 
Lord de Ros. The fourth he would 
not mention by name; but he left it 
to be inferred that he considered 
himself entitled to the place. Clay 
he did not mention at all. 

Lord Bentinck was the inventor 
of the trump signal. He designed 
or noticed some contrivances with 
high cards for the purpose of get- 
ting trumps led; and, being very 
particular himself in the use of 



BBST CARD 



53 BLIND WHIST-PLAYBRS 



small cards, it occurred to him that 
by analogous means he could make 
an arrangement of the play of small 
cards whereby a similar request for 
a trump-lead could be communi- 
cated to his partner. Clay repre- 
sents him as deeply regretting his 
invention of the signal later in life, 
"because it deprived him of half 
the advantage which he derived 
from his superior play. ' ' (See, also, 
"Trump Signal.") 

Lord Henry Bentinck was another 
plaj-er, of the past generation, of high 
repute. * * * He was no doubt a fine 
player, but tenax propositi to a degree 
that militated against very perfect whist. 
For instance, when he had made up his 
mind not to be forced in trumps, I have 
seen him to allow a whole suit to be 
brought in against him rather than take 
the force. Again, he made uo distinction 
between partners, pla3'ing the same game 
with a good as with a bad one, whereas 
players of the highest class vary their 
game to suit their partners. His strong 
point was his accurate observance of the 
fall of the cards. He was very particular 
about the play of the small cards, and 
this, no doubt, led him to conceive the 
idea of the call for trumps, which was his 
invention.—" Cavendish " \L. A.}, " Card- 
Table Talk:' 

There is a house in I,ondon which 
should be the Mecca of all whist-players 
who believe in the new school and the 
"information" game; a shrine before 
which they should bow respectfully as 
the fountain-head of all that is modern in 
the game. This is 87 St. James street, 
and it is within sight of Marlborough 
House. Its fame rests chieflj' on the fact 
that it was at one time known as Gra- 
ham's Club, and that within its walls 
Lord Henry Bentinck first introduced the 
"blue peter," or signal for trumps, which 
consists in playing a higher card before a 
lower when no attempt is made to win 
the trick. That signal has been to the 
whist-pla5'ers of the world like the pillar 
of fire to the children of Israel. For 
more than forty years it has led them up 
and down in the wilderness of arbitrary 
conventions, but it has never brought 
them to the promised land of better 
whist.— i?. F. Foster [5. O.], "Moyithly 
Ulusirator:' 

Best Card See, "Master Card." 

Bibliography of Whist. — See, 
"Books on Whist." 



Blind Whist- Players.— When 

Disraeli in his romance, ' ' The In- 
fernal Marriage," represents the 
sage and prophet Tiresias, although 
blind, as a phenomenal whist- 
player, we are led to wonder where 
the author obtained his inspiration 
for this character. Had he lived 
in this country we might account 
for it by facts as strange as fiction 
which have came to light concern- 
ing blind whist -players in actual 
life, who enjoy the game with as 
much zest as their more fortunate 
partners. One of these is Henry K. 
Dillard, of 234 South Twentieth 
street, Philadelphia, of whom 
Whist of December, 1894, says: 
' ' He may never have delivered a 
great oration, nor led an army to 
victory, nor written an epic, nor 
created a great character in fiction, 
but he has, without eyes, become a 
master of the most intellectual 
game in the world." Mr. Dillard 
is a native of Philadelphia, and was 
engaged in business until 1883, 
when he was obliged to retire on 
account of the gradual loss of his 
eyesight, caused by a disease of the 
retina, which was brought on by 
overwork. He knew something of 
whist when overtaken by his misfor- 
tune, but through a suggestion made 
two years later he was not only able 
to continue the study of his favorite 
game, but to become an adept at 
it. The idea of raised cards was 
brought to his attention, and since 
then, through the devotion of his 
vpife, he has been enabled to keep 
himself in active practice. Mrs. 
Dillard keeps constantly on hand, 
for his use, cards pricked by sten- 
cil in such a way that by his delicate 
touch he is able to play the game 
as readily and accurately as any 
others at the table, each player 
calling out his card as played. 
"Few men can discuss the finer 
points of whist with more intelli- 



BLIND WHIST-PI^AYBRS 54 



■ BLUB PETBR " 



gence," says I. W. Holman, in 
speaking of Mr. Dillard. ' 'As illus- 
trating his remarkable memory, 
one evening during his visit in 
Chicago, at the end of a 'rubber,' 
a discussion arose relative to the 
first deal, when, to the astonish- 
ment of those present, he placed 
the entire fifty-two cards in their 
order of play from beginning to 
end." 

Cecil Smith, a young student in 
the University of California, is 
another blind whist-player. He 
has made the game his favorite 
pastime, and plays it as quickly 
and as accurately as any good 
player, recognizing the cards he 
holds in his hands, and using them 
always to the best advantage. He 
has a little machine with which he 
punctures each card. So fine are 
the tiny holes made that none of 
the other players notice them. The 
cards are in no way marred for prac- 
tical use, and may be shuffled as 
any other pack. 

The following particulars con- 
cerning other blind players are 
contained in W. P. Courtney's 
" EngUsh Whist and Whist-Play- 
ers:" " The enthusiasm for whist, 
which overcomes all obstacles, was 
never more markedly shown than 
in the case of some blind players. 
The system adopted by Stanley, 
the blind organist, and leader of 
the oratorio band in ' Drury Lane,' 
is partly explained by Laetitia M. 
Hawkins, in her 'Anecdotes' ( 1822) . 
The cards were marked for him by 
his sister-in-law, and a pack was a 
' great curiosity, eagerly acquired. 
The ' 'court-card ' ' system had slipped 
her memory, but the numbers of the 
pips were pricked on the others with 
a very fine needle, ' the suits being 
marked in the different corners. 
His cards were arranged for him by 
some outsider, and ' each person as 
he played named the card which 



he had selected for that purpose.' 
Dr. Thomas Campbell, who came 
from Ireland in 1775 and wrote his 
' Diary of a Visit to England,' de- 
scribed Stanley ' as a very agreeable 
person, and comely for a blind man. ' 
He played with ' as much ease and 
quickness as any man' Campbell 
ever saw. 

"Charles Bennet, the blind or- 
ganist of Truro Church, played on 
the same plan, and soon became an 
expert. When Mr. Henry Faw- 
cett lost his eyesight, his secretary, 
Mr. Dryhurst, himself a whist- 
player, devised a similar plan for 
his chief, who learned to play cor- 
rectly with remarkable quickness. 
Three days after he had begun the 
experiment, he could play and win 
a game without making mistakes, 
and without hesitating over the 
cards longer than his antagonist." 

Blocking. — Obstructing partner's 
long suit by failing to get rid in 
time of the commanding card in the 
same. (See, "Unblocking. ") 

Blocking a suit, keeping a high card of 
it, so that a player with a number of 
smaller cards cannot win tricks with 
them.—/?. F. Foster \S. O.]. 

"Blue Peter." — A name famil- 
iarly applied to the trump signal 
upon its introduction in England, 
and used synonymously to this day. 
Sometimes it is spoken of simply 
as " the peter. " Hence, to "blue 
peter," or to "peter," means to 
signal for trumps. Hence, also, 
the colloquial phrase, ' ' to peter 
out," used without reference to 
whist. (See, "Trump Signal.") 

In a poem entitled "The Blue 
Peter," published in the Westmin- 
ster Papers, the nautical origin of 
the term is fully indicated, and at 
the same time the fondness of the 
fair sex for holding back their 
trumps is also mildly satirized. A 



BOARDMAN, EMERY 



55 



BOB SHORT'S" RUIvES 



young lady is supposed to be speak- 
ing: 

Oft when I see the cruel pennon flying, 
How my heart bounds and palpitates, 
and thumps; 
Sure, 'tis enotigh to set a poor girl sigh- 
ing 
To see this cruel flag — this call for 
"trum.ps." 

Perhaps the i^ii trumps — the very best of 
all, 
My only one, may be, "my own dear 
Jack!" 
And yet I'm bound to answer to the call. 
And send him forth to strengthen the 
attack! 

Is it not quite unjust — nay, almost " pelf- 
ish," 
For a strong tyrant thus my all to 
crave ? 
In honors rich himself, it seems so selfish 
To wrest from me the only one I have. 

Would it not be — I ask you, in all meek- 
ness — 
Productive of results at least the same, 
For him to leave me — pitying my weak- 
ness— 
With little Jack to play my little game? 

I hope he soon will go for his last sail; 
Then, when I greet him once again on 
shore, 
ril pray, henceforth new methods may 
prevail 
To ask for trumps, and "peters " fly no 

more! 
The peter, simple in its inception, and 
inefiably stupid in its execution, * * * 
was the pioneer of the mass of wood- 
paving which has since been laid down. — 
'■'■ Penibrid^e" \L-\-0.\ ^^ Decline and Fall 
of Whist'." 

Board man, Emery. — The author 
of ' ' Winning Whist, ' ' a harmonious 
system of combined long-suit and 
short-suit play, was born in Belfast, 
Maine, March 23, 1849, where he 
still resides. He received a semi- 
nary education; was admitted to the 
bar in October, 1873; married, June 
13, 1878; has held the offices of city 
clerk, city treasurer, j'udge of police 
court, also of the municipal court; 
has been editor of the Belfast Ad- 
vertiser and Belfast City Press. In 
his book he recommends the Ameri- 
can leads from all suits, but not an 



invariable adherence to the long- 
suit system of play. 

Mr. Boardman defines two styles of 
game — one the long-suit system, and the 
other as comprising the tactics of weak- 
ness, consisting of concealment, artifice, 
deception, finesse, underplay. It has 
always been our understanding that 
finesse and underplay are more particu- 
larly attributes ot the long-suit game, 
and even the other tactics come within its 
scope. We cannot, therefore, subscribe 
to this classification. — Whist \L. A .], Oct.- 
Nov. i8g(>. 

"Bob Short's" Rules. — "Bob 

Short's" Rules for playing whist 
appeared in 1792, and enjoyed great 
popularity, many editions being dis- 
posed of. It is said 7000 copies of 
the book were sold dming the first 
twelve months. These rules were 
based on Ho54e, and only professed 
to be " Hoyle Abridged. ' ' They 
were compiled by Anne Lsetitia 
Aikin, afterwards Mrs. Barbaud, 
the authoress of " Evenings at 
Home," and "Early Lessons for 
Children. ' ' The rules are herewith 
reproduced as a matter of interest 
and curiosity. 

1. Lead from your strong suit, and be 
cautious how you change suits, and keep 
a commanding card to bring it in again. 

2. Lead through the strong suit and up. 
to the weak, but not in trumps unless 
very strong in them. 

3. Lead the highest of a sequence; but 
if you have a quart or cinque to a king, 
lead the lowest. 

4. Lead through an honor, particularly 
if the game is much against you. 

5. Lead your best trump if the adversa- 
ries are eight [long whist] and you have 
no honor, but not if you have four 
trumps, unless you have a sequence. 

6. Lead a trump, if you have four or 
five, or a strong hand; but not if weak. 

7. Having ace, king, and two or three 
small cards, lead ace and king, if weak 
in trumps; but a small one if strong in 
them. 

8. If you have the last trump, with some 
winning cards, and one losing card only, 
lead the losing card. 

g. Return your partner's lead, not the 
adversary's; and if you had only three 
originally, play the best; but you need 
not return it immediately when you win 
with the king, queen, or knave, and have 
only small ones; or when you hold a good 



BOOK 



56 



BOOK-PIvAYER 



sequence, have a strong suit, or have five 
trumps. 

10. Do not lead from ace-queen or ace- 
knave. 

11. Do not lead an ace unless you have 
a king. 

12. Do not lead a thirteenth card, unless 
trumps are out. 

13. Do not trump a thirteenth card, 
unless you are a last player, or want the 
lead. 

14. Keep a small card to return your 
partner's lead. 

15. Be cautious in trumping a cai'd 
when strong in trumps, particularly if 
you have a strong suit. 

16. Having only a few small trumps, 
make them when you can. 

17. If your partner refuses to trump a 
suit of which he knows you have not the 
best, lead your best trump. 

18. When you hold all the remaining 
trumps, play one, and then try to put the 
lead in your partner's hand. 

19. Remember how many of each suit 
are out, and what is the best card left in 
each hand. 

20. Never force your partner if you are 
weak in trumps, unless you have a re- 
nounce or can ensure the odd trick. 

21. When playing for the odd trick, be 
cautious of trumping out, especially if 
your partner is likely to trump a suit; and 
make all the tricks you can early, and 
avoid finessing. 

22. If you take a trick and have a se- 
quence, win it with the lowest. 

23. (Second hand.) Having ace, king, 
and small ones, plaj^ a small one, if strong 
in trumps, but the king if weak; and hav- 
ing ace, king, queen, or knave only, with 
a small one, play the small one. 

24. (Third hand.) Having ace and 
queen, play the queen, and if it wins, re- 
turn the ace; and in all other cases play 
the best, if your partner leads a small 
one. 

25. Neglect not to make the odd trick 
■when in your power. 

26. Attend to the score, and play the 
game accordingly. 

27. Retain the card turned up as long 
as possible. 

28. When in doubt, win the trick. 

Hoyle's more important teaching mat- 
ter is essentially reproduced [in "Bob 
Short's" Rules], but with considerable 
alterations of the wording, mostly quite 
arbitrary and unnecessary. The division 
into chapters is also abandoned, which 
makes the book appear still more con- 
fused and unmethodical. — William Pole 
\,L. A +], "Evolution of IVhist." 

Book. — The cards comprising the 
first six tricks taken in play, and 



gathered into one lot. All the tricks 
taken above a book count toward 
game, one point for each trick. 

Book Game. — The playing of 
whist in accordance with rules and 
directions given in books. A book 
game is one abounding in theoreti- 
cal knowledge, but very often lack- 
ing the skill which comes from 
practice. 

The game as laid down in the books is 
strategical and scientific, and embodies 
the wisdom and judgment of whist sages 
acquired after long, acute, and sound in- 
vestigation. — A. J. Mcintosh \L. A^, 
''Modern IVhist," 1888. 

What is required of the game of w^hist is 
to make the tricks by the most correct 
play. In very many cases the book leads 
are right, and you are not unreasonably 
to play contrary to their dictation; but do 
not surrender your common sense to a 
regulation.— C IV. PeiteslL.A.P.], "Amer- 
ican IVktst Illustrated." 

Some players seem fond of making 
mention of the fact that they do not play 
the "book game," prefer to play their 
own hand, in their own way, etc. An 
illiterate person might explain that he 
did not talk book IJnglish, but such ex- 
planation would be entirely unneces- 
sary. — Charles E. Coffin [L. A.], " Gist oj" 
PVhist." 

Do not run away with the impression 
that a thorough knowledge of all the 
conventionalities of the game will enable 
you to win every time you play, or will 
even give you any great advantage over 
those who do not possess this knowledge 
to the same extent. I am of opinion that 
a book knowledge of whist is of little 
value so far as winning games is con- 
cerned. Ignoramuses sometimes hit on 
plays that surpass the cleverest devices of 
genius. The great value of the conven- 
tional knowledge of whist lies in the fact 
that the game becomes an intellectual 
recreation, and the book-player derives 
an inward satisfaction from it that it does 
not yield to others. — P. E. Foster \S. O.]. 

Book-Player. — One who plays in 
accordance with the rules laid down 
in books, but who very often is 
lacking in practical knowledge of 
the game, or handicapped by a too 
rigid adherence to rule. 

The book -player is a safe man as a part- 
ner, but is not very dangerous as an ad- 
versary. — A. IV. Drayson \_L-\-A-\-\ "Art 
of Practical Whist." 



BOOKS OF THE FOUR KINGS 57 



BOOKS ON WHIST 



The book-player depends entirely on 
his knowledge of certain conventionali- 
ties and signals, and when he cuts in with 
those who do not know them he is really 
worse off than if he knew nothing.— >?. F. 
Foster [S. O.], " Whist Strategy." 

" Books of the Four Kings." — 

A half-humorous expression, mean- 
ing a pack of cards. Now obsolete. 

Cards used to be called in England 
"the books of the Four Kings." The best- 
known instance is that said to be used by 
Mrs.Piozziin "Retrospection," where she 
remarks that it is a well-known vulgarity 
in England to say: "Come in; will you 
have a stroke at the history of the Four 
Kings?"— ff'. P. Courtney {L-\-0.], "Eng- 
lish Whist." 

Books on Whist. — A complete 
bibliography of whist would num- 
ber hundreds of volumes. The 
following is a carefully arranged 
alphabetical list of the more im- 
portant works that have been pub- 
lished on the game. In this list 
will be found all those books which 
have affected or influenced the de- 
velopment of whist, from its in- 
fancy down to the present day: 

"Advanced "Whist," by "Aquarius" 
(L. d'A. Jackson). London, 1884 ; New 
York, 1884. 

"Advice to the Young Whist-Player," 
by Thomas Mathews. London and Bath, 
1804; eighteenth edition at Bath, 1828; 
New York, 1857. 

"American Hoyle, The," edited by 
"Trumps," New York, 1865; thirteenth 
edition in 1880. 

"American Leads Simplified," by "Cav- 
endish" (Henry Jones). London, 1891. 

"American or Standard Whist," by G. 
W. P. (George W. Pettes). Boston, 1880. 
(Eight editions.) 

" American Whist," (by Jacob A. Hoek- 
stra). Originally published in the Roch- 
ester (N. Y.) Post-Express, 1888. Second 
edition, 1893. 

"American Whist Illustrated," by G. 
W. P. (G. W. Pettes). Boston and New 
York, 1890. (Ten editions. ) 

"Art of Practical Whist, The," by A. 
W. Drayson. London and New York, 
1879. In 1897 it had passed through five 
editions. 

" Card Essays, Clay's Decisions, and 
Card-Table Talk," by " Cavendish" 
(Henrv Jones). London, 1880. 

"Common Sense in Whist," by Charles 
R. Keiley. New York, 1898. 



" Compend of Short Whist, A," by S. 
Seymour. Quebec, 1878. 

"Correct Card, or How to Play at 
Whist, " by Arthur Campbell- Walker, 
London, 1876; New York, 1876. (Thir- 
teenth thousand published in 1885.) 

" Das Edle Whist" (" The Noble Game 
of Whist"), by T. S. Ebersberg. Vienna, 
Leipsic, etc., 1836. (Eighth edition in 

"Decline and Fall of Whist, The," 
by " Pembridge" (J. P. Hewby). Lon- 
don, 1884. 

"Duplicate Whist," by John T. Mit- 
chell. Chicago, 1891; second edition, Kala- 
mazoo, 1897. 

" Duplicate Whist and Whist Strategy," 
by R. F. Foster. New York, 1894. 

"Easy Whist," by "Aquarius" (L. d'A. 
Jackson). London, 1883; New York, 1884. 

" Encyclopedia of the Game of Whist, 
Prefaced with Words of Advice to Young 
Players," by William Cusack-Smith. Lon- 
don, 1891. 

" English Whist and Whist-Players," by 
William Prideaux Courtney. London and 
New York, 1894. 

"Epitome of the Game of Whist, An," 
by E- M. Arnaud. Edinburgh, 1829. 

"Evolution of Whist, The," by Wil- 
liam Pole. New York and London, 1895. 

"Foster's Complete Hoyle," by R. F. 
Foster. New York, 1897. 

" Genie du Whiste," by Gen. Baron de 
Vautr6. Brussels, 1843. The fourth edi- 
tion appeared in Paris, 1847; fifth edition, 
Paris, 1848. 

" Gist of Whist, The," by Charles E. 
Coffin. New York, 1893; fourth edition. 
New York, 1894; fifth edition. New York, 
1896. 

"Handbook of Whist, A," by "Cap- 
tain Crawley" (George F. Pardon). Lon- 
don, 1863. 

" Handbook of 'W^hist," by " Major Ten- 
ace" (George W. Bailey). New York, 
1886; second edition, 1888. 

"Handbook of Whi.st," by "Trumps" 
(W. B. Dick). New York, 1884. 

" Hands at Whist, The," by "Aqua- 
rius" (L. d'A. Jackson). London, 1883; 
New York, 1884. 

"Hints to Whist-Players, A Few," by 
Percival Haslam. Privately printed in 
London, in the latter part of the eight- 
eenth century. 

"Home Whist," by "Five of Clubs " 
(Richard A. Proctor). London, 1885. Sec- 
ond edition, London, 1889; New York, 
1889. 

" Howell's Whist Openings," by Edwin 
C. Howell. Boston, 1896. 

"How to Play Whist," by "Five of 
Clubs" (Richard A. Proctor). London, 
1885; New York, 1885; London, 1889. 

"Hoyle Abridged; or, Short Rules for 
Short Memories at Whist," by "Bob 
Short" (Anne Lsetitia Aikin). Bath, 



BOOKS ON WHIST 



58 



BOOKS ON WHIST 



1792. Many editions. Over 7000 copies 
sold during the first year. 

"Laws and Practice of Whist," by 
"Caelebs" (£). A. Carlyon). Loudon, 1851; 
second edition, 1856; New York, 1S59. 

"Laws and Principles of Whist, The," 
bv " Cavendish " (Henry Jones). London, 
1862; New York, 1864; twenty-two editions 
up to 1897. 

"Laws and Regulations of Short 
Whist," by "A. Trump, Jr."(William Pem- 
broke Fetridge). London and Paris, 
1882; New York, 1888. 

" Laws of Short Whist," edited by John 
Loraine Baldwin; -with a Treatise on the 
Game, by James Clay. London, 1864; 
New York, 1866. Several editions. Dutch 
translation, Gravenhage, 1878. 

" Maxims for Playing the Game of 
Whist," by William Payne. London, 1773. 
(The first edition was published anony- 
mously, about 1770.) 

"Modern Scientific Whist," by C. D. P. 
Hamilton. New York, 1895; second edi- 
tion, 1896. 

"Modern Whist," by Clement Davies. 
London and New York, 18S6. 

" Modern Whist with Portland Rules, 
and Decisions Thereunder," by (A. J.) 
Mcintosh. Utica, N. Y., second edition, 
1888. 

" Philosophy of Whist, The," by William 
Pole. Loudon. 1883; New York, 1884. 
Fifth edition, London, 1S89. 

"Practical Guide to Whist, A," by 
Fisher Ames. New York, 1891. (Sixth 
edition, 1894.) 

" Rationelle Whist, Das," by Ritter 
(Knight) Ludwig von Cceckelbergle- 
Diitzele. Vienna, 1843. 

" Short-Suit Whist," by Val. W. Starnes. 
New York, 1896. 

"Short Treatise on the Game of Whist, 
A," by Ejdmoiid Hoyle. London, 1742. 
(Sixteen editions were published in :Eng- 
land during his lifetime); Gotha (German 
edition), 1768; Vienna (French), 1776; 
Paris, 1781; Amsterdam (Dutch), 1810. 

" Short Whist, Its Progress, Rise, and 
Laws," by " Major A." (Charles B. Coles). 
London, 1834; sixteenth edition, 1864; 
eighteenth edition, with Pole's Essay on 
the "Theory of the Modern Scientific 
Game," 1865. 

" Short Whist; to which is Added Long 
Whist by 'Admiral' ( James Burney)," by 
F. P. Watson. London, fourth edition, 
1846. (Burney's essay was originally 
published in 1821, a second edition appear- 
ing in 1823.) 

"Theory and Practice of Whist," by 
" Captain Crawlej' " (George Frederick 
Pardon). London, 1865; tenth edition, 1876. 

"Theory of the Modern Scientific 
Game, The," by William Pole. London 
(anonymously), 1864; London, 1870, with 
author's name; New York, 1872. (Seven- 
teen editions up to 1897.) 



"Trait6 du Whiste," by G. le Breton 
Deschapelles. Second Partie, La Legis- 
lation. Paris, 1839. (Part I. never pub- 
lished.) F;ng:lish edition, called " Treatise 
on Whist, with Laws." London, 1839. 

"Trait6 du Whiste I'ingenu, ou Whiste 
S,Trois," by G. le Breton Deschapelles. 
Paris, 1842. 

" Universal Whist," by G. W. P. (George 
W. Pettes). Boston, 1887. (Four edi- 
tions.) 

"What to Lead," by "Cam" (Waller 
A. Lewis). London, 1865. 

"Whist Developments, American 
Leads, and the Plain Suit Echo," by 
"Cavendish" (Henry Jones). London, 
1885. (In later editions the latter part of 
the title was changed to " Unblocking 
Game.") 

"Whist for All Players," by "Captain 
Crawley" (George F. Pardon). London, 
1873. 

" Whist for Beginners," by C. T. Buck- 
land. London, 1882: London, 1883; New 
York, 1884. 

"Whist: How to Play and How to Win," 
by Thomas Brittain. Manchester, Eng- 
land, 1882. 

"Whist in Diagrams," by G. W. P. (G. 
W. Pettes). Boston, 1891. 

"Whist, Its History and Practice," by 
"An Amateur," with illustrations by 
Meadows. London, new edition, 1844. 

" Whist Laws and Whist Decisions," by 
A. W. Drayson. New York, 1S96. 

"Whist Manual, A," by R. F. Foster. 
New York, 1S90: three editions up to 1897. 

"Whist of To-day," by Milton C. Work. 
Philadelphia, four editions, 1896. 

" Whist, or Bumblepuppy ? " by " Pem- 
bridge" (J. P. Hewby). 'London, 1880; 
Boston, 1S83; London, 1895. 

"Whist-Player, The," by "Lieutenant- 
Colonel B." (H. C. Bunbury). London, 
1856; second edition, 1858. 

"Whist-Player's Guide, The," by H. F. 
Morgan. London, 1881. 

"Whist Sketches," by C. S. Boutcher. 
EastoUj Pa., 1892. 

"Whist Strategy," by R. F. Foster (pub- 
lished in the same volume with his " Du- 
plicate Whist "). New York, 1894. 

" Whist Table, The, A Treasury of 
Notes on the Royal Game," edited by 
"Portland." New York, 1894. 

" Whist Tactics," by R. F. Foster. New 
York and London, 1805. 

" Whist Up to Date," by C. S. S. (Charles 
Stuart Street). New York, 1896. 

"Whist: Which Card to Lead," by 
"Cam" (Waller A. Lewis). London, two 
edition.?, 1865; third edition, i865; fourth 
edition, 1867. 

"Whist, With and Without Percep- 
tion," by "Cavendish" (Henry Jones). 
London, 1889. 

"Winning Whist," by Emery Board- 
man. New York, 1896. 



BOSTON' 



59 BOSTON DE FONTAINBI^EAU 



In order to obtain even mediocrity at 
whist it is necessary to read some of the 
books that have been written on the sub- 
ject, and it is better to read them all. — A. 
IV.DraysonlL+A+l "The Art of Prac- 
tical li^hist." 

" Boston." — One of tlie earliest 
and most popular ofifshoots of whist, 
specially adapted for betting pur- 
poses. It is supposed to have orig- 
inated in Boston. Rules for its play- 
were published in Paris as early as 
1810. " Boston " is played by four 
persons with a full pack of fifty-two 
cards. The dealer gives four cards 
to each player, then four more, and 
then five. No trump is turned, but 
a second or still pack is cut, and the 
top card turned up for the trump. 
The suit to which it belongs is first 
preference (after the manner of 
" cayenne "), and the other suit of 
the same color is second preference. 
The two remaining colors are plain 
suits for that deal. "Boston" 
closely resembles " solo whist " (a 
very successful offshoot) in the mat- 
ter of bidding, and one player play- 
ing single-handed against the other 
three. Each player, in turn, an- 
nounces the number of tricks which 
he is willing to undertake to win, 
if allowed to name the trump suit; 
or to lose a certain number, the 
play to proceed without trumps. 
The bids range from five tricks, 
which is now called ' ' boston ' ' 
(although formerly ' ' boston ' ' was 
the grand slam), to the winning 
of thirteen tricks (the "grand 
slam " ) . To lose twelve tricks, with 
the privilege of first discarding a 
card which is not to be exposed, is 
called the "little mislre;" to lose 
every trick, the "grand misere." 
The ' ' little spread ' ' is the same as 
the "little misere," with this addi- 
tional feature: the single player's 
hand is exposed on the table. To 
lose every trick under the same cir- 
cumstances is called the ' ' grand 
spread." The successful bidder 



tries to win or lose a certain num- 
ber of tricks, and the other three 
players combine in their efforts to 
prevent him from so doing. If he 
is successful, his adversaries are 
obliged to pay him a certain num- 
ber of counters or chips, according 
to a fixed schedule. If he fails, he 
is obliged to pay each adversary, 
also in accordance with a fixed 
schedule. There is also a pool, 
made up at the beginning of the 
game, by each player depositing a 
counter or chip in a small tray or 
basket. This pool goes to the suc- 
cessful player, provided he made a 
bid of seven or better. If he loses, 
however, he is obliged to double 
the pool — i.e., put into it an equal 
number of counters. The game is 
finished by the play of twelve 
hands. 

The stakes at "boston" depend upon 
the value of the counters. One cent for 
a white counter is considered a pretty 
stiff game; because it is quite possible for 
a single player to win or lose a thousand 
white counters on one hand, and the pay- 
ments very seldom fall short of fifty. — jR. 
F. Foster [S. O.], "" Complete HoyleV 

In "boston " and "boston de Fontain- 
bleau," in addition to making the trump 
suit, instead of turning it up, further de- 
partures are introduced by naming the 
number of tricks to be played for, allow- 
ing the player to take all or none without 
any trump suit, and by "spreading" cer- 
tain hands, without allowing the adver- 
saries to call the exposed cards. — R. F. 
Foster [S. C] . 

*' Boston de Fontainbleau." — 

This is " boston " with slight varia- 
tions. Instead of doubling the pool, 
the unsuccessful player puts into it 
an amount equal to that which he^ 
loses to each of the other players. 
The bids rank in a slightly different 
order, and there is an additional bid 
called the " piccolissimo." This 
means to win one trick exactly, 
after discarding an unknown card, 
there being no trump suit. The 
order of the suits is always: dia- 
monds, hearts, clubs, and spades. 



EOYCE, MATTHIAS 



60 



"BRIDGE" 



Honors are counted in the game 
abroad, but not very often in 
America. Unlike in "boston," a 
player, having once passed, cannot 
bid again; and before playing, the 
bidder who is successful may call 
for a partner, although this is not 
often done, 

Boyce, Matthias.— See, "Mo- 
gul." 

''Bridge." — An offshoot or va- 
riety of whist, played after the 
manner of dummy, with certain 
additions which greatly facilitate 
betting. Like " boston " and " solo 
whist," it lends itself readily to 
gambling purposes, and is largely 
used at the clubs by those who play 
for money. It is said to have orig- 
inated in Athens, and to have 
spread thence to Russia and France, 
and from one of these countries to 
England, where in 1897 it had be- 
come a craze which was viewed 
with grave apprehension by the 
lovers of true whist. In a letter 
received from Walter M. Deane, of 
Bath, under date of September 6, 
1897, occurred this doleful observa- 
tion: " I regret to say that whist is 
greatly on the wane in England, 
owing to the prevalence of a gam- 
bling spirit that has favored the in- 
troduction of the game of ' bridge. ' 
It is with difficulty now that at some 
clubs a whist table can be formed." 
"Cavendish" deplored the same 
state of affairs, and had not been to 
the Portland Club for over a year 
because "bridge" was in full pos- 
session. "It is disgusting," he 
wrote, "to think that the temple 
of whist has been thus desecrated. " 

All this seems to be but the natu- 
ral outgrowth of the English mode 
of playing whist for stakes, although 
Charles Mossop, in a letter dated 
September 13, 1897, expresses it as 
his opinion that " Cavendish" and 



the American leads ' 'had something 
to do with it," his idea being that 
Englishmen were driven from whist 
by these innovations. It would ap- 
pear rather curious, though, in that 
case, that they should fly to another 
innovation, such as "bridge" un- 
doubtedly is. It seems more nat- 
ural to trace the craze terminating 
in "bridge" to the same causes 
which were at work when, in 1816 
or thereabouts, English players cut 
the game of whist in two at the 
behest of the gamblers (see, "Short 
Whist "), in order to make money 
circulate faster at play. Now, it 
seems, they are ready (let us hope, 
only temporarily) to throw over 
whist altogether in favor of a gam- 
bling game pure and simple. It is 
to be regretted that " bridge" has 
found its way also to America, and 
that many of our whist-plaj^ers 
have yielded to its temptations. 
They will undoubtedly live to re- 
gret it, and more especially its in- 
troduction into whist clubs, where 
it is as much out of place as poker, 
or other games of chance; especially 
as the by-laws of nearly every club 
prohibit play for money, and the 
American Whist League is on 
record as opposed to such play. 

The laws of "bridge" conform in 
general to the laws of dummy 
whist, with certain exceptions ne- 
cessitated by the difference in the 
two games. 

The rubber, best of three games, 
is played, and the trump is declared 
by the dealer, or may be passed by 
him, at his option, to his partner, 
in which case the latter must de- 
clare it. 

A game consists of thirty points, 
scored by tricks, the same as in 
whist. The value of the trick 
points varies with the trump de- 
clared, being two in spades, four in 
clubs, six in diamonds, and eight 
in hearts. When "no trump" is 



" BRIDGK " 



6i 



"BRIDGB' 



declared, the value of eacli trick 
point is twelve. 

When trump is declared the 
honors are ace, king, queen, jack, 
and ten of the trump suit; other- 
wise, the four aces. Three honors 
count the same as two tricks in the 
suit declared for the side holding 
them; four honors count the same 
as four tricks, and five honors the 
same as five tricks. When held in 
one hand, four honors count the 
same as eight tricks; four in one 
hand, with one in partner's hand, 
equal nine tricks, and five in one 
hand equal ten tricks. When " no 
trump" is declared, three aces held 
by one side count thirty; four aces, 
forty; and four aces held in one 
hand, one hundred. 

The slam adds forty points to 
the honor count, and the little 
slam, twenty points. 

Chicane, one hand containing no 
trumps, is equal in value to simple 
honors. If the partner of a player 
having chicane scores honors, he 
adds the value of three honors to 
his score. If the adversaries score 
honors, an equal value must be de- 
ducted from their score. 

When a rubber is concluded the 
total scores for tricks and honors 
(including chicane and slam) made 
by each side, are added up, and 
one hundred points are added to 
the score of the winners of the 
rubber. The difference between 
the two scores, when thus com- 
pleted, is the number of points won 
or lost by the winners of the 
rubber. 

As in dummy, there is no mis- 
deal. 

The dealer has the first privilege 
of declaring a trump, or "no 
trump;" in the latter case, the hand 
must be played without a trump 
suit. If he does not desire to exer- 
cise his privilege, he must say, 
" Make it, partner," and the latter 



is bound to declare a trump. Now 
we come to the most objection- 
able feature of the game. The 
dealer or his partner having made 
a declaration, the opponents have 
the privilege of going "over" or 
' ' doubling' ' the value of the tricks, 
if they do not think the other side 
can make the odd trick. The latter 
may "redouble," and then the 
others again have the say; and thus 
the thing may go on, like the 
"raise" in draw-poker, until one 
side or the other backs down. Here 
is where "bridge" reaches the level 
of poker. The raising of the value 
of the trick points does not, how- 
ever, affect the value of the honors, 
slam, or chicane. 

The dealer's partner holds the 
dummy hand, and as soon as all 
the preliminaries are over and the 
first card is led, the dummy hand 
is placed upon the table face up- 
wards, and the cards are played by 
the dealer unassisted by his partner. 

A significant section appears in 
the "etiquette of bridge," as fol- 
lows: "While there is nothing in 
the code to prevent ' going over' 
ad infinitmn, such a practice may 
be attended with undesirable re- 
sults: such as carrying the cost of 
the game far beyond its original 
design. Therefore, it is suggested 
that one hundred points be the limit 
for any one trick. " 

Dummy ' ' bridge ' ' is played by 
three persons, usually in single 
games instead of rubbers, the win- 
ner of the game adding fifty points 
to his score. The original dummy re- 
mains such during the entire game, 
or rubber, if the rubber is played. 
Dummy is held by the player who 
draws the lowest card, and dummy 
always has the first deal. The 
dealer makes the trump from the 
hand for which he deals. The 
dealer's left-hand adversary is the 
only player who has the privilege 



BRIGGS, J. H. 



62 



BROOKLYN TROPHY 



of "going over." Otherwise the 
play is the same as in "bridge." 

In many clubs "bridge" has taken 
the place of whist, but I do not think 
"bridge" has come to stay. In my 
opinion, the two games will not bear any 
comparison. — A. IV. Drayson \_L -{■ A-\-'\, 
Letter, October ^^o, 18^7. 

The game is played, after the lead of 
the first card, almost exactly as if it were 
dummy whist. The differences between 
the two games lie mainly in the declara- 
tion of trumps and the increasing values 
by going over, the differing values of 
suits, methods of scoring, and rubber 
count.— C. R. Keiley \S. 0.\ ''The Laws of 
Bridge,'''' i8gy. 

In ' 'bridge, " the stake is a unit, so much 
a point. The number of points won or 
lost on the rubber may be only two or 
three, or they may run into the hundreds. 
The average will vary, according to the 
style of play: some persons habitually bid- 
ding up hands to much beyond their value. 
In settling at the end of the rubber, it is 
usual for each losing player to pay his 
right-hand adversary. — R. F. Foster 
is. a], ''Complete Hoyle." 

"Bridge" is one of the most valuable 
aids to whist that has ever been exploited, 
entirely aside from the betting features of 
the game, which arem.ore or less reprehen- 
sible, depending on the point of view. 
Anyone who plays the game cannot fail 
to be impressed by the vista of possibili- 
ties it opens up in the way of tenace and 
finesse illustrations. An exposed-hand 
game njay not be whist, but one mu.st 
learn to crawl before he can run, and 
"bridge" gives an opportunity for ac- 
quiring this primary knowledge. Again, 
it 157111 teach the beginner as no other 
game that I know, the advantage or dis- 
advantage of extremely aggressive play. 
— C. R. Keiley \S. O.], Letter, Oct. 11, 1897. 

Briggs, J. H. — A leading whist- 
player and whist analyst of the 
West. Mr. Briggs was born July 5, 
1863, at Auburn, Maine, and after 
graduating at Yale, in 1885, imme- 
diately went to Minnesota, where 
he taught for a time, and then en- 
gaged in the life insurance busi- 
ness. In 1897, after a university 
course in assaying and mineralogy, 
he went to Oregon and engaged in 
prospecting for gold. He has al- 
ways enjoyed sports and outdoor 
exercise. For three years he was 
a member of the Yale athletic 
team (captain in his senior year), 



and in 1895 he made the State 
record of 207 as a sharpshooter 
in Minnesota's champion militia 
rifle team. He has for many years 
been a devoted student of whist, 
and an expert in play and analysis. 
With his brother, O. H. Briggs 
(also a good player), he was a dele- 
gate from the Minneapolis Chess, 
Checkers, and Whist Club to the 
first congress of the American 
Whist League, in 1891. He was 
a delegate to the second congress, 
and chairman of the tournament 
committee, which position he also 
held at the fifth congress. At the 
third, fourth, and fifth congresses 
he was captain of the Minne- 
apolis team which won the Ham- 
ilton Trophy in 1893, the Chal- 
lenge Trophy in 1894, and which 
was beaten in the final match for 
the Hamilton Trophy in 1895. At 
the sixth congress he was a mem- 
ber of the St. Paul team, Minne- 
apolis having no team that year. 
Mr. Briggs was elected a director 
of the League at the second con- 
gress, and re-elected at the fourth 
congress. (See, " Whist Analysts. " ) 

Bring In. — To successfully man- 
age the cards so as to take all the 
tricks in a suit, after the adverse 
trumps are exhausted. To over- 
come all difficulties and bring in 
the long suit of a hand is one of the 
chief objects of the modern scien- 
tific game. 

Unless you have good cards of re-entry, 
or good prospect of holding long trumps, 
do not try to bring in a suit of which you 
have not perfect command. — R.A. Proc- 
tor [L. O.] . 

When your suit is once established, if 
the adversaries' trumps are out, and you 
can get the lead, it is obvious vou may 
make a trick with every card of it you 
hold, and this is called bringing it in. — 
IVilliam Role [L. A+], ''Theory of 
Whist." 

Brooklyn Trophy. — A trophy 
presented by the whist-players of 
Brooklyn, N. Y., to the American 



BRUSH "TRAMP TRAYS " 63 BRUSH "TRAMP TRAYS" 



Whist League in 1896. It is in the 
form of a handsome shield, made 
of highly polished hardwood, and 
suitably inscribed. The trophy is 
contested for by teams of not less 
than sixteen players, representing 
auxiliary associations, at each an- 
nual congress, under rules pre- 
scribed from time to time by the 
executive committee. It is held by 
the association winning it at the 
annual congress until the first day 
of the following October. It is held 
subject to challenge from October i 
until the end of the following May, 
and from the last of May until the 
next congress, it is held by the win- 
ner of the last match played for it 
priortojune I. The trophy remains 
the property of the League. 

The Brooklyn Trophy was played 
for the first time in 1896, at Man- 
hattan Beach, by the New Jersey 
and New England Whist Associa- 
tions, and was won by the latter by 
nine tricks. The New England 
Association afterwards again suc- 
cessfully defended it against a 
challenge from the New Jersey 
Association. 

At the seventh congress, at Put- 
in-Bay, 1897, the trophy was played 
for by three organizations — the 
New York, the New England, and 
the Atlantic Whist Associations. 
Each association presented twenty 
players, and the arrangement was 
such that each league played a 
match against each of the two 
others. The result was a victory 
for the New York State Associa- 
tion, which defeated New England 
by nine tricks, and the Atlantic 
Association by one, winning both 
matches and the trophy. The At- 
lantics beat New England by thir- 
teen tricks. 

Brush "Tramp Trays." — Early 
in the year 1896, it occurred to W. 
B. Brush, of Austin, Texas, to send 



out a number of duplicate whist 
trays, with hands to be played by 
whist-players in various cities 
throughout the United States. The 
deals were prepared by the editor of 
Whist, having occurred in actual 
play, and being especially desirable 
for the opportunities which they 
contained for loss or gain. Mr. 
Brush had a large tin box made to 
contain the trays and accessories, 
and after a sufficient number of 
volunteers had been obtained to 
play them, and a route laid out, 
they were started on their way 
February 26, 1896, going from 
place to place by express. The 
route, with some variations (return 
journeys to States already visited), 
was as follows: From Texas to 
New Mexico, California, Utah, 
Washington, Montana, Dakota, 
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kan- 
sas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, 
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsyl- 
vania, South Carolina, District of 
Columbia, New Jersey, New York, 
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massa- 
chusetts, Maine. Nearly one hun- 
dred sets of plaj'ers agreed to play 
the hands, subject to rules which 
contained the following provisions: 
The party receiving the trays im- 
mediately notified the next one on 
the list, by means of a postal card 
found in the box, and also notified 
Mr. Brush, to whom copies of all 
scores made were forwarded as soon 
as possible after the play. The 
players in one city prepaid express 
charges to the next, attaching a 
shipping tag provided in the box. 
All players were on honor not to 
examine the previous scores before 
playing the hands, and no player 
was to examine the hands in the 
trays, or allow anyone to do so, 
prior to playing the same, in order 
that all players might have abso- 
lute confidence that all scores were 
honestly made. In case the cards 



BUEIvL, MRS. SARAH C. H. 64 

in any of the trays should get 
mixed, an envelope marked 
" Paine's Whist Hands" was pro- 
vided, containing information by 
which they could be rearranged. 
By June, 1896, the trays had arrived 
at Milwaukee, Wis., and on July 
14, 1897, they were at Ashtabula, 
O., which was number fifty-one on 
the list. Mr. Brush wrote us about 
that time, stating that although the 
progress made had been very slow, 
he was in hopes that the trays 
would move faster in the Bast than 
they did in the West. He said: 
" These ' tramps ' will have covered 
over twenty thousand miles when 
they get to their journey's end." 
On September 3, 1897, they were at 
Fredonia, N. Y. 

Buell, Mrs. Sarah C. H. — An ex- 
cellent teacher of whist, and a 
player of more than local reputa- 
tation, residing at Providence, R. 
I. Mrs. Buell has been familiar 
with card games all her life, and in 
years past, when considered a hope- 
less invalid, was wont to bury her- 
self in her whist-books and forget 
her aches and pains. Thus she be- 
came thoroughly acquainted with 
the theory and science of the game, 
and this was very noticeable in her 
play. Friends urged her to take 
up the teaching of the game pro- 
fessionally, and in the spring of 
1896 she formed her first classes in 
Providence. Since then she has 
taught in other places as well. 
Vogue of July, 1897, said: "Mrs. 
Buell has had the advantage of 
living amid whist surroundings, 
the effects of which are readily 
seen in her game. Mr. Walter H. 
Barney, president of the American 
Whist League, is among those 
who appreciate the fact that Mrs. 
Buell is a partner at whist to be 
desired, and an adversary to be 
feared." 



V 



BUMBLBPUPPIST 



*'Bumbledog." — A humorous 
variation of the word ' ' bumble- 
puppy" {q. v.), intended to con- 
vey the idea of a bad player at whist 
who has grown gray in the prac- 
tice of bumblepuppy; one of an 
irreclaimable and hopeless class of 
whist-butchers. 

"Whist" and "bumblepuppy" have 
long been clearly defined and adopted as 
classics; but there also exists, iu whist- 
playing circles, a manifestation of eccen- 
tricity in principle and method which 
compels classification as "bumbledog." 
This variety of whist is confined to the 
games played by elderly gentlemen of 
stubborn disposition — those courtly old- 
time cavaliers who fancy they learned 
whist in the early part of their century, 
and who still persist in counting " two by 
card" as if there were now anything else 
by which to count. These droll elderly 
gentlemen always talk over the table, 
and bumble worse than the worst young 
bumblers. "That's my king" — "That's 
the best out" — "Now I want the lead" — 
"Why didn't you return my heart?" — are 
a few of their pet phrases. They play to 
take tricks — these obstinate old bumble- 
dogs do — and to force a partner, lead 
from a sneak, and play entirely with 
reference to their own hands, are but a 
few of their exasperating offenses. In 
their minds, age and custom seem to 
hallow their nefarious practices; and a 
younger whist-player, or even an aroused 
"bumblepuppy" who ventures timid re- 
monstrance, is met with the jocose retort: 
"Teach me whist? Why, bless your life, 
I played whist before "you were born." 
On account of respectable connections, 
these wicked bumbledogs are cherished 
in society; and so go quaintly' on their 
way, always demanding younger part- 
ners at table, always rejecting scornfully 
any suggestion or advice, and invariably 
disrupting the harmonious flow of a good 
game. Dear old bumbledogs ! we love 
your gray hairs and shaky knees; we 
respect your clean life-records and spot- 
less linen; we dote on your old-time gal- 
lantry and thread-barejests; but oh— here 
we dare to say it— we detest your style of 
whist-playing, and when cards are out 
we shall dodge you whenever we can. — 
C. E., Whist, March, 1895. 

Bumblepuppist. — A person who 
imagines himself a whist-player, 
but is only a player of bumble- 
puppy ; a bad player. 

The bumblepuppist, like Artemus 
Ward's bear, "can be taught many inter- 



BUMELEPUPPY 



65 



BUMBLEPUPPY 



esting things, but is unreliable;" he only 
admires his own eccentricities, and if a 
person of respectable antecedents gets up 
a little pyrotechnic display of false cards 
for his own private delectation, the bum- 
blepuppist utterly misses the point of the 
joke, he fails even to see that it is clever; 
li such a comparison may be drawn with- 
out offense, he doesn't consider what is 
sauce for the goose is sauce for the gan- 
der. — '' Pembridge^' [Z,+ 0.]. 

Bumblepuppy. — Playing at whist 
in ignorance or defiance of the 
rules, or both. This ludicrous de- 
scription of bad whist-play is a 
provincial English term, and was 
originally vised to describe the an- 
cient game of nine-holes, of which 
Drayton sings: 

Th' unhappy wags which let their cattle 

stray. 
At nine-holes on the heath while they 

together plaj'. 

Nine-holes was a game in which 
nine holes were made in the ground 
in the angles and sides of a square, 
for the purpose of bowling a ball 
into them according to certain rules. 
The square naturally suggested the 
whist table, and in that manner the 
popular designation of nine-holes 
came to be applied to the blunder- 
ing attempts at whist made by the 
tyro or the wilfully ignorant and 
perverse. The word is used in this 
sense in a note in Strutt's ' ' Sports 
and Pastimes" (1801), volume 3, 
chapter 7, page 242. In the London 
Saturday Review of October 25, 
1884, we find "bumblepuppy, or 
domestic whist, at shilling points ' ' 
spoken of. And in Lo7tgniaii's 
Magazine, volume 6, page 597 
(1885), there is mention of " a com- 
mon form of home whist called by 
* Pembridge ' bumblepuppy." It 
was "Pembridge" (J. P. Hewby) 
who was really responsible for the 
general acceptance of the term by 
the whist world. In his delightful- 
ly humorous lectures on whist en- 
titled "Whist, or Bumblepuppy?" 



he discourses as follows: " 'Bumble- 
puppy was played in low public 
houses.' ' Here and there were 
bumblepuppy grounds in which 
players rolled iron balls into holes 
marked with numbers.' — Chroni- 
cles of Newgate. From which I 
infer that in the good old times this 
game first drove its votaries to 
drinking, and then landed them in 
a felon's cell." And he might have 
added that heav}' consequences have 
also been known to fall upon the 
unfortunate partners of bumble- 
puppists who went unsuspectingly 
with them to the whist table. In 
fact, it is claimed by some that 
bumblepuppy is responsible for not 
a little insanity. " Pembridge," evi- 
dently forgetful of this, spreads 
broadcast the following rules for 
the practice of bumblepuppy: 

1. I,ead a singleton whenever 
you have one. 

2. With two small trumps and no 
winning card, lead a trump. 

3. RufF a suit of which your part- 
ner clearly holds best, if you are 
weak in trumps. 

4. Never ruflf anything if you are 
strong. 

5. Never return your partner's 
trump, if you can possibly avoid it, 
unless he manifestly led it to bring 
in a suit of which you led a single- 
ton. 

6. Deceive him whenever you get 
a chance. 

7. Open a new suit every time 
you have the lead. 

8. Never pay any attention to 
your partner's first discard, unless 
it is a forced discard. Lead your 
own suit. 

9. Never force him under any 
circumstances unless you hold at 
least five trumps with two honors; 
even if you lose the rubber by it, 
play " the game !" 

10. Devote all your remaining 
energies to looking for a signal in 



BUMBLEPUPPY 



66 



BUNN, GEORGE L. 



the last trick. If unable to discover 
which was your partner's card — 
after keeping the table waiting for 
two minutes — inquire what trumps 
are, and lead him one on suspicion. 

"I really do not know what to lead." 
The lady or gentleman who habitually 
indulges in this apostrophe had better say 
at once, "I really do not know how to 
play."— /I. Hayward (<9. ). 

A player of this bumblepuppy game, 
who has been lucky in getting a number 
of good hands, does indeed arrogate to 
himself the character of a good plaj'er. — 
R. A. Proctor [L. O.], Longman's Maga- 
zine, February, 1883. 

Their game is a miscellaneous scramble 
for tricks with master cards, and their 
ideal a ruff. After the smoke of battle of 
the aces and kings has cleared, their 
minor cards are either helpless or but 
factors of chance. Doubtless this affords 
them amusement, and they fancy they 
are playing whist. — C. S. Boutcher \L. 
^.], " tVkist Sketches," i8g2. 

In this, as in other whist points, he 
must reason, and if he cannot reason, he 
cannot play whist. That there are a 
large number of players who think 
they play whist, and do not reason, it is 
too true ; but we say that such play may 
be bumblepuppy, or some other game — it 
certainly is not whist. — Charles Mossop, 
[L + O.], IVestmtnster Papers. 

In the library or drawing-room a table 
is made, and A says, as he looks over his 
thirteen cards, "I declare I don't know 
what to play!" B responds, "You would 
if you had my hand; it's awful!" And C 
says, " Well, play something; I can follow 
suit to anythingf And D groans, " Yes, 
give us something; I want to get through 
with this hand!" Not one of the party 
happens to hold three aces, three king.s, 
three queens, and four trumps — and is not 
satisfied. They do not think that among 
them are distributed all the cards there 
are, and that it is by the best use of such 
as each may chance to hold, the great 
game is played.— (9. W. Pettes [L.A.P.]. 

It is often said that every one in Eng- 
land loves whist. It would be truer to say 
that every one loves a game which is sup- 
posed to be whist. But ninety-nine out 
of a hundred of those who suppose the}' 
play whist hardly know what the game 
is. The game at which they really play 
has been called by the ingenious " Pem- 
bridge" bumblepuppy. It is a sort of 
blunder-blindfold game, which must be 
interesting, I suppose, since so many play 
it. Nay, let us be honest. Kven we who 
know what whist is (which is by no 
means claiming to play finely) have most 
of us had a period of bumblepuppy. — Ji. 



A. Proctor [L. O.], Longman's Magazine, 
February, i88s. 

Specimen of bumblepuppy in excelsis: 
Score, love all. Trumps, diamond nine. 
Z is a bumblepuppist with the highest 
opinion of himself: 





A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 










^ 5 


^ 6 


^ 2 


<;? 4 


2 


2 


5 


4 


K! 


3 


♦ 3 


♦ K 


♦ A 


4k 4!! 


4. 


♦ 7 


« J 


♦ 2 


♦ Q 


5 


8 


010 


♦ 10 


4k 9!!! 


6 


3 


7 


6 


Q!!!! 


7 


4k3 


J 


A 


9!!!!! 


8 


♦ 4 


<? 8 


♦ 8 


♦ 2 


9 


*6 


*8 


♦ 6 


* 9 


10 


4 7 


^ Q 


« 5 


A J 


11 


Q710 


^ A 


Q? 3 


^ 9 


12 


^ 7 


♦ A 


* 5 


*K 


13 


'^ J 


AQ 


♦ 10 


C? K 



This is the worst hand ever played, 
without exception; it is a microcosm, 
complete in itself, and contains examples 
of stupidity, selfishness, duplicity, oefi- 
ance of all recognized principles, and 
every conceivable villainy. 

Trick 2.— The misplaced ingenuity in 
deceiving Y as to the position of the 
queen is worth notice. 

Trick 3.— The lead of the only weak 
suit, in preference to the strong suit of 
clubs, playing up to declared weakness in 
hearts, or returning the trump, is very 
neat. 

Trick 5.— The force here of the trump 
leader, inducing him to believe that Z at 
any rate holds the remaining spades, an 
illusion carefully fostered by B, is espec- 
ially good. 

Trick 7.— The return of the trump at 
this point, with the best trump (probably) 
and three long spades (certainly )declared 
again.st him in one hand, is a real gem. — 
"Pembridge" [L +0.], "IVhist, orBtimble- 
puppy?" 

Bumper. — Winning two games 
running before the adversaries have 
scored. (An English term. ) 

Bunn, George L. — George L. 
Bunn, whist analyst, and editor of 
the questions and answers depart- 



BUNN, GEORGE h. 67 BURNEY, ADMIRAI, JAMES 



ment of Whist, was born at Sparta, 
Wis,, June 25, 1865. Moved with 
his parents to Madison, Wis., in 
1879 ; was graduated from the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin, June 24, 1885. 
He became interested in the game 
about the year 1880, through the 
fact that both his parents were 
whist-players, and he was often 
called upon to take a hand in their 
games. Before leaving college he 
was accounted a fairly good player, 
and with a thorough study of Pole, 
Drayson, "Cavendish," and " G. 
W. P.," he rapidly improved. In 
June, 1888, he was admitted to the 
bar, and in September of the same 
year he removed to St. Paul, where 
he has resided ever since, being at 
this writing district judge of that 
city. He joined the St. Paul Whist 
Club soon after his arrival, and also 
became a member of the Minneap- 
olis Whist Club, and of the Caven- 
dish Whist Club of St. Paul. He 
made his first appearance at the 
third congress of the American 
Whist League, in Chicago, as a 
member of the Minneapolis team 
which won the Hamilton Trophy. 
He was unable to attend the fourth 
congress, but played at the fifth, in 
Minneapolis, in 1895, with the St. 
Paul team, which was defeated by 
the Hamiltons; and likewise in 
1896, at Manhattan Beach. He 
played on the Minneapolis team in 
the fall of 1894-5 in its challenge 
matches for the A. W. L. Challege 
Trophy, the team winning every 
match played. He was a member 
of the St. Paul team that won this 
trophy at St. Louis in January, 
1896, and played with that team m 
the subsequent matches during the 
year, winning every match. 

Judge Bunn was elected a director 
of the American Whist League in 
1895. He edited a whist column 
for the St. Paul Globe for one year, 
beginning January i, 1896, but 



abandoned it upon his appointment 
as a judge of the district court. 
He has always been a consistent 
advocate of the long-suit game, 
although willing to give new ideas 
a fair trial. His labors as a whist 
analyst consist largely of published 
analyses of deals played in trophy 
matches, noteworthy deals played 
by himself and associates, and deals 
submitted by correspondents. He 
has also written many original arti- 
cles, both elementary and on ad- 
vanced points in play. 

There are few better whist-players in 
this country to-day than the captain of 
the St. Paul team, George L. Bunn. His 
analyses of the recent A. W. L. hands are 
the best we have, and the published rec- 
ords of his individual plaj^ show that 
very few tricks escape him in a match. 
But Mr. Bunn is not a short-suiter. On 
the contrary, he is bitterly opposed to the 
short-suit game.—/?. F. Foster [S. O.J, Nem 
York Sun, March 22, i8g6. 

We congratulate ourselves, and our 
readers, upon having arranged with Mr. 
George I,. Bunn, the well-known whist 
expert, to take charge of our "Whist 
Catechism " department. As a player he 
ranks with the finest in the country, and 
his powers of masterly analysis have 
earned him a well-deserved and well- 
established reputation. No department 
of this journal more fully combines the 
features of present interest and perma- 
nent value than the " Whist Catechism," 
and it could not possibly be in more capa- 
ble care. Mr. Bunn's acknowledged 
ability is now at the service of our read- 
ers, through these columns, and they 
could not have a sounder authority to 
which to refer as adviser, or as referee in 
disputed points of play. — Whist \L. A.\ 
June, iSgj. 

Burney, Admiral James. — A 

very skillful plaj'er of whist, and a 
friend of Charles Lamb. He pub- 
lished, in 1821, "AnEssay, by Way 
of Lecture, on the Game of Whist," 
in which he criticised the opinions 
of Mathews. His death occurred 
suddenly in November of the same 
year, and in 1823 a second edition 
of his book was published, with the 
title changed to " A Treatise on the 
Game of Whist." In 1842 the title 



BYE, DRAWING THE 



68 ' ' CALCULATION PUZZLE " 



was again changed by Francis 
Paget Watson, who incorporated 
the essay in his volume on " Short 
Whist," calling Burney's work, 
"Long Whist, With Instructions 
for Young Plajj^ers. ' ' 

Bye, Drawing The. — In dupli- 
cate whist matches it sometimes 
happens that three sets of adversa- 
ries can meet only two at a time, in 
which case one set must sit out 
during the first round. This is 
decided by lot, and those who re- 
main out are said to draw the bye. 

Bystander. — One who witnesses 
a game of whist without being ac- 
tively engaged; a spectator. 

In all cases of dispute, the bystanders 
shall act as umpires. — Deschapelles [O.], 
"Laws," Section 132. 

No bystander has a right, either (i) to 
walk round the table at which the game 
is plaj'ing; or (2) even to place himself so 
as to be able to look over two hands. — 
Deschapelles [O.], ^^Laws," Section ij8. 

Bystanders should make no remarks, 
neither should they by word or gesture 
give any intimation of the state of the 
game until concluded and scored, nor 
should they walk round the table to look 
at the dfflferent hands. — Etiquette of 
Whist (English Code). 

Bystanders should not, in any manner, 
call attention to or give any intimation 
concerning the play or the state of the 
game, during the play of a hand. They 
should not look over the hand of a player 
without his permission; nor should they 
walk around the table to look at the dif- 
ferent hands. — Etiquette of IVhist {Ameri- 
can Code). 

If a bystander make any remark which 
calls the attention of a player or players 
to an oversight affecting the score, he is 
liable to be called on, by the players only, 
to pay the stakes and bets on that game 
or rubber. A bystander, by agreement 
among the players, may decide any ques- 
tion. — English Whist Code, Sections 88 and 
8g. (See, also, quotations under " Dis- 
putes About Penalties.") 

"Czelcbs." — A pseudonym of 
Edward Augustus Carlyon, a Corn- 
ishman, who was born near St. 
Anstell in 1823; called to the bar at 
Lincoln's Inn, London, 1850; and 



subsequently removed to New Zea- 
land, where he died, at Napier, 
December 4, 1874. His "Laws and 
Practice of Whist," first published 
in 1851, contains his famous as- 
sumed name, which was spelled 
"Coelebs," but in subsequent edi- 
tions ' ' Caelebs ' ' was adhered to. 
This has occasioned some difference 
of opinion as to which form is cor- 
rect. His book is the first essay on 
the game which contains a refer- 
ence to the trump signal, or "blue 
peter, " as it was then called. The 
second edition, published in 1856, 
contained the laws which had been 
' ' specially revised, in conformity 
with the rules of the Portland 
Club." "Cselebs's " chief peculiar- 
ity in the leads is that he recom- 
mends always the lead of the 
highest or lowest of a suit, never an 
intermediate card. He also advises 
avoiding leads from suits contain- 
ing tenace, and stopping the lead 
from those that develop into tenace 
suits. He is celebrated for his 
maxim: "Strong cards take care 
of themselves; scheme, therefore, to 
protect the weak." An edition of 
his book was published in New 
York in 1859. 

Caicu ation. — One of the fun- 
damental principles of play incul- 
cated by Hoyle, Mathews, and their 
successors. Calculation, observa- 
tion, and position, or tenace, were 
the three points specially to be ob- 
served by the player who wished to 
be successful. It is needless to say 
that this holds good to-day. 

Calculation teaches you to plan your 
game, and lead originally to advantage. 
— Thomas Mathews [L. O.J. 

'* Calculation Puzzle, Sir." — 

An enthusiastic but easily muddled 
and generally unfortunate disciple 
of Hoyle, satirized in "The Hu- 
mours of Whist " {q. v.). 



CALL, THE 



69 CAMPBELL-WALKER, A. 



Sir Calculation Puzzle, a passionate ad- 
mirer of whist, and one of that numerous 
body of men who imagine themselves 
good players, yet always lose. — JV, P. 
Courtney [X+0.]) "English IVkist." 

CaBI, The. — In long whist, when 
at the score of eight, and having 
two honors in his hand, one partner 
inquired of the other, "Can you 
one?" — that is, "Have you an 
honor?" If so, the game was ended, 
as three honors counted two points 
for the side holding them. It was 
the custom to thus call as soon as 
the hands were taken up, in order 
that partner, if he did not hold an 
honor, might lead trumps at the 
first opportunity. (See, "Trump 
Signal.") 

In IVhist, vol. 3, p. 156, "Cavendish" 
mentions a curious custom, in the old 
long whist, of a certain intentional irreg- 
ularity in "calling honors," which was 
understood to be a request for the part- 
ner to lead trumps, as mentioned by 
Hoj'le, Mathews, and a writer in 1821, 
Admiral Burney. The latter says: "This 
I apprehend to be an intrusion on the 
plainness and integrity of whist, but hav- 
ing been allowed and generally practiced, 
it now stands, and is to be received as part 
of the game." The contrivance can hardly 
be received as anticipating the modern 
signal for trumps, though it may be fairly 
quoted as a precedent for the common 
acceptance of the latter, when " allowed 
and generally practiced." — IVilliam Pole 
[L. A+], "Evolution of IVAist.^' 

Call for Trumps. — See, "Trump 
Signal." 

Calling a Card. — Naming a card 
which has been improperly played 
or exposed, and requiring the player 
to place it, face up, on the table, so 
that it may be played whenever an 
opponent wishes. Such a card is 
known as a called card. (See, 
" Cards Liable to be Called.") 

Calling Attention. — Partners are 
only allowed to hold communica- 
tion with each other by means of 
the legitimate play of their respec- 
tive hands; i. e., they may make 



use only of the language of the 
cards. An exception to this occurs 
in the English game, where it is 
allowable to ask a partner whether 
he has not a card of the suit which 
he has renounced, thereby calling 
his attention to the fact, and saving 
a possible revoke. Another excep- 
tion occurs in duplicate whist, as 
played in America, where, in ac- 
cordance with a new law adopted 
in 1897, a player is now permitted 
to ask the adversaries if they have 
any of the suit renounced; but the 
question establishes the revoke if 
it is his partner who has renounced 
in error. 

If any one, prior to his partner play- 
ing, calls attention in any manner to the 
trick or to the score, the adversary last 
to play to the trick may require the of- 
fender's partner to play his highest or 
lowest of the suit led or, if he has none, 
to trump or not to trump the trick. — Laws 
of Whist (^American Code), Section 3$. 

Calling Honors. — In the Eng- 
lish game, honors must be called 
or claimed before the trump card 
of the following deal is turned, or 
they cannot be scored. In the 
American game, honors are not 
called nor scored. 

* * Ca m . " — A pseudonym used by 
Waller Augustus Lewis, an English 
whist-player of note, author of 
"Whist: Which Card to Lead." 
This work, first published in Lon- 
don in 1865, at once became popu- 
lar; a second edition being issued 
the same same year, a third in 1866, 
and a fourth in the year following. 
The author was a physician by pro- 
fession, being chief medical officer 
of the London post-office. He died 
at Whitby, September 8, 1882. 

Campbell - Walker, Arthur. — 

Author of " The Correct Card, and 
How to Play at Whist," which was 
published in 1876, and by 1880 had 
reached a sale of 9000 copies, its 



CANADIAN WHIST lyEAGUB 70 CANADIAN WHIST LEAGUE 



fame being world-wide. Drayson, 
in the preface to his "Art of Prac- 
tical Whist," mentions it as one of 
tlie valuable works on whist then 
in existence. Captain Campbell- 
Walker served in the Seventy-ninth 
Cameron Highlanders, and later as 
captain of the Queen's body-guard. 
He died at 29 Palmeira square, 
Brighton, April 2, 1887. 

Canadian Whist League. — The 

first Canadian whist tournament 
.was held at the rooms of the Vic- 
toria Club, Toronto, Ont., April 3, 
1896, and at this tournament steps 
were taken for the organization of 
a whist league. By the rules of the 
tournament, a club might enter one 
or more teams, and teams might be 
made up of members of different 
clubs, or of individuals represent- 
ing no club, providing they called 
themselves by some distinctive 
name. Twenty-two teams of four 
players each were brought together, 
as follows: 

Teams. 
Victoria Club, Toronto (A, B, and C) . 3 
Conservative Club, Toronto (A, B, and 

C) 3 

Comus Club, Torouto (A and B) . . . . 2 
Canoe Club, Toronto (A and B) .... 2 

West End Club, Toronto 

Wanderers' Club, Toronto 

Toronto Athletic Club, Toronto . . . 

Athenasum Club, Toronto 

Thirty Club, Toronto 

" Cavendish " Club, Toronto 

Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Toronto 

Orangeville Whist Club 

Woodstock Whist Club 

CoUingwood Whist Club 

Hamilton Whist Club 

Midland District Combination .... 

The contesting clubs were divided 
into three sections of eight clubs 
each, but as two clubs made default, 
two of the sections were short one 
team each. The score was kept by 
matches of twelve hands each at 
duplicate whist, and tricks decided 
whenever a tie was made by two or 
more clubs. A match won counted 



one point, and a tie half a point. 
Each team in a section played one 
match with every other team in the 
section. The result of the prelimi- 
nary section matches was as fol- 
lows: 

Points. 

Midland District 5% 

Victoria (A) 5% 

Victoria (C) 5 

Canoe (B) 5 

Canoe (A) 4% 

Athenseum 4^^ 

Victoria (B) 4^^ 

Conservatives (B) 4 

Woodstock 4 

West End 35^ 

Comus f A) 314 

Comus (B) 3 

Hamilton 3 

Toronto Athletic 2% 

CoUingwood 2 

Royal Canadian Yacht Club 2 

Conservatives (A) 2 

Orangeville 3 

" Cavendish " 1 

Conservatives (C) i 

Wanderers i 

By the rules, the leading team in 
each of the three sections and the 
team with the fourth-best record in 
the tournament were entitled to 
play in the semi-finals. These were 
as follows: 

Points. 

Section i. Victoria (C) 5 

" 2. Midland 5^^ 

" 3. Victoria (B) 4% 

Fourth-best, Victoria (A) 5% 

The semi-finals and finals were 
played off on the second day, the 
matches being twenty-four hands 
each. The players in the above 
four teams were as follows: 

victoria (C), Toronto— Walter Read, 
Samuel May, V. C. Brown, S. B. Woods. 

Midland District. — Dr. R. A. Leonard 
and W. C. Herrington, Napanee, and E. 
J. W. Burton and A.Winslow, Port Hope. 

Victoria (B), Toronto. — Victor Arm- 
strong, G. C. Biggar, A. H. Baines, H. F. 
Gault. 

Victoria (A), Toronto. — A. H. Collins, 
K. Cameron, H. J. Coleman, H. E. 
Choppin. 

In the semi-finals Midland Dis- 
trict beat Victoria (C) by one trick, 
and Victoria (B) beat Victoria (A) 



CANADIAN WHIST LBAGUB 71 CANADIAN WHIST LEAGUE 



by fourteen tricks. This left the 
Midland District team and Victoria 
(B) for the finals, which were won 
by the latter by three tricks, after a 
hard and prolonged struggle. 

The committee managing the 
tournament were: Walter Read, 
chairman; Fred Stronger, J. M. 
Verral, W. Draper, H. E. Ridley, 
Victor Armstrong, Fred Woodland, 
J. M. Macdonald, A. H. Collins, 
J. H. Sinclair, and J. J. Higgins 
(all members of various Toronto 
clubs), and W. A. Hunter was sec- 
retary, to whose exertions the suc- 
cess of the tournament was mainly 
owing. Seth S. Smith, of Port 
Hope, and J. M. McAndrew, of 
Toronto, were the umpires. Hand- 
some gold souvenirs were presented 
to the winners, and souvenirs in 
silver to the second team. 

After the tournament a meeting 
was held for the purpose of forming 
a permanent organization, to be 
known as the Canadian Whist 
League. A committee of seven was 
appointed to draft a constitution 
and by-laws, and the following offi- 
cers were elected: Honorary presi- 
dent, Sir Thomas Gait, Toronto; 
president, Walter Read, Toronto; 
first vice-president, Henry Robert- 
son, Collingwood; second vice-presi- 
dent, Seth S. Smith, Port Hope; 
third vice-president, A. S. Ball, 
Woodstock; secretary and treasurer, 
W. A. Hunter, 235 Yonge street, 
Toronto. 

Of the winning team at the tour- 
nament, Messrs. Biggar and Gault 
are lawyers, the former a Toronto 
University man, and the latter a 
graduate from Scotland. Mr. Arm- 
strong is a banker and foot-ball 
authority, and Mr. Baines is re- 
ported to be an excellent bowler 
and curler. 

Whisi of September, 1896, in 
commenting upon the tournament 
and the state of whist in Canada, 



says: "The Canadian Whist League, 
which is now fully organized, is ex- 
pected to do good work for the 
game in Canada. It is already 
arranging for the season's work, 
and proposes holding a congress in 
1897. The league being now com- 
missioned to represent whist- 
players in Canada, it is hoped that 
some international contests will be 
arranged. We have international 
yachting, rowing, golf, curling, 
cycling, and cricket. Why should 
we not have international whist, 
and what enthusiast will present 
an international trophy to be bat- 
tled for by the rival chiefs of the 
American and Canadian whist- 
tables ? 

* ' Canadian whist-players have 
not had much opportunity of com- 
petitive play so far, but the intro- 
duction of the American system of 
duplicate whist has been taken up 
by many of the whist-players, who 
see that it is the only fair way of 
testing the strength of rival systems 
and players. Up to the past two or 
three years the only whist played 
in Toronto, which is probably the 
centre of Canadian whist, was on 
the English system of scoring the 
double, treble, and rub, with honors, 
and the American system of scor- 
ing was looked on as an innovation 
of very doubtful advantage. How- 
ever, the idea has gained ground 
lately, and we now find so conser- 
vative a club as the Toronto Club 
adopting the American seven-point- 
without-honors system. When the 
Toronto Club takes the lead, it be- 
ing the oldest club where whist is 
played in Ontario, if not in Canada, 
the other clubs will doubtless follow 
suit, and the American system of 
scoring will, no doubt, be very ex- 
tensively adopted. The system of 
duplicate whist, except in match 
games, is, however, a matter 
which will probably not be so gen- 



CANADIAN WHIST I^EAGUB 72 CAPITAL BICYCLE CLUB 



erally adopted — in Toronto, at least. 
In the clubs there, as in many 
English clubs, whist is played as a 
social amusement, with the added 
interest of a small bet, in the shape 
of the amount agreed to be played 
for by the point, and Canadians, 
who do not care for the exhilara- 
tion of the great American game of 
poker, get a lot of amusement out 
of a small game of whist. For 
these, and as a club amusement, 
duplicate whist has not so great a 
charm; and while it will no doubt 
flourish in tournaments, and pos- 
sibly at whist-parties, it will hardly 
obtain with the men who like a 
quiet ' rubber ' before and after 
dinner at their club." 

The conservatism of Canadian 
players at the time of the formation 
of the league is also indicated by the 
following extract from a letter writ- 
ten on March 12, i896,by W. C. Fur- 
ness, secretary of the London (Ont.) 
Whist Club, an organization which 
was not represented at the first 
tournament: "We play the Eng- 
lish club game here — five points, 
full honors. We would be willing 
to play duplicate whist one night 
and our own game the next. We 
have not yet arrived at the dupli- 
cate stage; if it were introduced I 
think some of our members would 
be willing to continue it." 

The second annual congress of 
the league was held at the Victoria 
Club, Toronto, April 16, 17, 1897. 
The attendance was very satisfac- 
tory, although the number of teams 
entered for competition was not so 
large as the year previous. Twelve 
teams entered, and the Victoria B 
team proved the victor in the final 
matches, thus becoming for the 
second time champions of Canada. 
The Athenaeum A team, which 
was a close competitor, played the 
short-suit Howell game. 

It was decided to establish a 



challenge trophj', and the league 
also decided to establish district as- 
sociations for the promotion of 
whist in Canada. The following 
officers were elected for the ensu- 
ing year: 

Honorary president, Hon. Sir Thomas 
Gait; president, Walter Read; first vice- 
president, Henry Robertson, O. C, Col- 
lingwood; second vice-presideTit, W. S. 
Herrington, Napanee; third vice-presi- 
dent, W. X,. Walsh, Orangeville; secretary- 
treasurer, W. A. Hunter; committee, W. 
R. Draper, James S. Wallace, J. L. Cox 
(Toronto), J. H. Hutcheson (Brockville), 
J. B. Knowlson (Mudsay), D'Arcy Martin 
(Hamilton). 

An invitation from the American 
Whist League to attend the annual 
congress at Put-in-Bay was read 
amid warm applause, and referred 
to the executive committee. Greet- 
ings were also received from the 
Pacific Coast and Northern Pacific 
Whist Associations. 

Capital Bicycle Club Team. — 

R. F. Foster dedicates his " Dupli- 
cate Whist" (1894) as follows: 
"This book is respectfully dedi- 
cated to the members of the Capital 
Bicycle Club team, — H. N. Low, J. 
P. Wooten, C. M. Barrick, T. P. 
Borden, J. McK. Borden, W. T. 
Bingham, and L. G. Eakins, — who 
have always paid me the compli- 
ment of following my teachings, 
adopting the methods of play re- 
commended in these pages, and 
who won the championship of the 
United States at the 1892 congress 
with the magnificent score of six- 
teen more tricks and two more 
games than any other club, the 
largest score against any individual 
opponent, and the greatest gain on 
any hand during the congress. The 
same team won the championship 
for pairs at the 1893 congress." 

The correspondent of the New 
York Evening Post, in commenting 
ou the play at the seventh congress 



CARD 



73 CARDS, ARRANGEMENT OP 



of the American Whist League, 
made a statement claiming that the 
Howell team ' ' are the only short- 
suiters in any of the major contests. 
The Capital Bicycle Club team of 
last year has disappeared com- 
pletely, with all other aggregations 
of a like nature. ' ' 

Card. — One of the fifty-two pieces 
of ornamented pasteboard compris- 
ing a deck, and used in playing 
whist and other games; one of 
the thirteea pieces of such paste- 
board composing the hand of each 
player at whist. 

A card or cards torn or marked must be 
either replaced by agreement, or new 
cards called at the expense of the table. 
— Laws of Whist {English Code), Section 
90. 

Any player (on paying for them) be- 
fore, but not after, the pack be cut for the 
deal, may call for fresh cards. He must 
call for two new packs, of which the 
dealer takes his choice. — Laws of IVhist 
{English Code), Section 8j, 

Card of UnJform?ty. — A name 
sometimes applied to the fourth- 
best card. 

Card Sense. — A quality distin- 
guishing a good player which is not 
ascribable to rules or books. It is 
a sort of instinctive or intuitive 
ability to do the right thing at the 
right time, to draw correct infer- 
ences, and to make successful plays. 

I deem that those different methods 
about which there is a difference of opin- 
ion among the best players, are of small 
account compared with that peculiar and 
individual skill which for want of any 
other name we call card sense. — J?. F. Fos- 
ter \S. 0.\ ''Duplicate Whist and Whist 
Strategy." 

Cards. — In the English game, the 
phrase "by cards" is largely em- 
ployed, points being counted by 
honors as well as by cards. In the 
American game, all points counting 
towards game are made by cards, 
beginning with all tricks over six. 



(See, also, "Card," and 
Cards,") 



Fresh 



Cards, Arrangement of. — 

Hoyle professed to have a system 
of arranging the cards in a player's 
hand whereby the memory might 
be materially assisted. Many dif- 
ferent arrangements have been sug- 
gested from time to time, some with 
the above object in view, and others 
for the purpose of convenience and 
ease in playing the hand. The best 
players sort their cards into suits, 
red and black alternately, and place 
the cards in each suit according to 
their rank. There are players who 
always place the trump suit in one 
position, in order to assist the mem- 
ory. In doing this they must be 
careful lest an unscrupulous adver- 
sary be enabled to locate and count 
the number of trumps, especially 
if a slight division or gap should 
inadvertently be allowed to appear 
between the suits. There is a dif- 
ference of opinion among the lead- 
ing authorities as to this matter. 
James Clay [ly. 0+] advises against 
getting into any particular habit 
of sorting the cards, "such, as al- 
ways putting your trumps in the 
same place, " as players of no great 
delicacy might easily gain informa- 
tion concerning them, ' ' and even 
the most loyal may find diflBculty in 
not noticing them." C. Mossop 
[ly+O.], in the Westminster Papers, 
is of a similar opinion, saying: 
" Any one watching the sorting of 
the cards will soon ascertain the 
number of trumps such a sorter 
has." Arthur Campbell-Walker 
['Li. 0.] is also opposed to the prac- 
tice, and so is Miss Kate Whee- 
lock [L. A.]. 

On the other hand, Hoyle, Math- 
ews, Drayson, Foster, G. W. Pettes, 
and other authorities distinctly re- 
commend it. Hoyle [O.] says: 
' ' Place of every suit in your hand 



CARDS, ARRANGEMENT OF 74 CARDS, ARRANGEMENT OP 



the worst to the left hand, and the 
best (in order) to the right, and 
the trumps in the like order, al- 
ways to the left of all the other 
suits." Mathews [L. O.], while 
differing in regard to the general 
arrangement, agrees with Hoyle in 
regard to the trump suit. He says: 
" Place the trumps in the back part 
of your hand, your partner's lead 
next, and your own outside." R. 
F. Foster [S. O.] is of the opinion 
that the placing of the trumps in 
a constant position, such as to the 
left or right of all the other suits, 
is of assistance to the memory, 
' ' which should not be burdened 
with anything of which it can be 
relieved " ( " Whist Tactics "). G. 
W. Pettes [L. A. P.] says: "Place 
the trumps always in the same rela- 
tive position;" and Gen. Drayson 
[L/+A+] makes the following de- 
fense of the practice in his "Art of 
Practical Whist:" " If your oppo- 
nent watches you sort your cards 
for this purpose, you must be very 
dull if you don't perceive it, and 
if you do find he does so, you can 
very soon mislead him by going 
through the motions of holding 
many trumps, when you have only 
a few, or vice versa. It is a terri- 
ble error to mistake the trump suit, 
and if trumps are always sorted 
into one position such an error is 
not likely." We agree with Gen. 
Drayson, and have never found any 
trouble resulting from always keep- 
ing the trump suit in a given posi- 
tion. A whist-player who would 
try to take advantage of this would 
also try to overlook your hand if 
opportunity offered, or commit any 
other whist enormity. If found 
out, his proper punishment would 
be to have all fair-minded players 
refuse to sit at table with him. 

I may suggest that you will gain speed 
by sorting two suits at a time — R. F. Fos- 
ter \S. 0.\. 



Sort your cards carefully, both accord- 
ing to suit and rank, and count the num- 
ber of each suit. This will greatly assist 
the memory. — William Pole \L. A-\-\ 

Sort your cards quickly and systemati- 
cally, arranging the suits alternately red 
and black, and the cards of each suit in 
the order of their relative value. — A. 
W. Drayson {L-\-A\-\, '■'Art of Practical 
Whist:' 

Arrange the several cards in each suit 
in numerical order from lowest to high- 
est, that the proper card to play may be 
readily found, and the chance of making 
errors reduced to a minimum. — C. E. 
Coffin [L. A .], ''Gist of Whist." 

As soon as the cards are dealt out * * * 
we arrange them according to their suit, 
or, at least, sort them in the mannerthat 
we are accustomed to; the essential point 
being to impress them well on the mem- 
ory. We have seen plavers who hold 
their cards in their hands just as they 
have taken them up from the table, and, 
if this mode lead them not into error, we 
consider it the h&st.—Deschapelles [O.]. 

Whist-players sort their cards into suits, 
and in doing so make a gap or division 
in the appearance of the fan between 
each suit, as if one of the staves were 
broken. By the appearance of the back 
of the hand, no one ought to know the 
divisions of the suits — z. e., they should 
not know how the hand is divided into 
three threes and a four-suit. This, with 
very little care, all players can avoid. — 
Westminster Papers [L + O.]. 

Upon picking up your hand, always 
count your cards. This has a double ad- 
vantage, as it not only makes you sure 
that the proper number of cards have 
been dealt to you, but also helps you in 
impressing upon your mind the length 
and strength of your four suits, and aids 
you in mapping out the general plan of 
campaign that you propose to adopt in 
the management of the hand. While 
doing this voucan also be arranging your 
hand for x>(ay.— Milton C. Work [L. A. //.], 
" Whist of To-day:' 

The method of arrangement recom- 
mended is to place the smallest card of a 
red plain suit on one end, and the small- 
est card of a black plain suit on the other. 
In each case arrange in order from the 
-■smallest card of the suit to the highest. 
Then in each case take the suit of the dif- 
ferent color and arrange from the small- 
est to the highest of that. You will thus 
have one suit on each end of your hand 
and two in the middle, one of the latter 
being the trump, and will have low cards 
at each end of the hand. By this method 
of arrangement the danger of informa- 
tion being obtained by an adversary in 
regard to the contents of your hand by 



CARDS, CALLED 



75 



CARD OF RE-ENTRY 



the place from which you pull your cards 
is reduced to a minimum. — Milton C. 
Work [L. A. H.], " IVAtsl of To-day." 

Cards LFable to be Called. — 

Exposed cards, or cards improperly 
played, are liable to be called by 
the adversaries, according to the 
laws of whist. The player liable 
to this penalty is required to place 
the card or cards face up on the 
table, so that the same may be 
called or asked for when the adver- 
saries desire them played. 

By the English code, the card led in er- 
ror may be called, or a suit can be called 
by either adversary when it is the turn 
of the offending player, or his partner, 
next to lead. By the American code, law 
24: " If any player leads out of turn, a 
suit may be called from him or his part- 
ner the first time it is the turn of either 
of them to lead. The penalty can be en- 
forced only by the adversary on the right 
of the player from whom a suit can be 
lawfully called." Thus, by the English 
code two penalties may be enforced, viz., 
calling the card or calling a lead, and 
either adversary may elect to enact this 
penalty. By the American code, a lead 
only can be called, and only one adver- 
sary can enact the penalty. This is cer- 
tainly a reduction of the punishment for 
careless play. — A. W. Dray son \L-\-A-\-'\, 
" Whist Laws and Whist Decisions^ 

As regards " cards liable to be called," 
the American laws differ from the Eng- 
lish. By the English code, you may lower 
the whole of your hand so that your part- 
ner may see nearly every card in it, but 
there is no penalty fordoing so. * * * By 
the American code, an attempt is made to 
remedy this defect. (Law 20, Sections 3 
and 4.) Who is to be the judge as to 
■whether the cards were sufficiently low- 
ered to enable partner to see them ? * * * 
Again, by the English code, if two cards 
are played together or led together, either 
may be caUed, and the card not called is 
an exposed card. By the American code, 
" every card thrown with the one led or 
plaved to the current trick " is an ex- 
posed card. "The player must indicate 
the one led or played." Suppose I hold 
ace, queen of a suit, and am last player; 
third hand plays king; I throw ace and 
queen on the table at the same time. I 
indicate that I play the ace, and then lead 
the queen. By the American code I 
scarcely suffer for this carelessness; by 
the English code, my queen can be called 
on the king. I do not think this Ameri- 
can law is good, as it gives so many 



chances for a careless player to escape 
from any penalty. — A. W. Drayson [Z. + 
.^-1-], '■^ Whist Laws and Whist Deci- 
sions " 

The following cards are liable to be 
called by either adversary: 

Every card faced upon the table other- 
wise than in the regular course of play, 
but not including a card led out of turn. 

Every card thrown with the one led or 
played to the current trick. The player 
must indicate the one led or played. 

Every card so held bj' a player that his 
partner sees any portion 01 its face. 

All the cards in a hand lowered or 
shown by a player so that his partner sees 
more than one card of it. 

Every card named by the player hold- 
ing it. 

All cards liable to be called must be 
placed and left face upward on the table. 
A player mu.st lead or play them when 
they are called, provided he can do so 
without revoking. The call may be re- 
peated at each trick until the card is 
played A player cannot be prevented 
from leading or playing a card liable to 
be called; if he can get rid of it in the 
course of play, no penalty remains. 

If a player 'leads a card better than any 
his adversaries hold of the suit, and then 
leads one or more other cards without 
waiting for his partner to play, the latter 
may be called upon by either adversary 
to take the first trick, and the other cards 
thus improperly played are liable to be 
called; it makes no difference whether he 
plays them one after the other, or throws 
them all on the table together, after the 
first card is played the others are liable 
to be called. 

A player having a card liable to be 
called must not play another until the 
adversaries have stated whether or not 
they wish to call the card liable to the 
penalty. If he plays another card with- 
out awaiting the decision of the adversa- 
ries, such other card also is liable to be 
called. — Laws of Whist {American Code), 
Sections 20-23. See, also, Section 35. 

Card of Re-Entry. —Any win- 
ning card held in his hand by which 
a player may again obtain the lead. 

Where a player has five or more trumps, 
he may safely regard all above four as 
cards of re-entry, but he must be careful 
not to reduce their number by trumping 
in before the adverse trumps are ex- 
hausted.— i?. F. Foster \S. C], "Whist 
Strategy." 

Cards of re-entry are at times very val- 
uable, and great care should be taken in 
some situations not to part with them, 
even to the extent of passing a trick or 
two. But they are valueless — as re-entry 



CARLBTON, J. W. 



76 



CAVENDISH ■ 



— ^when you have nothing to bring in. — 
C. D. P. Hamilton [L. A.], "Modern Sci- 
entific Whist." 

Carleton, J. W. — The manual of 
whist in Bohn's well-known Eng- 
lish "Handbook of Games," was 
compiled by Captain J. W. Carle- 
ton, of the Second Dragoon Guards, 
who divided it into four sections: 
•' Whist a la Mathews," " Whist a 
la Hoyle," "Whist a la Descha- 
pelles," and " Whist a la Carleton." 



Carlyon, 

Cselebs." 



Edward 



«« Catch - the 

"Scotch Whist." 



Ten. 



A.— See, 
•• — See, 



"Cavendish." — A pseudonym 
under which Henry Jones, M. R, 
C. S., of London, Eng., is known 
wherever the language of whist is 
spoken. The name was taken by 
him from a club to which he be- 
longed at the time he first took up 
his pen in behalf of the modern 
game. * ' Cavendish, ' ' universally 
recognized as the leading whist 
authority of to-da}', was born in 
London, Nov. 2, 1831. At the age 
of nine he was sent to King's Col- 
lege School, where, he assures us, 
he was more attentive to his duties 
in the play-ground than in the 
class-room. He subsequently at- 
tended a private school at Brighton, 
and at the age of eighteen he was 
entered as a student at St. Barthol- 
omew's Hospital, London, where 
he did good work, being for a year 
dresser to the distinguished sur- 
geon. Sir William Lawrence, Bart. 
After passing his examinations, at 
the age of twenty-one, he immedi- 
ately began his professional career. 
He remained in active practice as a 
surgeon in London until the year 
1872, when, finding it impossible to 
do full justice to both his medical 
and literary engagements, he de- 
cided to give up the former. 



"Cavendish" was thirty-two years 
of age when he published his first 
book on whist. The publication 
was brought about by Dr. William 
Pole, who had written an article on 
" Games at Cards for the Coming 
Winter," which appeared in Mac- 
viillan's Magazine for December, 
1861. Dr. Pole had recently be- 
come greatly interested in whist, 
and read several books on the game, 
but found that though they gave 
many useful hints, they did not 
furnish any intelligible system of 
instruction. This thought induced 
him to append the following foot- 
note to his article in the magazine: 
" It would be a great boon if some 
good authority would publish a set 
of model games at whist, with ex- 
planatory remarks, such as are 
found so useful in chess, for exam- 
ple. ' ' A few days after the appear- 
ance of the article, he received a 
letter, signed " H. Jones, Jr.," in 
which the writer said : "In refer- 
ence to your article in Macmillan 
of this month, I beg to inform you 
that I have for some time past 
adopted the course suggested by 
you in note (p. 130), viz., to note 
positions and games at whist, simi- 
larly to chess problems and games. 
It has been my practice, when 
meeting with unusual or difl&cult 
hands, to play them over by my- 
self afterwards, and to write them 
down. I take the liberty of en- 
closing you a specimen of my 
method. Like you, I had an idea 
that the publication of a set of good 
model games would be useful, but 
hesitated to publish. If you feel 
sufficient interest in my games to 
see my collection, and will favor 
the porter at the ' Cavendish ' Club 
with your name and address, I will 
communicate with you again." 

Dr. Pole answered the letter on 
Dec. 4, encouraging the idea, and 
this led to further correspondence 



'CAVENDISH" 



77 



' CAVENDISH • 



and to numerous interviews and 
discussions; and the upshot of it all 
was that about the middle of 1862, 
there appeared a work bearing the 
following title: "The Principles 
of Whist Stated and Explained, 
and Its Practice Illustrated on an 
Original System, by Means of 
Hands Played Completely Through. 
By ' Cavendish,' London: Bancks 
Brothers, 20 Piccadilly." 

Always fond of games and pas- 
times, the young man had begun to 
study whist seriously about the 
year 1854 or 1855. He was a mem- 
ber of what subsequently became 
known to fame as the " Little 
Whist School" {q. v.), a coterie 
of students who, like himself, were 
devoted to the game and anxious 
to improve their play. They held 
regular meetings, jotted down in- 
teresting hands, and discussed im- 
portant points, being greatly as- 
sisted by the advice and decisions 
of James Clay, M. P. , to whom they 
had access at the Portland Club. 
The young medical student from 
St. Bartholomew's Hospital was a 
leading spirit in these gatherings, 
and the results of his experience, 
and the knowledge gained by him, 
were embodied in the now famous 
volume. In publishing the book 
he did not wish to use his own 
name, and so, without giving the 
matter much thought, he appended 
the name of the club in Langham 
Place (now long extinct), with 
which he was then connected. Dr. 
Pole wrote a review of the new 
work in the Field of May 10, 1862, 
following it up also with a more 
extended and general one in Mac- 
millan's for January, 1863, all of 
which helped to bring it to the 
notice of whlst-players. It has 
since gone through more editions 
than any other book on whist, ex- 
cepting that of Hoyle, and there is 
no doubt that it will in time even 



exceed the latter. In 1897 the 
twenty-second edition was on the 
market, and upwards of seventy 
thousand copies had been sold up 
to date. 

Shortly after the publication of 
his book he became a member of 
the Portland Club, which has been 
for over a century the acknowl- 
edged centre of European whist, 
where for years he played fre- 
quently. In 1864 he became edi- 
tor of the card and pastime depart- 
ment of the Field, and two years 
later he took charge of a similar 
department in the London Queen. 
Both of these positions he has held 
these many years, and he has also 
contributed numerous articles on 
games and kindred subjects to the 
leading magazines, as well as to 
various works of reference. And 
thus it came about that in 1872, in 
order to meet the many demands 
made upon his time by literary en- 
gagements, he found it n ecessary to 
give up the practice of surgery. 
His history, since the first appear- 
ance of his " Laws and Principles of 
Whist " (as it was re-named in later 
editions), is the history of the mod- 
ern improved scientific game. His 
labors in largely originating and 
perfecting (in conjunction with N. 
B. Trist) the system of play named 
by him the "American leads," is 
told elsewhere. (See, "American 
Leads, History of.") Although his 
theories and improvements in whist 
have encountered the violent oppo- 
sition of Foster, * ' Mogul, " " Pem- 
bridge," Mossop, and other advo- 
cates of the old-style game, he has 
always enjoyed great popularity at 
home, and greater popularity still 
in America, where he was lionized 
in 1893, when he made a five 
months' tour through the United 
States and Canada. Upon that oc- 
casion he attended the third annual 
congress of the American Whist 



CAVENDISH" 



73 



' CAVENDISH ' 



League, which had elected him an 
honorary member at its organiza- 
tion in 1891. He came again in 
1896, and was a conspicuous figure 
at the sixth congress of the League, 
at Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn. 
Among the many pleasant things 
said of him at this time, in the 
American press, the following was 
particularly noteworthy, appearing 
as it did in the New York Sun, 
the whist department of which is 
edited by R. F. Foster: 

' ' The central figure of attraction 
will, of course, be Henry Jones, or, 
as some persons insist on addressing 
him, ' Mr. Cavendish,' who has 
come all the way from London just 
to take part in the whist congress. 
' Cavendish' is unquestionably the 
father of modern whist, and has 
watched over the interests of the 
game with paternal care for more 
than thirty years. His remark- 
able abilities as a writer and anal- 
yst have set him so far above 
all others, that his name is synony- 
mous vnth whist all over the world, 
and the works of antecedent writers 
are regarded simply as curiosities 
in whist literature." 

Besides many articles in English 
and American periodicals (see, 
" Articles on Whist in Periodi- 
cals " ), " Cavendish " has also pub- 
lished the following works: "Card 
Essays, Clay's Decisions, and Card- 
Table Talk," 1880; "Whist Devel- 
opments, American Leads, and the 
Plain-Suit Echo," dedicated to N. 
B. Trist, 1885 (the latter part of the 
title was changed from " Plain-Suit 
Echo" to "Unblocking Game" in 
subsequent editions) ; ' ' Whist, With 
and Without Perception," 1889; 
"American Leads Simplified," 
189 1 ; and "Musical Whist With 
Living Cards," 1892. It is in each 
succeeding issue of his "Laws and 
Principles of Whist," however, 
that his latest and best thoughts 



and endorsements of other ideas 
and improvements are crystalized 
and given to the world. 

"Cavendish's" position as a 
player is generally acknowledged 
to be that of the first rank, and 
among English players especially 
he must be given a place at the very 
top. In years gone by he was in 
the habit of keeping a record of his 
play, and this shows that from Jan- 
uary, i860, to December, 1878, he 
won 15,648 rubbers and lost 15,020, 
or, counting points, which tell far 
more, he won in all 85,486 and lost 
81,055, a balance of 4431 points in 
his favor. Proctor, in commenting 
upon this, says it is impossible that 
so large a balance should have been 
due to mere chance — ' ' the differ- 
ence must have been due to play." 
"Cavendish's" game, during his 
first American tour, in 1893, was 
closely observed by the leading 
whist-players of this country, and 
their impressions and opinions were 
freely expressed and published. 
Several of these will be found 
among the quotations which follow. 

The investigations of " Cavendish," 
which have been pursued by him during 
many years with a patience and thor- 
oughness without rival in the history of 
whist, entitle him to the warmest thanks 
from every admirer of the game. His 
name will long live in the history of Eng- 
lish amusements, and will never be men- 
tioned without the warmest expression 
of approbation.— ^. P. Courtney [Z.+(9.], 
"English IVkist." 

The question is often put to me, " Why 
did you choose the nont de plume of ' Cav- 
endish' ? " I can honestly say that on 
first rushing into print I had no idea any 
particular value attached to the copyright 
of a small book, or to an author's nom de 
plume. So I gave the matter of a pseudo- 
nym but little thought, and stuck down 
on the title-page the name of a club where 
I used to play small whist. — "Cavendish " 
[L. A.], "Card-Table Talk." 

We trust we have said enough to show 
that in running down " Cavendish " it is 
not easy to do so without at the same time 
running down Mathews. If their ideas 
are not identical, it is rather difficult to 



' CAVENDISH ■ 



79 



CAVENDISH 



find where the one begfins and the other 
ends. It is unnecessary to say anything 
about the modern theories. * * * They 
might or might not be approved by Math- 
ews, but in the bulk the two systems 
agree. — Westminster Papers \L-\-0\ 

His many years' experience at the table, 
combined with his power of instantly 
analyzing positions and conditions, 
makes him a master of every point of the 
game, and he looks upon slavish adher- 
ence to book as mere machine whist. 
" Open your hand correctly in accordance 
with the system which experience has 
shown to be the best in the long run, and 
then play as observation and perception 
wU show to be best," seems to be his 
chief maxim. — Brooklyn Eagle, 1&93. 

A rather amusing pen-and-ink contest 
has arisen this week on the subject of 
whist. The questions seem to be whether 
before the date of " Cavendish " the game 
of whist had ever been treated on a S3's- 
tematic basis, and whether the gentlemen 
whose discussions were published by 
"Cavendish " are entitled to the credit of 
having exerted any marked influence on 
the whist of the present day. We are in- 
clined to the view that the first question 
should be answered in the negative, and 
tlie second in the affirmative. Had the 
knot of young men referred to never met 
there would have been no " Cavendish," 
and perhaps no Clay, no Pole, no article 
on whist players in Eraser nor the Quar- 
terly, no card department in the Field- 
in short, no modern scientific whist pub- 
lished to the world. — The Field, London, 
February 4, iSyi. 

In my endeavor to trace out the evolu- 
tion of whist I have found one name 
prominently before me in every stage — 
that of " Cavendish." It is he who, by 
his industrious investigations, has en- 
lightened us as to the fashioning of its 
embryonic elements in the distant and 
obscure past, while it had only a vague 
existence. It is he who has pointed out 
how it flashed upon society at its birth, 
and for a long period dazzled the intellect 
and fashion of Europe. It was he who, 
in its maturity, took the chief part in de- 
fining and proclaiming its great powers. 
And it is he who, largely by his own 
efibrts, has invested its old age with new 
attractions, and spread them over a new 
world. "Cavendish " dedicated his work 
to the most eminent whist personage 
then living; I hope you will not think me 
too presumptions in doing the same. — 
Dedication of ''The Evolution of Whist," 
by William Pole \_L. A -t-]. 

He plays with a concentration impossi- 
ble to most men, but his interest is bj' no 
means confined to his own hand or the 
details of the game, which absorb the 
average player. His eyes are everywhere, 
though this is not apparent unless the 



observer watches him closely — as closely, 
indeed, as "Cavendish " watches his op- 
ponents. • * * But his face is immo- 
bile. It is as grave as though his life 
depended upon the game. Another thing, 
his play is unhesitatingly rapid. In the 
lead he seemingly tables the right card 
intuitively. In second, third,or fourth hand 
his card is laid almost simultaneously 
with those he follows. He plays as though 
he had fully decided in just what succes- 
sion he should throw his cards, without 
regard to what the others might put upon 
the board. It would seem that much of 
his skill depends upon this— that with the 
rapidity born of long practice he decides 
upon his plan of action in the various 
contingencies likely to arise, and while 
his opponents are more slowly reasoning 
out one course of play he is lying in wait 
for them at almost every point. * * « 
The careful observer of " Cavendish's " 
play cannot fail of being impressed with 
the fact that three important factors of his 
skill are, trained alertness, wonderful 
memory, and the faculty of " sizing up " 
the capabilities of his opponents. His 
alertness and powers of memory are put 
very much in evidence by his at times 
seemingly erratic, but really scientific, 
change of lead; and his ability to estimate 
his opponents is shown by the fact that 
those playing against him rarely fare so 
well in the succeeding as in the first 
%,2^w^.— Brooklyn Standard-Union, iS^j. 

The first edition of " Cavendish's " 
work [" The Principles of Whist"] was a 
modest volume of eighty pages, and only 
250 copies were printed. Of the eight- 
eenth impression, in i88g, no less than 
5000 copies were struck off'. * * * His ob- 
ject was to give the reasons upon which 
the principles of sound whist were based, 
and to bring them home to the student by 
illustrative examples. Its sale has been 
little short of that accorded to the tract 
of Hoyle. The fifth edition, called, as all 
its successors have been, by the fuller title 
of "The Laws and Principles of Whist," 
was ushered into the world in the follow- 
ing year (1863), and the additional matter 
which it included comprised a code of 
laws, while the text was carefully re- 
vised, and the chapter on trumps was re- 
cast. When the eighth edition appeared, 
in 1868, the text had again been revised, 
and many of the author's conclusions had 
been recast in a different form, while 
some cases and decisions approved by 
" J. C." had been added. The ninth edi- 
tion (1868) was, with especial appropri- 
ateness, dedicated to Mr. Clay. Six years 
later the tenth edition came into life, and 
was adorned by a frontispiece (since fa- 
miliar in successive reissues to all whist- 
players) of several players and onlookers 
around a card-table. It was taken from 
Cotton's "Compleat Gamester," and in 



"CAVENDISH," ANECDOTE 8o 



■CAYENNE" 



the original compilation was used as an 
illustration to " Ruff and Honours." This 
edition formed another landmark in the 
history of "Cavendish," for it contained 
many additions, such as a brief historical 
sketch of the game, a fuller statement of 
the discard, a number of fresh hands, and 
appendices on the leads from more than 
four cards, and on trumps. A few edi- 
tions came out in subsequent years with- 
out the addition of any fresh matter, but 
with the sixteenth impression, of iS86, 
there was incorporated an appendix 
which explained the American leads, and 
a second chapter on the plain-suit echo. 
Its successor, which was dated in 1888, 
was unaltered, but to the eighteenth issue 
(1889) was added a third appendix of 
leads from ace-king and king-queen suits. 
A considerable change was effected in the 
twentieth impression, for in it the original 
lead of the fourth best was included as a 
substantive part of the game, and the 
third appendix was abolished, as its re- 
commendations were incorporated with 
the analysis of leads. — ^. P, Courtney 
[i:+0.], '^English Whist." 

*' Cavendish," Anecdote by. — 

Among the many good things in 
his <' Card-Table Talk" "Caven- 
dish " tells the following anecdote 
concerning the first appearance of 
his book at home, and the reception 
accorded it by his father, to whom 
the authorship was unknown: 

"When my book on whist was 
first published the authorship was 
kept a profound secret. I sent a 
copy, ' with the author's compli- 
ments, ' to my father, and great was 
the amusement of my brother (who 
knew all about it) and myself at 
the 'governor's' guesses as to 
where it could have come from. 

" One evening, when about to 
play a family rubber for love, we 
proposed to the ' governor ' to play 
one of the hands in the book, ' to 
see if the fellow knew anything 
about it.' He consented. We 
started one of the hands (Hand 
No. 36, p. 246, twelfth edition), 
giving my father Y's hand, others 
of our circle taking the other 
hands, and my brother sitting out, 
book in hand, to see whether we 
followed the * book ' play. 



" The ' governor' played the hand 
all right till he came to the coup 
at trick nine, when he went on 
with his established diamonds. 

"Prater (interrupting) — 'The 
book says that is wrong. ' 

" Pater — ' Well, what does the 
book say ? ' 

" Frater — 'The book says you 
should lead a trump. ' 

" Pater — ' But there are no more 
trumps in ! ' (Hesitates, and see- 
ing that he has two trumps, and 
that leading one of them will not 
do any harm, leads it, and then 
turns round and triumphantly 
says:) ' Now, what does the book 
say?' 

"Frater (very quietly) — 'The 
book says you should lead another 
trump.' 

"This was too much. Lead a 
thirteenth trump when you can 
give your partner a discard ! Oh ! 
no ! So the ' governor ' would not, 
and did not, lead the trump, and he 
scored four. 

' ' We then persuaded him to play 
the hand again, and to lead the 
thirteenth trump. To his surprise, 
he scored five. 

' ' He then admitted that it was 
'very good,' but could not think 
who in the world had sent him that 
book." 

♦•Cayenne." — One of the nine- 
teen or more so-called varieties of 
whist. It is played by four persons, 
and consists of ten points, each 
trick above six counting towards 
game. Honors are counted by 
those holding a majority, as follows: 
One for each honor held in excess 
of their opponents', and one for 
honors in general. When the 
hand has been played, the points 
made by cards and by honors are 
multiplied by the value of the 
trump suit, and this is determined 
by the suit which is turned up, and 



" CAYENNE" 



8 1 CELEBRATED rEOPLE 



whicli is called ' ' cayenne. " " Cay- 
enne " does not necessarily become 
trumps, as the dealer and his 
partner have the option of naming 
another suit, if better suited to their 
hands. The "cayenne" gives to 
its suit the first rank for that game, 
and the suit next in color the sec- 
ond rank. The opposite colors 
rank third and fourth, for the pur- 
pose of counting. If the "cayenne " 
or turn-up should be clubs, for in- 
stance, spades would be the second 
color, hearts the third, and dia- 
monds the fourth. If clubs should 
be accepted as the trumps, the 
points made by cards and honors 
would be multiplied by four; if, in- 
stead of this, spades should be de- 
cided upon as trumps, the points 
would be multiplied by three; 
hearts as trumps, would cause the 
points to be multiplied by two; and 
diamonds, by only one. The dealer 
also has the privilege of announc- 
ing a ' ' grand, ' ' which is playing 
without any trump suit, in which 
case honors are not counted either, 
but every trick taken in excess of a 
book is multiplied by eight. Still 
another privilege accorded the 
dealer is the "nullo." When he 
announces this, he and his partner 
invert the usual order of play, and 
propose to take as few tricks as 
possible. Every trick taken in ex- 
cess of the book counts for the ad- 
versaries, and is multiplied by eight. 
Honors are not counted. If the 
dealer makes his choice, His part- 
ner is bound by it; but if the dealer 
has not a hand justifying him in 
deciding, he may leave the choice 
of play to his partner. The latter 
must decide. The cards are usu- 
ally dealt, not one at a time as in 
whist, but four, four, and five. No 
trump is turned from the pack 
which is used in the distribution, 
but the "cayenne " is turned from 
a still pack. The game is ten 



points, honors counting, as well as 
slams. Of these, the little slam of 
twelve tricks counts four, and the 
slam proper, consisting of all the 
thirteen tricks, counts six. The 
rubber is won by the side first 
winning four games of ten points 
each, and any excess of points made 
over ten in one game counts on the 
next. _ Extra points are scored by 
the winners of a game as follows: 
Four points, if they make a quad- 
ruple {i. e., if their adversaries 
have not scored); three, if they 
make a triple, the adversaries not 
having taken four tricks; two, if 
they score a double, the adversaries 
having taken less than seven tricks ; 
and one, or a single, if the adver- 
saries have scored eight or nine. 

"Cayenne" and "bridge" introduce 
the first changes of importance. In " cay- 
enne," the dealer and his partner have 
the privilege of changing the trump from 
the suit turned up.— i?. F. Foster \S. 0.\ 
'■'Complete Hoyle." 

Celebrated People Who Played 
Whist. — Many of the world's most 
celebrated men and women have 
been fond of whist, and some at- 
tained to great proficiency in the 
game. The most profound jurists, 
the most subtle diplomatists, the 
greatest soldiers, the most eminent 
divines, and the foremost scholars 
and thinkers of the age, have been 
among its votaries. Royalty itself 
has frequently acknowledged its 
fascinating sway. In England, the 
land of its birth, whist was formally 
received at court in 1754, and has 
since that time been much enjoyed 
by those upon and around the 
throne, with perhaps one singular 
exception. Whist - players were 
among the chief aversions of that 
prosaic monarch, George III. No 
wonder he lost the American colo- 
nies! His predecessor, the second 
George, we are told, disliked poets 



CELEBRATED PEOPLE 82 CELEBRATED PEOPLE 



and painters, "but at whist lie 
never tired." In personal courage 
this monarch resembled Napoleon. 
The present occupant of the British 
throne has been familiar with whist 
from her youth up; and her son, 
the Prince of Wales, is also fond of 
the game. He was a patron of the 
late James Clay, M. P. , who dedi- 
cated to him, by permission, his 
celebrated treatise on "Short 
Whist." Edward Everett once 
told an amusing story, how he and 
the Neapolitan ambassador, after 
having been presented to Queen 
Victoria, were informed by Lord 
Melbourne that they would be ex- 
pected to join in a game of whist 
with the Duchess of Kent. Mel- 
bourne intimated that he played but 
a very poor game himself. The Nea- 
politan ambassador remarked that, 
being a bad player, he hoped that 
forbearance would be exercised 
toward him by the American envoy, 
should they chance to be partners. 
Everett was forced to acknowledge 
that he knew very little of the 
game himself. ' ' Here, ' ' said he, 
in relating the story, " were three 
dignified persons, clad in gorgeous 
attire, solemnly going to play a 
game they imperfectly understood, 
and for which none of them cared 
a straw." Upon reaching the 
duchess's apartments they were 
formally presented, and, upon her 
invitation, they all sat down to 
play. To their surprise, as soon as 
the cards were dealt, a lady-in- 
waiting placed herself at the back 
of the duchess, the latter remark- 
ing, "Your excellencies will excuse 
me if I rely upon the advice of my 
friend, for I am really a poor 
player." The incident, while lu- 
dicrous in itself, showed how strong 
a hold the game had gained since 
Hoyle first gave it publicity in 1742, 
being now considered almost a part 
of court etiquette, and essayed even 



by those who had no natural taste 
or ability for it. 

Whist was played in France by 
Louis XV.; and under the first em- 
pire it was a favorite game with 
Josephine, and also with her suc- 
cessor, Marie Louise. It is recorded 
that Napoleon was in the habit of 
playing whist at Wurtemberg, but 
not for money. He did not play 
attentively, being possibly occupied 
with other schemes. One evening, 
when the queen dowager was play- 
ing against him, with her husband 
and his daughter (the Queen of 
Westphalia, wife of Jerome), the 
king stopped Napoleon, who was 
taking up a trick that did not be- 
long to him, saying, ' ' Sire, on ne 
joue pas id en conqutrant.''^ In 
his exile, we are told, the emperor 
spent nearly every evening at whist 
or vingt-et-un, and it is to be pre- 
sumed he had more leisure to attend 
strictly to the game. Charles X. 
was another unfortunate French 
monarch who loved his rubber of 
whist. He was playing hard to 
save the game, at St. Cloud, on 
July 29, 1830, when the tricolor 
waving over the Tuileries an- 
nounced that he had lost his 
throne. Still another example is 
furnished by Napoleon III., or 
"Napoleon the Little," as Victor 
Hugo loved to call him. His whist 
training was obtained in England, 
where he played frequently at Lord 
Eglinton's. Throughout life he 
was devoted to the game. In the 
beginning of his career he played 
a bold game, but later on the char- 
acteristics which marked his course 
in the political world were also 
revealed in his play. He never 
seemed to know his own mind, and 
the scheme of the game with which 
he started out he frequently aban- 
doned. Of all the royal or princely 
whist-players of France, the most 
distinguished was, perhaps, Prince 



CELEBRATED PEOPLE 



83 



CELEBRATED PEOPLE 



Talleyrand. He was considered 
one of the first players of his day, 
and in his old age whist was part 
of his pleasant daily occupation. 
" What!" said he, addressing a 
young man who had confessed that 
he knew nothing of the game, 
" you do not play whist? What a 
sad old age you are preparing for 
yourself. " It is related of him that 
often when in England, on affairs 
of state, in his younger days, he 
would leave the whist table at three 
in the morning, and then go home 
to dictate dispatches to a secretary 
for an hour or two. 

Like Talleyrand, the polite but 
generally distrusted Chesterfield 
was a life-long whist-player, who 
in advanced life was accustomed 
every evening to play his rubber. 
Lord Eeaconsfield loved the game, 
and frequently played with the 
Prince of Wales, and also with 
James Clay, who was his friend 
and traveling companion, and the 
finest player in all England in his 
day. Speaking of prime ministers, 
the Count Cavour, of Italy, was a 
whist-player whose zeal for the 
game was unquenchable. He 
founded the Society du Whist at 
Turin, and was a dashing and ven- 
turesome player. Prince Metter- 
nich, for nearly half a century 
prime minister of Austria, was 
another example. It is related that 
he owed to a single game the great- 
est sorrow of his life. One even- 
ing, while he was engrossed in his 
favorite play, an express arrived 
with dispatches from Galicia. He 
placed the papers on the mantel- 
piece, and the play continued until 
far into the morning. When the 
party broke up, iie was horrified to 
learn that upon bis immediate 
reply depended the fate of two 
thousand innocent persons. "Had 
Mettemich loved whist less pas- 
sionately," said the chronicler of 



the event, "history had never re- 
corded the infamous Galician mas- 
sacre." 

Marlborough, Wellington, Blu- 
cher. Von Moltke, were all skilled 
in whist as well as war. Of Napoleon 
we have already spoken. Marlbor- 
ough played the game a great deal 
in his old age, and he recognized 
its merits long before it had become 
fashionable. Blucher lost heavily 
at whist in Paris, after the victori- 
ous entry of the allies, especially 
when playing against the great 
player, Deschapelles, who rejoiced 
in thus being able to revenge him- 
self upon the enemy of his country. 
Von Moltke, the greatest strategist 
of recent times, played his usual 
rubber the night before his death. 
On this occasion he had remarkable 
luck, and his partner, who usually 
held poor hands, was equally for- 
tunate. The old field-marshal was 
in high spirits. ^'■Nun haben wir 
sie ! '^ (Now we have them!) he 
exclaimed with a smile, as he 
played his last hand. Without any 
assistance from his partner, he won 
the rubber with a slam, taking all 
thirteen tricks. It was a remark- 
able performance, even though it 
was afterward asserted that the 
game was "cayenne," a species of 
whist in which the dealer and his 
partner have the privilege of chang- 
ing the trump from the suit turned 
up, if they so elect. 

And speaking of Von Moltke, we 
are reminded of the following: It 
is said that late on the night of 
February 26, 1871, after the peace 
negotiations between Germany and 
France were concluded at Ver- 
sailles, the four men who had been 
foremost in overturning one empire 
and founding another — namely, 
King William, his son, the crown- 
prince of Prussia, the all-powerful 
Bismarck, and the veteran field- 
marshal — found themselves worn 



CELEBRATBD PEOPLE 84 CELEBRATED PEOPLE 



out with the anxiety of the day, 
and the magnitude of the event 
just concluded. Not one could 
sleep, and the king proposed a 
game of whist. The suggestion 
was hailed with delight, and duly 
acted upon. After the last rubber 
was concluded, Bismarck voiced 
the sentiments of each one when 
he remarked: "Now we shall be 
ready for whatever may turn up to- 
morrow." 

There is no limit to tlie audience 
to which the game appeals, unless 
it be that of intelligence. In music, 
Rubinstein, in art, Dante Gabriel 
Rossetti, were numbered among 
the lovers of whist. Among men 
of science, Sir Charles Lyell took 
a lively interest in the game. Adam 
Smith sometimes tore himself away 
from his political economy to take 
a hand at it. Proctor, the astrono- 
mer, was not only a good player, 
but a writer and authority on the 
game. The great English physi- 
cian. Sir Astley Cooper, when out 
of London on business or pleas- 
ure, always played whist even- 
ings. George Peabody, the famous 
philanthropist, was fond of whist, 
and as rigorous a player as the cel- 
ebrated Sarah Battle^ immortalized 
by Charles Lamb. Among the legal 
profession, good players have been 
so numerous that we can hardly 
particularize, although the palm 
must be awarded to Sergeant Ballan- 
tine, of England, who once played 
for six-and-thirty hours at a stretch. 
Some of the most noted English 
churchmen, too, were fond of whist. 
Among others we may mention 
Paley, Toplady, Bishop Green, 
Home, Bishop Bathurst, Dean Mil- 
man, Dr. Parr, the saintly Keble, 
Dr. Priestly, Dr. Alexander Car- 
lyle, Dr. Robertson, Dr. Blair, and 
Bishop Colenso. Of Buller, a fa- 
mous bishop of Exeter, it was said 
that whist had a softening influence 



on his disposition. Many cele- 
brated churchmen in other coun- 
tries also loved whist. An American 
traveler in Rome, in 1836, saw 
seven cardinals, clad in the habili- 
ments of their order, playing at 
dififerent tables; and Charles Lever 
was of the opinion that Cardinal 
Antonelli might sit down at the 
Portland or at the Turf (England's 
leading whist clubs) and compete 
on equal terms with such an adver- 
sary as Payne. Nor are the clergy 
in America, as a rule, unfriendly to 
whist. Bishop Phillips Brooks was 
fond of a quiet rubber; and Dr. 
David Swing played his last game, 
eleven days before his death, with 
Henry K. Dillard, the blind player, 
as partner. 

James Payn, the novelist, himself 
a good hand at whist, says: "Men 
of letters are rarely good card- 
players — Lord Lytton and Lever are 
almost the only exceptions I can 
call to mind — but some of them 
have been fond of whist, and enli- 
vened it by their sallies." If but 
few of them were first-class players, 
it is certain that plenty of them 
tried to be. Even before Hoyle 
was heard of, Dean Swift records in 
his memoirs that in November, 
1709, he won two shillings and four 
pence at ombre and whist from 
Messrs. Raymond and Morgan ; and 
in his journal to "Stella," under 
date of March 2, 1712, he speaks of 
a visit to Lady Clarges's house, 
where he "found four of them at 
whist." John and Henry Fielding, 
Churchill, and Oliver Goldsmith 
were among those who used to play 
at a gossiping, shilling rubber club, 
at the Bedford Arms, in Covent 
Garden. Of Hume, the historian, 
it is said that "till his dying day 
whist continued still his favorite 
play." Gibbon, another great his- 
torian, said: " I play three rubbers 
with pleasure. " Lord Byron played 



CELEBRATED PEOPLE 85 CELEBRATED PEOPLE 



whist at a popular club in Pic- 
cadilly, and he it was who made the 
famous comparison, "Troy owes to 
Homer what whist owes to Hoyle." 
Leigh Hunt, Lamb, Hazlitt, and 
many others played whist regularly. 
Charles Reade was a clever player, 
and it caused him great chagrin 
when he was beaten by " Psycho," 
the wonderful automaton. Anthony 
TroUope inherited his mother's 
fondness for the game, as well as 
her aptitude for novel-writing. 

And speaking of Mrs. Trollope, 
it may be said that whist was her 
chief delight, and the great feature 
of her weekly reunions at Flor- 
ence, to which city she had retired 
after years of literary labor. Mrs. 
Jameson, another well-known lit- 
erary woman, came to one of these 
receptions; but great was Mrs. Trol- 
lope's regret upon learning that her 
guest did not know one card from 
another. One of the earliest refer- 
ences to whist among women is 
contained in a letter from Lady 
Mary Wortley Montagu to the 
Countess of Bute, in May, 1749. 
"On my return (from Constanti- 
nople)," she writes, "I found them 
all at commerce, which gave place 
to quadrille, and that to whist." 
Two very clever women, Fanny 
Kemble and Mrs. Proctor, were de- 
voted to the game, although not as 
successful players as some others 
of their sex. Harriet Martineau 
learned whist from James Payn, 
and enjoyed the game exceedingly. 
The celebrated Mrs. Grote was 
another woman whose fondness for 
whist was characteristic. Of Mad- 
ame de Stael it is related that she 
played the game with eagerness and 
tenacity. 

In America whist has been held 
in high esteem from the earliest 
times. As early as 1767 Benjamin 
Franklin became acquainted with 
the game in Paris, and he noted the 



fact in his diary that " quadrille is 
out of fashion, and English whist 
aU the mode." Among American 
statesmen who were devoted whist- 
players we may mention Henry 
Clay. One night while engaged at 
a rubber the cry of fire was raised. 
Upon ascertaining that the flames 
had not yet reached the adjoining 
apartments, although they were 
near at hand, he remarked to his 
friends, "Never mind; we have time 
for another hand." At least, so 
goes the story. Washington Irving 
played whist regularly, and in his 
declining years could not sleep 
nights unless he first played a few 
games. He died on November 28, 
1859, and on the day previous he 
wrote to a friend: " I shall have to 
get a dispensation from Dr. Cooper 
to allow me to play whist on Sun- 
day evenings." Edgar Allan Poe 
admired whist, and rhapsodized 
upon it in his story of "The Mur- 
ders in the Rue Morgue. ' ' Nathaniel 
Hawthorne's enthusiasm for it be- 
gan in his college days, but the 
only stakes he would play for were 
the honor of victory. His son 
Julian tells us his father " was a 
very good hand at wh ist . " Charl es 
Sumner also liked a rubber. James 
Russell Lowell had a steady admi- 
ration for the game, which he often 
played at the house of Mr. Carter, 
secretary to Prescott, the historian, 
at Cambridge. John Bartlett, of 
"Familiar Quotations" fame, and 
John Holmes, brother of the genial 
"Autocrat," were the other mem- 
bers of the coterie, which played 
together regularly for years. Upon 
his return from England, in 1874, 
Lowell wrote: " Last night was our 
first whist club since mj'^ return. I 
looked in the record, found it was 
John's deal, and we began as if 
there had been no gap." 

With one more whist incident — 
and this an international one — we 



CHALLENGE TROPHY 



86 



CHALLENGE TROPHY 



must close the present article. Gen- 
eral Grant, "the silent man," was 
perhaps particularly adapted to the 
silent game. At any rate, he loved 
it for its own sake, and played it 
well. During his famous tour 
around the world, in 1877, he was 
the guest of the Reform Club, in 
London, and on June 18 some fifty 
members of the club tendered him 
a memorable dinner. Contrary to 
his usual custom, the guest of the 
evening would not smoke, and after 
the banquet a rubber of whist was 
proposed. This pleased him, and 
he sat down at a table with Lord 
Granville, son of the ambassador to 
Paris; the late foreign secretary, 
W. E. Forster, and Colonel Strode. 
The latter played once against the 
general, and once as his partner. 
Both games were won by the distin- 
guished visitor to English shores, 
who thus carried off the honors of 
the rubber. ( See, also, ' ' Famous 
Whist-Players.") 

Whist has beeu the preferred pastime 
of the greatest men of modern days. The 
most profound philosophers, the_ greatest 
■warriors, those who have attained the 
highest rank in the pulpit and at the bar, 
have made of whist a favorite game. — 
"A. Trump, Jr." [L. O.]. 

In a whist coterie at one of these [Lon- 
don clubs] may be noticed cabinet 
ministers, ambassadors, peers, senators, 
statesmen, judges, magistrates, college 
professors, literary and scientific celebri- 
ties, and others of public reputation, who 
engage in the game with an earnestness 
that shows it is not an idle pastime, but 
a mental exercise in which they find real 
attraction.— IVilliajn Pole [L. A+J, "Phil- 
osophy of Whist.''' 

Challenge Trophy. — The Amer- 
ican Whist League Challenge Tro- 
phy originated at the third congress 
of the League (Chicago, 1893), at 
which time the desirability of 
having a trophy that could be 
played for between congresses, and 
thereby stimulate interclub play, 
was discussed. The exact status of 



the Hamilton Trophy (the cham- 
pionship trophy of the League for 
teams of four representing League 
clubs) had not yet been defined, 
and was not until the sixth con- 
gress. A committee to procure a 
challenge trophy was in the mean- 
time appointed, and the trophy was 
first played for at the fourth con- 
gress. The rules (as amended July 
7, 1897) provide that the trophy 
shall be held by the club winning 
it at an annual congress until the 
end of the following September; it 
shall be held subject to challenge 
from October i until the end of 
the following May; and shall be 
held from the end of May until the 
opening of the next congress by 
the winner of the last match played 
prior to the first of June. Every 
League club has the right to chal- 
lenge, but the holder cannot be re- 
quired to play more frequently than 
once a week without its consent. 
The trophy becomes the permanent 
property of the club which either 
\a) wins it at three annual tourna- 
ments, or {b), in twenty matches 
actually played. It is also provided 
that a contest for the trophy shall 
take place (during the season it is 
subject to challenge) at the mid- 
winter meeting of the executive 
committee. For this purpose it is 
surrendered to the committee one 
week after the last match in Janu- 
ary. For such contest the com- 
mittee is to designate two clubs of 
the section other than that of the 
last holder. The clubs so desig- 
nated shall be the two that made 
the highest scores of their section 
at the last preceding congress, and 
for this purpose the territory of the 
League is divided into two sections, 
the East and the West. The East 
comprises all territory east of the 
east lines of Ohio, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, and Alabama; the West, the 
balance of the United States. The 



CHAXIvENGE trophy 87 CHALLENGE TROPHY 



winners of the trophy at the mid- 
win termeetingholdit, asbefore, sub- 
ject to challenge from any League 
club in any part of the country. 

The matches for the trophy are 
played under the system generally 
known as the "two table" or 
"team of four" game. Matches 
consist of forty-eight deals, and are 
divided into two halves, the first 



half to be plaj'ed in the afternoon 
and the last half to be played in 
the evening of the day designated. 
The players change positions at 
every four deals according to the 
following schedule, in which the 
numbers i, 2, 3, and 4 represent the 
players of the challenging club, 
and the numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8 the 
players of the home club; 



FIRST HALF. 



FIRST TABLE. 


Deals. 




SECOND TABLE. 


North. South. East. West. 


North. South. East. West. 


I and 2 against 5 and 6 


I — 


4 


7 and 8 against 3 and 4 


I and 2 against 7 and 8 


5 — 


8 


5 and 6 against 3 and 4 


I and 3 against 7 and 5 


9 — 


12 


8 and 6 against 2 and 4 


I and 3 against 6 and 8 


13 — 


16 


7 and 5 against 2 and 4 


I and 4 against 5 and 8 


17 — 


20 


7 and 6 against 2 and 3 


I and 4 against 6 and 7 


21 — 


24 


5 and 8 against 2 and 3 



SECOND HALF. 



FIRST TABLE. 


Deals. 

25 — 
29 — 
33 — 
37 — 
41 — 
45 - 


28 

36 
40 

48 


SECOND TABLE. 


North. South. East. West. 
I and 2 against 6 and 5 
I and 2 against 8 and 7 
I and 3 against 5 and 7 
I and 3 against 8 and 6 
I and 4 against 8 and 5 
I and 4 against 7 and 6 


North. South. East. West. 
8 and 7 against 3 and 4 
6 and 5 against 3 and 4 
6 and 8 against 2 and 4 

5 and 7 against 2 and 4 

6 and 7 against 2 and 3 
8 and 5 against 2 and 3 



Fifty-six challenge matches, not 
including play-off of ties, and three 
tournaments were played for the 
trophy from the beginning down 
to Saturday, April 24, 1897, when 
the celebrated team from the 
Hamilton Club, of Philadelphia — 
Messrs. Milton C. Work, Gustavus 
Remak, Jr., E. A. Ballard, and F. 
P. Mogridge — took permanent pos- 
session of it, under the rules, by 
scoring their twentieth victory. 
The following table shows the de- 
tails of this remarkable contest, be- 
ginning with the first occasion upon 
which the trophy was competed 
for: 



1894 Congress, Won by Minneapolis. 

1894. 

November 10 — Minneapolis vs. Chicago, 
29-10. 

December 22 — Minneapolis vs. Still- 
water, 30-17. 

December 29 — Minneapolis vs. Fergus 
Falls, 32-5. 

1895. 

January 11— Minneapolis vs. St. Paul, 
24-13- 

Under the rules, the Minneapolis club 
surrendered the trophy to the executive 
committee, who selected the teams from 
the East and West to play for the trophy 
at the midwinter meeting. 

January 20 — Hamilton vs. Chicago, 
30-16. 

February 8— Hamilton vs. Knicker- 
bocker, 29-16. 



CHAIvI^ENGB TROPHY 



CHAI^LENGB TROPHY 



February 23 — Hamilton vs. Newton, 
30-13- 

March 9 — Hamilton vs. Brooklyn, 27- ig. 

March 16 — Hamilton vs. Baltimore, 
37-16- 
t March 23 — Park vs. Hamilton, 24-23. 

March 30 — Park vs. Philadelphia, 25-22. 

April 6— Albany vs. Park, 28-22. 

April 13 — Continental vs. Albany, 26-20. 

April 20 — (Continental vs. Hamilton), 
20-20. 

April 27 — Hamilton vs. Continental, 
21-18. 

1895 Congress, Won by Nashville. 
October 19 — Hamilton vs. Nashville, 

22-13. 

November 9 — Hamilton vs. Park, 27-11. 

November 23 — Baltimore vs. Hamilton, 
22-18. 

December 7 — Philadelphia vs. Balti- 
more, 20-13. 

December 14 — Continental vs. Philadel- 
phia, 21-13. 

December 21 — Albany vs. Continental, 
24-17. 

December 29 — Albany vs. Brooklyn, 
24-20. 

1896. 

January 4 — Capital Bicycle Club vs. 
Albany, 29-22. 

January 18 — Capital Bicycle Club vs. 
Hamilton, 27-21. 

January 25— Baltimore vs. Capital Bi- 
cycle Club, 21-17. 

Trophy surrendered for the mid-winter 
meeting. 

January 28— St. Paul vs. American, 35- 
II. 

February 22 — St. Paul vs. ChicaRO, 31-19. 

March i— St. Paul vs. Fergus Falls, 41- 
12. 

April II — St. Paul vs. Chicago, 21-13. 

April 27 — St. Paul vs. Dulutli, 37-11. 

1896 Congress, won by New York. 
October 10— New York vs. Philadelphia, 

29-21. 

October 24 — Narragansett vs. New York, 
26-17. 

October 31 — Narragansett vs. Brooklyn, 

31-23- 

November 7 — Hamilton vs. Narragan- 
sett, 28-9. 

November 14 — Hamilton vs. Boston Du- 
plicate, 26-16. 

November 21 — Hamilton vs. Amrita 
(Poughkeepsie), 38-9. 

November 28 — Hamilton vs. Baltimore, 
26-21. 

December 5— Hamilton vs. Capital Bi- 
cycle Club, 25-14. 

December 12— Hamilton vs. Wilming- 
ton, 25-20. 

December 19 — American vs. Hamilton, 
29-24. 

December 26— American w. Park (Plain- 
field), 18-17. 



1897. 

January 2 — American vs. Staten Island, 
35-20. 

January 9 — American vs. Newton, 27-15. 

January 16 — Albany w. American, 20-16. 

January 23— Albany vs. Albany C. & 
W., 23-18. 

January 30 — Albany vs. Columbia, 
(Washington, D. C), 21-15. 

February 6— Albany vs. New Jersey, 
32-16. 

February 13— Albany vs. New York, 24- 
19- 

Trophy surrendered for the mid-winter 
meeting. 

February 20— Albany vs. St. Paul, 24-12. 

March 6— Albany vs. Boston Duplicate, 
17-16. 

March 13 — Albany vs. Narragansett, 23- 
16. 

March 20 — Hamilton vs. Albany, 35-17. 

March 27— (Hamilton w. Baltimore), 22- 
22. 

April I — Hamilton vs. Baltimore, 18-9. 

April 3— Hamilton vs. Walbrook, 32-15. 

April 10 — Hamilton vs. Park, 34-6. 

April 17 — Hamilton vs. American, 22-17. 

April 24 — Hamilton vs. New Jersey, 27- 
13- 

The following is a summary of 
the winners in the various contests 
for the trophy: 

Number of 
Name of Club. matches won. 

Hamilton Club, of Philadelphia ... 20 
The Albany Club, Albany, N. Y. . . . 11 
Minneapolis Chess, Checkers, and 

Whist Club 5 

St. Paul Chess and Whist Club .... 5 
American Whist Club, Newton, Mass. 4 

Park Club, Plainfield, N. J 2 

Continental Club, New York 2 

Baltimore Whist Club 2 

Capital Bicycle Club, Washington, 

D. C 2 

The Whist Club, of New York .... 2 
The Narragansett Whist Club, of 

Providence 2 

The Philadelphia Whist Club i 

The Nashville Whist Club i 

Total 59 

The trophy having been perma- 
nently won, a new one was pur- 
chased, and played for the first 
time at the seventh congress of 
the League, at Put-in-Bay. It is 
made of sterling silver, lined with 
gold, with three supporting arms, 
and stands on a broad base. On 
the outside, within a shield, the 



ioorfD8:^'M3Jba^^3^**-'5Ht lo ^'i^f,.-^ 



i^i' '^ 




iMi.vii; 



iten Islan 



..?'v Jersc.- 

- -w York, J. 

>s BY Nak" ■■ mid-wlnt' 



^4 / Leaders of the "Cavendish^' School 

December •,■,.■ ■ ^ ._. , , ,. 

24-"«'- ^g^ Jj^ ^j^gj.J^^»^.4-KamuLon v.. X^iew Jersey, i 

Jaiiuaiy 4 — Capital Bicycle Chtl. 

""fet^lt-capital Bicyck " '* "^'^ ^^ a summary o: 

Haniiucn. 27-21. the vaaous contest 

c/deciu^^f*^'^'^^^' ' C. D. P. Hamilton. 

Nicholas Browse Trist. 

■ - ■ • .'i 
Charles E. Coffin. Cassius M, P^ft^I v .. ! 



u. c 

The WVii^t Club., of K 



1 * been perni; 



ibers— Ham:: 
'^yr'..) CU"1>, 25-14- 
December 12— HaiBiUo!i 

t.''.:; :;--''o. 

!.er J9"Americau rs. jihw; '. »•, 

! oer a6— American Ks.Patk {Pt%ps- 



CHAMPIONS 



89 CHANGE THE SUIT SIGNAI, 



words, "The American Whist 
League Trophy Challenge Cup, 
1897," are enameled. Its first 
possession was contested for by 
fourteen clubs, Toledo finally win- 
ning it over Albany, by sixteen 
tricks. (See, "American Whist 
League.") 

Champions. — The winners in a 
contest at whist, arranged for the 
purpose of testing the respective 
merits of individuals, teams, or 
clubs. The Hamilton Trophy is 
the championship trophy of the 
American Whist League, and the 
four players winning it at each an- 
nual congress are entitled to the 
designation of champions of the 
League for the ensuing year. 

Championship Trophy. — See, 
"Hamilton Trophy." 

Chances at Whist. — Hoyle was 
the first to make elaborate calcula- 
tions of probabilities in whist. This 
feature of his teaching was satirized 
in " The Humotirs of Whist. ' ' He 
afterwards wrote a separate book on 
the subject, entitled, "An Essay 
Towards Making the Doctrines of 
Chances Easy to Those Who Un- 
derstand Vulgar Arithmetic." Ma- 
thews also mentioned the calcula- 
tion of probabilities as useful in 
guiding early leads, but did not 
follow out the subject in detail. 
This part of the science of whist 
afterwards became neglected, until 
revived many years later by Dr. 
Pole and others in the philosophi- 
cal game. 

A hand at ■whist will last only a few 
mintttes; we may have a hundred of them 
in an evening; and yet, throughout a 
player's whole life, no two similar ones 
will ever occur. — IVilliam Pole\L. A-\-\ 

The whist player's maxim, that "the 
cards never forgive," is based upon expe- 
rience of the fact that when you have got 
the game in your hands, and throw it 



away, the peculiar combination under 
which success was possible is not likely 
to occur again. — The Whist Table. 

There are no less than 635,013,559,600 
ways in which a hand can be made. That 
all the cards in the hand may be trumps 
(the dealer's, of course, must be taken), 
the chance is but one in 158,753,389,900 
(one-fourth of the number just men- 
tioned). A few years ago (see, " Whist 
Whittlings" in "How to Play Whist," 
pp. 190, igi), two cases of the kind were 
recorded, and many seemed to suppose 
that there must be something wrong in 
the mathematical computation of the 
chance. For, they said, in 158,753,389,900 
cases only one would give this particular 
hand, and yet two cases occurred within 
a few years of each other, within which 
time so many hands could not possibly 
have been dealt. Now, there was here at 
starting the fallacs^ that, because but one 
case in so many is favorable, so many 
trials must be made to give an even 
chance of the event occurring. As a mat- 
ter of fact, a much smaller nuniber of 
trials is necessary to give an even chance. 
Take a simple case — the tossing of a coin. 
Here there are two possible results, but 
it does not take two trials to give an even 
chance of tossing head — one trial suffices 
for that; and the chance of tossing head 
once at least in two trials instead of being 
one-half is three-fourths; the odds are not 
even, but three to one in favor of tossing 
a head. In like manner, if 158,753,389,900 
hands were dealt, the odds are not even, 
but largely in favor of a hand of thirteen 
trumps being among them. Moreover, if 
the odds w^ere shown to be ten, or even 
twenty,to one against the event occurring 
in a much smaller number of trials, yet 
there is nothing very surprising in an 
event occurring when the odds against it 
are ten or twenty to one. But large 
though the number just mentioned may 
seem, the number of whist-players is also 
large. It would not be much out of the 
way to suppose that among all the whist- 
playing nations of the earth a million 
whist parties play per diem, and to each 
we may fairly assign twenty deals. On 
this assumption it would require only 
7950 days, or not much more than twenty 
years, to give 159,000,000,000 trials, or 
much more than an even chance of the 
remarkable hand in question. — R. A, 
Proctor [Z. 0.\. 



Change the Suit Signal. — The 

idea embodied in the trump signal 
is to ask or call for the lead of 
trumps, which seems to have had 
its inception in the generally ac- 
cepted irregularity in long whist 



CHANGB THB SUIT SIGNAL QO 



CHANGING SUITS 



whereby a player, in calling for 
honors, also, under certain condi- 
tions, called for trumps. General 
Drayson, in an appendix to the 
third edition of his "Art of Prac- 
tical Whist," argued that a better 
way of defining the meaning of the 
modern signal was that, when a 
person played an unnecessarily 
high card followed by a lower one, 
he wished his partner, on obtain- 
ing the lead, to "'change his suit to 
trumps. ' ' This might by some be 
considered a distinction without a 
difference, but it is merely the pre- 
liminary to a development, or im- 
provement, which the author now 
proposed, and which, he claimed, 
would enable those adopting it to 
convey information that would, on 
many occasions, be worth two, or 
even three, tricks. He says: 

' * At the early stage of the play 
of a hand, I suggest that playing an 
unnecessarily high card means 
'■change your suit to trumps.^ 
When, however, the trumps have 
all been played, or when only one 
or two remain in, and when the 
play of an unnecessarily high card 
cannot mean 'lead a trump,' then 
the play of an unnecessarily high 
card means change your suit. " In 
other woi-ds, when there is no dan- 
ger of mistaking it for a signal or 
an echo, one player may request 
his partner to change from the suit 
the latter is leading by making a 
trump signal in it. General Dray- 
son claims that highly intelligent 
players may make use of the con- 
vention also when some trumps 
still remain in play. He says: 
" At present the play of an unne- 
cessarily high card means only, 
' play me a trump as soon as you 
get the lead.' If, however, we 
adopt the code I recommend, and 
agree that the first meaning of the 
play of an unnecessarily high card 
means 'change your suit to trumps,' 



but that if the previous play of the 
cards shows that this unnecessarily 
high card cannot mean change 
your suit to trumps, then it means 
change your suit to one of the two 
others which you are not leading — 
in other words, it says, ' any other 
suit will be better for me than a 
continuation of a third round of 
the suit you are now leading.' " 

In conclusion, General Drayson 
says that this is not the introduction 
of a new conventional signal, but 
merely increasing the powers of 
one at present in use, and ' ' which 
is now rather cramped and arbi- 
trary in its meaning. ' ' In regard 
to possible conflict with other sig- 
nals, he says: "When winning 
trumps are led by your partner, 
the present conventional system of 
intimating that you hold four in 
suit by playing the lowest but one, 
followed by the lowest, would still 
be followed without any chance of 
confusion. The play of an un- 
necessarily high trump would — if 
we kept to the letter of the prin- 
ciple — mean, change your sixit to 
trumps, as the first meaning; as, 
however, trumps were being led, 
the play of the unnecessarily high 
card in trumps could only mean 
that the player held four trumps at 
least." 

Changing Suits. — There is no 
rule without its exception, but the 
authorities are all agreed that to 
change suits in playing whist means 
to lose tricks thereby. Bumble- 
puppists and beginners love to lead 
the high cards in every suit in their 
hand, in turn, for the pleasure it 
gives them to temporarily play a 
winning game; but the final result 
is disastrous, and there is no pre- 
tense at partnership play. In play- 
ing whist, properly speaking, it is 
better to stick to and return to your 
best suit, which you originally led, 



CHANGING SUITS 



91 



CHEATING AT WHIST 



even though you are obliged to lead 
a card which you know will be 
taken by your opponent. The ex- 
ceptional conditions under which it 
is well to change suits are such that 
only experts can take proper ad- 
vantage of them. The novice had 
better obey the rule until he learns 
how to disobey it with profit. 

Changing suits is one of the most com- 
mon methods of dropping tricks.—-^. F. 
Foster \_S. 0.\ "Whist Tactics." 

It is less mischievous, generally, to lead 
a certain losing card, than to open a fresh 
suit in which you are very weak.— "Ca»2" 
[O.], " IVkai to Lead." 

The general rule is: avoid changing 
suits. But the development of the hand 
may render a change necessary under 
several conditions.— jPwA^r Ames \_L. A.] 

It is a common delusion to fancy that 
when a suit is declared against you, you 
can prevent it making by leading some- 
thing else; whereas you merely postpone 
the evil day, and do mischief in the in- 
terval. — " Pembridge " \L-\-Oi\. 

"Avoid changing suits." This maxim 
should not be departed from unless the 
character of your hand or the fall of the 
cards justify it. There is, perhaps, noth- 
ing so productive of loss as injudiciously 
changing suits. — C. D. P. Hamilton [L. 
A.], " Modern Scientific Whist." 

There are five good reasons for chang- 
ing suits, but unless one of them can be 
applied the suit should be continued: 
fi) In order to lead trumps to defend it. 
(2^ In order to avoid forcing partner. 
(3) In order to avoid forcing both adver- 
saries. (4) Because it is hopeless, and 
there is some chance in another. (5) To 
prevent a cross-ruflf, by leading trumps. — 
R. F. Foster [5. O.], "Complete Hoyle." 

We firmly believe the greatest failure of 
the average whister is a wonderful desire 
to change the suit. Our advice is, when 
you have the lead, having won a third 
trick in hand, be absolutely sure it is the 
wisest play to shift the suit before you 
decide to do so, and if there is any doubt 
in your m.ind on the subject, give the ben- 
efit of that doubt to the suit that has just 
been led. Remember, every time you 
open a new suit you place yourself at a 
disadvantage, unless it is headed by a 
three-card sequence of which the queen 
is a component part. — Milton C. Work [L. 
A. If.], Philadelphia Telegraph. 

Avoid changing suits. * * * if you 
have had the lead before, it is generally- 
advisable to pursue your original lead. 
* * * If you have not had the lead be- 



fore, it is in most cases advisable to open 
your strong suit, when j'ou possess great 
strength in any suit, for you open such 
suit to advantage; but with weak or only 
moderately strong suits, which you open 
to a disadvantage, you would, as a rule, 
do better to return your partner's original 
lead, or to lead up to the weak suit of 
your right-hand adversary, or through 
the strong suit of your left-hand adver- 
sary. — "Cavendish" [L. A.], "Laws and 
Principles of Whist.'''' 

Character and Whist. — If you 

wish to discover the real character 
of a man, play whist with him. The 
whist-table will reveal his peculi- 
arities, if he has any. It will re- 
move the mask from his face, if he 
is wearing one. 

There is no game which reveals to us 
more the character of a man than whist. — 
A. C. Ewald. 

Here the true gentleman appears in his 
real element; here may be compared the 
silence in prosperity with the pretentious 
braggadocio of the winner; the kind for- 
bearance to the faults of a partner, with 
the angry looks, the shrugging shoul- 
ders, and often the irritating remarks of 
the loser. In no place in the social circle, 
uor in the free and easy haunts of club 
life, can one cultivate so well that equa- 
nimity so necessary to the polished gen- 
tleman as at the whist-table. — "A. 
Trump, Jr." \L. 0.\. 

Cheating at Whist. — Whist in 
its earliest and but partially de- 
veloped stage was much used by 
card-sharpers as a means of fleecing 
the unwary. Cotton and Seymour, 
in their several editions of ' ' The 
Compleat Gamester," showed this 
to be a fact; and Hoyle, the first 
teacher of whist, not only taught 
the game itself, but showed how to 
counteract the tricks of the gam- 
blers and blacklegs. It is surmised 
by some that he was something of 
a gambler himself, and gained his 
knowledge in this way. Every im- 
provement in whist which tended 
to make it more a game of skill and 
less a game of chance, lessened the 
opportunities for cheating. The 
fact that whist in England and 



CHEATING AT WHIST 



92 



CHEATING AT WHIST 



Europe is played for small, very 
often nominal, stakes, and in this 
country, as a rule, entirely without 
stakes, also takes away a powerful 
incentive for cheating. Profes- 
sional crooks do not waste their 
talents on the desert air, and have 
long since discovered more con- 
genial games of chance at which to 
ply their vocation. 

The danger from professional 
cheating being practically nil, there 
remains to be considered the chance 
of cheating among amateurs. 
Human nature and vanity is such 
that occasionally some players are 
not unwilling to take advantage of 
unfair means in their efforts to 
achieve a victory, although such a 
victory, in the end, must be dearly 
bought, bringing with it stings of 
conscience instead of noble satis- 
faction. Many who practice little 
deceptions would perhaps be hor- 
rified to hear them plainly charac- 
terized as cheating, such as the 
revoke on purpose, the overseeing 
of an antagonist's hand, (in Eng- 
land) the claiming of honors which 
were never held, and other like 
practices. One of the most serious 
consists in collusion between part- 
ners in secretly conveying informa- 
tion concerning the hands or plaj'. 
Private conventions or prearranged 
signals are cheating, and should at 
once subject the offenders to expul- 
sion from the club or whist circle. 

There is a popular belief that card-laws 
are intended to prevent cheating. This 
belief, however, is altogether erroneous. 
The penalty of cheating is exclusion from 
society. — "Cavendish "[/.. AJ], "Card Es- 
says.'" 

Whist offers very few opportunities to 
the card-sharper. When honors are 
counted he may be able to keep one on 
the bottom of the pack until the comple- 
tion of the deal by making the pass [put- 
ting the two parts of the pack back as 
they were before the cut] after the cards 
have been cut. * * * When whist is played 
with only one pack,a very skillful shuffler 
may gather the cards without disturbing 



the tricks, and by giving them a single 
intricate shuffle, then drawing the middle 
of the pack from between the ends and 
giving them another single intricate 
shuffle, he may occasionally succeed in 
dealing himself and his partner a very 
strong hand in trumps, no matter how 
the cards are cut, so that they are not 
shuffled again. A hand dealt in this 
manner is framed on the walls of the 
Columbus (O.) Whist Club; eleven trumps 
having been dealt to the partner, and the 
twelfth turned up. In this case the shuf- 
fling dexterity was the result of fifteen 
years' practice, and was employed simply 
for amusement.— i?. F. Foster [S. O.], 
"Complete Hoyle.'" 

A story is told of a doctor who declined 
to play with a man and his wife, who al- 
ways played as partners. On being asked 
why, he said: "It is very curious, but I 
notice that whenever it is the lady's turn 
to lead, she hesitates. Then if her hus- 
band says, ' Harriet, my dear, it is your 
lead, 'she leads a heart. If he says, 'Come, 
dear, lead,' she leads a club and so on. I 
don't care to play against them." 

More than thirty years ago a visitor 
was introduced at a club of which I was 
a member. He was tall and very fat, and 
was what sailors term "dog rigged" — that 
is, when he sat in a chair he was nearly 
as tall as when he stood up. I soon ob- 
served that he had a habit of glancing at 
his adversary's cards. As he sat on my 
right I played after him, so I arranged my 
cards accordingly. 

I held ace, ten, four, and two of spades, 
so I concealed my ten behind the four. 
This suit was led up to me, and I took no 
extra precautions to prevent my " dog- 
rigged" adver.sary from seeing my cards. 
After a slight hesitation he, third in hand, 
played the eight of spades. I pulled out 
my ten and won the trick, and saw that 
this was a shock. At the end of the hand 
I remarked to him, " That was a very 
deep finesse you made with the eight of 
spades!" 

"Well, I thought you had nothing 
higher but the ace." 

" How did you know I had the ace ?" 

"Well, I fancied you must have it." 

That night this gentleman received a 
hint that his future visits to the club 
might be dispensed with. 

Two men used to join a rubber, but 
would play only as partners. The reason 
they assigned for doing so v^as that they 
went shares in their losses or winnings, 
and if they were adversaries they took no 
interest in the results. It was remarked 
that they were very successful, especially 
in leading that suit which was best suited 
to partner, I was asked to visit the whist 
room and try if I could discover any se- 
cret. Before two rubbers had been played 



'CHINESE WHIST' 



93 



■CHINESE WHIST" 



I quietly told some lookers-on that I had 
discovered something, and to prove my 
case I said I would indicate what suit 
would be led by each of these men at 
certain periods of the game, especially 
when there was a slight hesitation. Dur- 
ing the play of two hands I named the 
suit that would be led nine times out of 
ten. As this result was considered to 
amount to proof, I was asked to supply 
the key, which was very simple. 

There are four fingers on each hand, 
and there are four suits. Arranging the 
suits in alphabetical order they stand, C, 
D., H., S. The first finger represented 
clubs, the second diamonds, and so on. A 
player holding his cards in his left hand, 
showing the second finger outside, wished 
diamonds led. Sometimes, as a variation, 
the right hand was brought up and the 
cards run through, the indicating finger 
being outside. The operation was per- 
formed very quickly, but would be per- 
ceived at a glance, and I saw that each of 
these men, when it was his lead, did 
glance at his partner's hand. 

There are scores of other ways in which 
similar information could be given, but 
all these come under the head of private 
signals, or, in other words, cheating. — 
A. IV. Drayson \L+A+'\, IVhisi, May 
and June, 1897. 

"Chinese Whist."— Another 
offshoot, or variety, of whist, some- 
what resetabling double-dumtny. 
It is played with a full pack of 
fifty-two cards, by two, three, or 
four persons. The game usually 
consists of ten points, honors not 
counting except by agreement. 
When four plaj^ the partners sit 
opposite each other, as in whist. 
Six cards are dealt to each, one at a 
time, and spread out face down 
•without being examined. Six more 
cards are then dealt to each player, 
and these are sorted into suits and 
placed, face up, upon the other 
cards. I^astly, one card is dealt to 
each player, and this he holds in 
his hand. It must not be exposed 
or named. Then follows the play, 
the player to the left of the dealer 
leading one of his exposed cards. 
The others must follow suit if they 
can, either from their exposed card 
or with the card in hand. Having 
none of the suit, a player may 



throw away or trump. Before the 
next lead, all the cards which have 
been uncovered are exposed face 
upwards. Thus the game proceeds 
to the end. All tricks above six 
count towards game, as in whist. 
In the three-handed game each 
player plays for himself against the 
other two, as at three-handed 
euchre. The two-handed variation 
appears to have become popular in 
this country of late years, as the 
following description by a writer 
in the New York Tribune (Sep- 
tember 8, 1895) would seem to in- 
dicate: 

' ' Two-handed whist is being 
played at some clubs and private 
parties, and a variation has been 
introduced which makes it resemble 
more than ever the regular four- 
handed game, and has infused new 
interest in it. As has been before 
explained, the game is played by 
dealing to each of the two players 
one-half of the cards, one at a time, 
as in the regular game. The cards 
are then placed on the table in piles 
of two, so that each player has 
thirteen piles. The top card of 
each pile is turned up at the begin- 
ning of the game. This leaves 
thirteen cards in each hand ex- 
posed. Play begins with the non- 
dealer, who plays one of his 
exposed cards, and, as soon as the 
trick is taken, he turns up the card 
that was beneath it. In this way 
all the cards are finally exposed 
and played. 

"As two cards make a trick, there 
are naturally twenty-six tricks in 
all, thirteen of which it takes to 
make a book, after scoring which 
every trick counts one point. Thus, 
while it is possible to make thir- 
teen points in one deal, it is also 
possible to have no count whatever, 
and in actual play it frequently 
happens that neither player makes 
a point in a particular deal. 



CLAPP, MISS GERTRUDB 94 CLAPP, MISS GE;RTRUDB 



" The variation of the game is to 
arrange the cards as before de- 
scribed, when the non-dealer be- 
gins the play. As soon as he has 
made the play, he turns up and ex- 
poses the card which was covered 
by the card played. The other 
player then plays, and likewise ex- 
poses the card uncovered. The 
first player then plays another card 
on the same trick, again exposing 
the face of the card underneath the 
one played, if there be one, and the 
second player has the last pla3^ 
This, of course, makes only thir- 
teen tricks, and the regular rules 
of whist govern in counting the 
points. ' ' 

" Chinese whist " is double-dummy for 
two, three, or four persons, only half of 
each player's cards being exposed, the 
others being- turned up as the exposed 
cards are got rid of in the course of play. 
—R. F. Foster [S. O.], "Complete Hoyle." 

Clapp, IVliss Gertrude. — One of 

the earliest and foremost lady teach- 
ers of whist. Miss Clapp began 
teaching the game in New York 
City in the spring of 1887, and has 
taught there every winter and 
spring since that time, beginning 
with January i, and ending 
with June i. She averages four 
classes a day, making about one 
hundred and fifty persons each 
week. In addition to her work in 
New York, she has also taught 
largely in Philadelphia, Pittsfield, 
Lenox, Williamstown , AlTaany , Hart- 
ford, Southampton, Orange, "Wash- 
ington, Pittsburg, Milwaukee, and 
Mt. Desert. Among her pupils are 
many who have become distin- 
guished as players. 

Whist is one of Miss Clapp's 
earliest recollections, as both her 
grandfather and grandmother were 
fond of the game, and in their day 
and generation noted for their skill. 
She was not quite nine years of age 



when she was admitted to the honor 
of filling a vacancy at the table. 
' ' The next evening after my first 
attempt," said Miss Clapp, in nar- 
rating the incident, "I remember 
tellingmygrandmotherthatl would 
like to play again, as ' now I knew 
whist.' Her reply was most char- 
acteristic, to the effect that a child 
who knew so much must require 
more sleep, and I was accordingly 
sent to bed instead. I mention this 
incident because it illustrates her 
respect for the game; and although 
I smarted under a sense of such in- 
justice at the time as to engrave 
her words indelibly upon my mem- 
ory, I have long since looked at 
myself from her standpoint. 

" Later, as a young girl," she 
continued, "I had the advantage 
of playing continually with good 
players outside of my own family. 
One in particular stands out in bas- 
relief— a. man of such genius at the 
game that very few cared to play 
with him in the small whist circle 
of a country town, fearing the 
wounds to their amour propre, for 
his cutting frankness and mocking 
criticism spared neither friend nor 
foe. I have often said I was con- 
trolled by two fears on those occa- 
sions when I had the proud honor 
of being his partner: the first was 
that he should see the tears which 
were more than often in my eyes; 
and the other, the dread that he 
would never play with me again. 

' ' When, later, circumstances in- 
duced me to teach whist, I found 
how much good such a school- 
master had done for me; and in ex- 
plaining the many points I had 
practiced for yeais, simply because 
he commanded me to (without 
going into the reason of things), I 
have found how philosophical and 
logical his conclusions were. 

' ' The gift of imparting, it seems 
to me, is a game in itself—entirely 



CIvAY, CHARLES M. 



95 



CLAY, CHARLES M. 



independent of the game one is at- 
tempting to teach; and it is just 
here, in this thought, that the 
secret of success in teaching seems 
to me to lie. It is an excitement 
to find the diflFerent avenues to dif- 
ferent minds — a problem which 
never tires, because it is so difficult 
to solve." 

Clay.Charles M. — A well-known 
whist analyst and composer of what 
are aptly called whist perception 
problems. He was th e first to origi- 
nate these fascinating exercises in 
whist, and has occupied the field 
almost entirely alone up to the 
present date. 

Mr. Clay was born in Gardiner, 
Maine, October 7, 1847; the sou of 
Lorenzo Clay, a leading lawyer of 
the Kennebec bar, and Abby Bourne 
Clay, a member of the old Massa- 
chusetts family after whom the 
town of Bourne was named. Both 
of Mr. Clay's parents were fond of 
whist, and his mother had a re- 
markable faculty of guessing where 
the cards lay — a faculty which, it is 
needless to say, descended to her 
son. 

At twelve years of age he began 
to take an active interest in the 
game, forming with other boys a 
juvenile club which was conducted 
with all the gravity of their elders. 
At sixteen years of age he tried to 
develop a bent for business in a 
store in Illinois, but he soon found 
that he preferred an intellectual 
life, even at the price of being 
obliged to educate himself. In this 
endeavor he succeeded, and in 1869 
he was graduated from Dartmouth 
College. During his college course, 
and for a year after graduation, he 
taught school. In 1871 he became 
civil engineer on the European and 
North American Railway, and a 
half year later assistant chief en- 
gineer of the Boston, Hartford, and 



Erie Railway, in Boston. Here he 
was burned out in the great fire of 
1872, and this, in addition to the 
general railroad depression in 1873, 
caused him to leave the profession 
and return to teaching. In 1883 
he became head master of the Rox- 
bury High School, a position which 
he still holds. 

All this time Mr. Clay continued 
to play his favorite game during his 
leisure hours. In 1S80 he was in- 
vited by Fisher Ames to join the 
Boston Whist Club, but would not 
(much as he appreciated the honor) 
because they did not play the 
American game of seven points 
without honors. In 1886, in con- 
junction with G. W. Pettes and 
other believers in the American 
game, he helped to form the Des- 
chapelles Club, in Boston, "which," 
he says, "we fondl}' hoped was to 
begin a new era in whist. The 
club had a mission to fill, undoubt- 
edly, and filled it; but it was not 
established upon a right basis, and 
so died an inevitable death." He 
felt honored to be asked to under- 
take its reorganization and accept 
its presidency; but it did not seem 
to him to be founded upon correct 
principles, and consequently he de- 
clined. He subsequently organized 
the American Whist Club, of Bos- 
ton, of which Fisher Ames became 
the president upon Mr. Clay's invi- 
tation. "At last," to quote his 
own words, "we have in Boston a 
whist club founded, it seems to me, 
upon a right basis, playing the 
American game, and with every 
element of permanency." 

In October, 1893, he sent to Whist 
a hand taken from actual play, in 
which he had been able to place 
nearly all the cards after five tricks. 
Studying such hands seemed to 
him to be of much more value to 
the average player than dummy 
problems, and he had used his 



CLAY, JAMES 



96 



CLAY, JAMES 



method for several years to teach 
friends who had applied to him for 
assistance in learning the game. 
The warm reception accorded his 
"perception problem" upon its 
appearance in the November num- 
ber of Whist encouraged him to 
continue similar contributions, and 
he adopted the principle of illus- 
trating, in turn, all the different 
phases of actual play. 

IVhist of July, 1897, calls atten- 
tion, as follows, to another whist 
invention of Mr. Clay's: " The new 
Clay movement, for use in compass 
games and for multiple fours, is a 
vast improvement over former 
methods whenever an even number 
of trays can be used at each table. 
This system, and the schedule for 
eights, are by far the most valuable 
recent contributions to the practice 
of duplicate whist, and New Eng- 
land will be thankful for the 
credit." 

Clay, James. — The leading whist 
authority of his day, and one of the 
finest players of the game produced 
by England, the home of whist. 
Mr. Clay was born in London, De- 
cember 20, 1805. His father, a 
merchant, was the brother of Sir 
William Clay, M. P. James Clay 
was educated at Winchester, and at 
Baliol College, Oxford. In 1830, 
in company with Disraeli, who 
maintained a close and life-long 
friendship with him, he traveled in 
the East. In 1847 he was elected 
to Parliament, as a Liberal, for 
Hull, and he continued to represent 
that borough until his death, which 
took place in 1873, at Regency 
Square, Brighton. Mr. Clay was 
married to the daughter of General 
Woolrych, one of Wellington's ofi&- 
cers, and had a family, the best- 
known of whom are: Ernest Clay 
(now Clay Ker Seymer), a distin- 
guished diplomat; Frederic Clay, 



the musician (who was also a gov- 
ernment official of position, private 
secretary to Mr. Gladstone and 
many of the cabinet ministers of 
his time), and Cecil Clay, well- 
known in literary and artistic 
circles. To the latter we are in- 
debted for the rare photograph 
from which the engraving of his 
father was made for this work. 

James Clay's fame rests chiefly 
upon his admirable "Treatise on 
the Game of Whist," which was 
affixed to John Loraine Baldwin's 
" Laws of Short Whist," London, 
1864. It has gone through many 
editions, being a logical, succinct, 
and pleasantly written book, which 
has won favor in all parts of the 
world. The laws of whist accom- 
panying it were drawn up by a 
committee, of which he was chair- 
man (see, "Laws of Whist, Eng- 
lish Code "), and were adopted not 
only in England and the European 
capitals, but in America, and held 
sway here until the adoption of the 
American code. In 1881 an edition 
of Mr. Clay's book was published 
containing a short preface contrib- 
uted by his sons, in which they 
stated that their father, before his 
death, had given his adhesion to 
the lead of the penultimate from 
suits of five cards or more, and to 
the discard from the strongest suit, 
instead of the weakest, when 
strength of trumps is shown by the 
adversaries. 

During his long career in Parlia- 
ment Mr. Clay was intimately asso- 
ciated with many of the leading 
men of the day. Despite their 
difference in politics, as already 
stated, he was the life-long friend 
of Lord Beaconsfield, and many 
friendly references to him are 
found in the published correspond- 
ence of the great prime minister. 
In a letter dated September 27, 1830, 
he speaks of Clay's " life of splendid 



CLAY, JAMES 



97 



CLAY, JAMES 



adventtire," and, after chronicling 
his various triumphs, concludes 
with the following characteristic 
reflection: "To govern men, you 
must either excel them in their ac- 
complishments or despise them. 
Clay does one, I do the other, and 
we are both equally popular. ' ' 

Mr. Clay was a most admirable 
type of the old-fashioned player — 
suave, courteous, and imperturbable, 
although he could occasionally say 
a severe thing when addressed by 
^en whom he disliked. Under the 
name of Castlemaine he is described 
by George Alfred Lawrence in his 
novel, "Sans Merci " (chapter 32), 
and a remark is put into his mouth 
which we are assured on good au- 
thority was, in fact, actually made by 
him, and is about as severe a rebuke 
as he was ever known to administer 
to a bad partner. Castlemaine is 
playing with Vincent Flemyng, and 
the latter, having backed himself 
heavily because he had a tower of 
strength to assist him, loses the rub- 
ber by failing to lead trumps from 
five to an honor. The story goes 
on to say: ^'^ Vincent held the 
knave and four more trumps. If 
he had only gone off with that suit, 
the game was over. True, he had 
not a very powerful hand, so he led 
off with his own strongest suit, 
which was trumped by Har dress 
the second round, and the critical 
fifth trick was just barely saved, 
Flemyng said, ' I ought to have 
led trumps; there's no doubt of it.' 
He looked at his partner {Castle- 
maine) as he spoke, but the latter 
answered never a word till Vincent 
repeated the question pointedly. It 
has been before stated that Castle- 
m,aine^s manner to men whom he 
favored not was somewhat solemn 
and formal. 'It has been com- 
puted,' he said very slowly, 'that 
eleven thousand young English- 
men, once heirs to fair fortunes, are 



wandering about the Continent in 
a state of utter destitution, because 
they would not lead trumps with 
five, an honor in their hands.' 
The ultra-judicial tone of the reply 
would have been irresistibly comic 
at any other time." 

The following parallel stories to 
the above are told by " Cavendish:" 
The great authority was looking on 
at whist when the second player, 
whom he favored not, holding ace, 
king, knave, instead of playing 
king as he should have done, 
finessed the knave. The queen 
made, third hand; ace and king 
were afterwards trumped. The 
player then turned to Clay and 
asked whether the finesse of the 
knave was justifiable. To him the 
following crushing rejoinder, 
spoken very deliberately at the 
wall opposite, instead of to the 
querist: "At the game of whist, as 
played in England [pause], you 
are not called upon to win a trick 
[another pause], unless you please." 

A player having asked for 
trumps, though he did not hold a 
trump (a most outrageous whist 
atrocity), his partner said, after the 
hand, "I presume you did not in- 
tend to ask, but pulled out a wrong 
card. " " No, ' ' was the reply, ' ' I 
had a very good hand, and wanted 
trumps out." Then, turning to 
Clay, he inquired, if, with a very- 
good hand, his play was defensible. 
Clay threw himself back in his 
chair and stared at the cornice in 
the next room. He had a long 
cigar cocked out of one comer of 
his mouth, and as he spoke, in his 
"ultra-judicial tone," his voice 
seemed to proceed, in a most comi- 
cal and indescribable manner, from 
behind the cigar. He said : "I 
have heard of its being done once 
before [pause], by a dear old friend 
of mine [pause]." "And," inno- 
ceatly pursued the victim, "was 



CLAY, JAMES 



98 



CLERICAL ERRORS 



your friend a good judge of whist ?" 
"I am bound to add,'^ resumed 
Clay, as though he had wished to 
conceal the fact, but that the recital 
of it was wrung from him by this 
question, " I am bound to add, that 
he died shortly afterwards [pause, 
and then very distinctly] in a luna- 
tic asylum!" 

In answer to a question as to 
■what Mr. Clay's attitude toward 
the modern developments of whist 
would be, were he alive to-day, his 
son, Cecil, writes as follows: "I 
should be loath to speculate on that 
point, and, indeed, could not do so 
with any confidence. There is no 
ground to go on, unless it may be 
considered that a small inference 
may be drawn from the fact of his 
giving his adherence to the then 
new system of leading a penulti- 
mate card in the case of an inter- 
mediate sequence: a fact which we 
mentioned in a subsequent edition 
of his book. As that may be con- 
sidered, I imagine, the initial stage 
of the system which has culminated 
in American leads, and also as my 
father was first the mentor and sub- 
sequently the fellow-counsellor of 
my friend 'Cavendish,' it would 
seem that the adherents of modern 
whist developments might with 
some justice entitle themselves to 
consider that he would have par- 
ticipated, to some extent at least, in 
their views. I could not, however, 
commit myself to any opinion on 
that point." 

I am often asked my opinion of Clay's 
play. In the first place, what particu- 
larly struck me was the extreme bril- 
liance of his game. * * * in the sec- 
ond place, though no one knew better 
than Clay when to depart from rule, no 
one was more regular in his observance 
of rules. He combined the carefulness 
of the old school with the dash and bril- 
liancy of the new. — ''^■Cavendish''' \L. A.}, 
"Card-Table Talk." 

As to Clay's manner of playing, X have 
heard him called a slow player. That, 



however, is hardly correct. He should 
rather have been called a deliberate 
player. His system was to play every 
card at the same pace. Hesitation is 
often to the player's disadvantage; and 
Clay's object, in playing deliberately, was 
that his pause, when doubtful as to the 
correct play, should not be taken for hes- 
itation, but should be attributed to his 
natural habit of machine-like play. — 
"Cavendish " [L. A.], "Card-Table Talk.'" 

It is, of course, a pure matter of specu- 
lation as to how far Mr. Clay would have 
given his adherence to the recent inno- 
vations in the game. It is a fact, how- 
ever, that he admitted his adhesion to the 
lead from the " intermediate sequence," 
and even looked with favor on the lead 
from the penultimate card, and as these 
leads were the first step in the direction 
of the present system of leading, it is 
quite possible that were he here now, we 
should find hiin leading the " card of uni- 
formity " with the same conscientious- 
ness as the most faithful adherent of Mr. 
Trist.— C. 5. Boutcher [L. A.], " Whist 
Sketches,'" i8gz. 

In 1864 appeared " Short Whist," by 
James Clay, the acknowledged authority 
on the game in his day. This is an ad.- 
mirable work, and is full of suggestion 
for those who read between the lines. 
Unfortunately, however, it is not up to 
date. It is well known that Clay intended, 
in a second edition, to recast a portion of 
his treatise. Illness, terminating fatally, 
prevented the execution of this scheme; 
and the author's sons, with whom the 
copyright rested, decided, with filial de- 
votion, not to make any alteration in 
their father's work, notwithstanding that 
they were aware of the intention above 
expressed. — "Cavendish" [L. A.], in "The 
Whist-Table.-" 



Clear a Suit, To. — To clear a 
suit is to force out the commanding 
cards contained therein, especially 
when they are held by the adversa- 
ries. A player also clears a suit 
when he unblocks, so as to give his 
partner full swing in it. (See, 
"Unblocking.") 

Clerical Errors. — Errors in whist 
due to carelessness or defective 
memory; mistakes which are not 
due to inherent bad play, and 
which the player himself would 
immediately correct had he the 
opportunity to do so. 



CLUBS 



99 " COMBINATION GAME " 



By clerical errors I mean such palpable 
mistakes as leading out of turn, mistaking 
the trump suit, playing a club to a spade 
suit when you hold a spade, or a diamond 
to a heart suit when you hold a heart. — 
A. W. Dray son \L\A\\, ''The Art of 
Practical IVkist.'" 

Clubs. — One of the four suits 
into which a pack of cards is divi- 
ded; one of the two black suits. 
On German cards clubs are repre- 
sented as acorns, and in French 
they are called trefles (trefoils). 
Cards used in English-speaking 
countries are directly derived from 
the French, but the name clubs, 
applied to the trefoils of this suit, 
is taken from the Italian bastoni 
(batons or clubs), which was de- 
rived from the Spanish {bastos, 
batons), the first modern cards hav- 
ing been printed in Spain. 

Clubs See, " Whist Clubs. " 

Coat Cards. — See, " Court 
Cards." 

Code.— See, "Laws of Whist." 

Coffin, Charles Emmet. — Amer- 
ican whist author, was born in 
Salem, Ind., July 13, 1849. He is 
a descendant of Tristram Coffin, of 
Nantucket; was educated at Bloom- 
ington College, studied law, and 
was admitted to the bar in 1871. 
Now carries on a successful real 
estate and banking business in In- 
dianapolis, Ind. A clear, concise, 
and able exponent of the " Caven- 
dish ' ' school of modern scientific 
whist. 

Mr. CoflSn, like thousands of 
others, had played at whist in the 
ordinary way for many years. In 
1890 he organized a small club of 
neighbors for the systematic study 
of the game, using the works of 
" Cavendish," Drayson, Pole, Proc- 
tor, and Ames as text-books. He 
soon became impressed with the 
fact that only a small proportion 



of the persons who claimed to be 
good players possessed any knowl- 
edge of the modern scientific game, 
the principal reason being that they 
had been lost in their efforts at 
studying whist in a labyrinth of 
laws, leads, rules, etc. In analyzing 
the leads and reducing the rules to 
a concise and comprehensive form 
for his club, Mr. Coffin conceived 
the idea that his condensation 
might prove valuable to other stu- 
dents of the game, and so pub- 
lished the work in 1894, under the 
happy title of "The Gist of Whist." 
It became popular at once, and in 
four years reached its fifteenth 
thousand. In 1893 Mr. Coffin joined 
the Indianapolis Whist Club, which 
was one of the charter clubs of the 
American Whist League. In 1894, 
at the fourth congress of the 
League, in Philadelphia, he was 
elected a director of the League, 

"Combination Game, The." — 

The ideas which as successful a 
teacher as Elwood T. Baker em- 
bodies in his whist instruction, must 
have merit enough to command 
attention and respectful considera- 
tion. What he calls the common 
sense or " combination game " is, 
what its name implies, a combina- 
tion of both the long and short- 
suit principles guided by the teach- 
ings of experience and sound, prac- 
tical judgment. At our request, 
Mr. Baker has given the following 
details concerning his method: 

' ' The more I investigate and play, 
the more deeply am I convinced 
that the best game of whist is that 
which is as free as possible from 
all arbitrary conventions and sig- 
nals, and one in which no absolute 
or arbitrary meaning should attach 
to any particular card or style of 
play other than what is naturally 
indicated by the card itself. I 
believe that to use the queen, ten, 



" COMBINATION GAME" lOO " COMBINATION GAME " 



or nine, as played by Philadelphia 
players, to mean a call through an 
honor; or, that the play of an 
intermediate card as a bid for a rufF, 
as advocated by Howell; a two, 
three, four, and five, as a positive 
call for trumps (or the lowest of a 
long suit), as in the 'invitation 
game,' embarrasses and cripples 
the freedom and scope of the player, 
and is a positive detriment, for the 
reason that one does not always 
find the conditions to suit the play. 
In my own practice for a long time 
I have entirely abandoned the call 
for trumps, number-showing leads, 
and all other conventions included 
in the system of American leads, 
and have found it much more en- 
joyable, and, if anything, a better 
intellectual exercise, and at the 
same time, have not found it any 
less successful. American leads 
are intended to make the game 
easy, so that the merest tyro can 
soon learn to count the cards and 
combinations from which they are 
led, but the game of the future, in 
my opinion, will require the player 
to use his perceptions more in de- 
termining proper play by inference 
and deduction from the fall of the 
cards; and, therefore, it will be 
more difi&cult and require greater 
experience and skill. 

' ' In order to play the ' combina- 
tion,' or any game, for that matter, 
the player must have a wide knowl- 
edge of the possibilities of the 
cards and the best method of treat- 
ing different hands. Among the 
things that I insist on in playing 
this game, are : (i) That the lead of 
a card indicating a short suit must 
be from a short suit, except in rare 
cases. In other words, I think the 
' top of nothing, ' or the top of a 
long weak suit, is a losing game. 
(2) Holding the command of a suit 
•which your partner opens as short, 
and you are also short, you must 



not part with the command on the 
first trick. For instance, if partner 
leads a nine, second hand covers 
with jack, and you hold ace and 
two small, you must on no account 
cover and give up command of 
adversaries' suit. (3) Holding two 
short suits, one a three-card and 
the other two, lead from the longer 
if you are strong in trumps, the 
weaker if you are willing to be 
forced. The reason for this is, that 
when you lead a short suit it is 
generally to assist your partner in 
his long suit, and if you have trump 
strength you can better do this 
with the longer than with the 
two-card suit, if it proves to be 
your partner's. There are other 
peculiarities or styles of play, 
which cannot be called conven- 
tions, but grow out of a close 
study of the cards from actual 
play, and are suggested by com- 
mon sense." 

Mr. Baker adds that, although he 
believes in playing the long-suit 
game, he does not believe in open- 
ing with a low card from an unes- 
tablished long suit, unless he has 
sufiicient trump strength or re- 
entry cards, or both, to warrant it. 
" In actual practice," he continues, 
" following the foregoing line of 
play, it will be found that in not 
more than one out of every eight 
hands will one be justified in open- 
ing with a low card of his long suit, 
so that the ' combination game ' is 
very nearly like what is generally 
known as the short-suit game. I 
am convinced that in the great ma- 
jority of hands a short-suit opening 
is the safer and sounder play, and 
that it results more frequently in 
getting your long suit established 
than if you were to lead it yourself 
in the first place. When to lead 
short suits, and what kind of open- 
ings to make from the multitude of 
combinations, requires much judg- 



COMBINATION PRINCIPLE lOl 



COMMENTS 



ment and experience, and adds 
much to the zest of the game." 

Combination Principle, The. — 

The whole practice of the modern 
scientific game of whist may be 
said to rest upon the fundamental 
principle of combination of the 
hands of partners. The exposition 
and philosophic application of this 
principle is due to the labors of Dr. 
Pole, who also showed that the 
most efl&cient way in which to apply 
it in actual play is through the me- 
dium of the long suit. 

The advantage of combination in whist 
is now impressed upon every student of 
its niceties. The practice of playing- for 
your own hand alone was condemned by 
Clay, " as the worst fault which I know in 
a bad player." — W. P. Courtney [iL+O.], 
"■'English IVhist." 

" Why should men play whist so that 
you can know by the cards they play 
what they hold in their hands?" On this 
depends the beauty and the principle of 
the game. In whist, it is a combination 
of your own and your partner's hand 
against those of your two adversaries. — 
A. W. Drayson [Z+.<4+], ''The Art of 
Practical Whist." 

It is said that you might often play your 
own hand to more advantage by treating 
it in your own way, and that the com- 
bined principle rftay lead you to sacrifice 
it. But this objection is merely founded 
on a misapprehension as to how the prin- 
ciple is applied; for a study of the result- 
ing system will show that it is calculated 
fully to realize any advantages your own 
hand may possess, while the cases in 
which sacrifice is required are only those 
in which the joint interest is indubitably 
promoted thereby. Then, secondly, it is 
objected that all indications given to your 
partner may also be seen Ijy the oppo- 
nents and turned against you; and it is 
sometimes argued that by enlightening 
in this way two enemies and only one 
friend you establish a balance to your 
disadvantage. But this involves a confu- 
sion in reasoning; for, if the oppo- 
nents are equally good players, they will 
adopt the same system, and the positions 
must be equal; and if they are not good 
players they will be incapable of profiting 
by the indications you give, andtlae whole 
advantage will rest with you. Besides, 
many players do not pay so much heed to 
their opponents' as to their partner's in- 
dications, the attention being always 



most prominently directed to the part- 
ner's p\a.y.— William Pole {L. A -\-'[, "The 
Theory of Whist." 

Come to Hand. — An expression 
used by some English whist- 
players, meaning to obtain the 
lead. 

Command. — ^The best card or 
cards of a suit, the holding of which 
gives the player control; the win- 
ning cards over all those which are 
in play. A player has command 
of a suit from the moment when he 
is able to take every trick in it, no 
matter by whom led. This is com- 
plete command. He may also hold 
strength enough in the suit to give 
him temporary or partial command. 
It is highly important to obtain 
and retain the command of an ad- 
versary's suit, but more important 
still to get rid of the command of 
your partner's suit, in order not to 
block him in endeavors to bring it 
in. (See, "Unblocking.") 

Keep the commanding card, or the 
second best guarded of your adversaries' 
suit, as long as it is safe to do so; but be 
careful of keeping the commanding card 
single of your partner's, lest you should 
be obliged to stop his &\x\\..— -fames Clay 

Keep the command of your adversary's 
suit, and get rid of the command of your 
partner's suit. In the first case, yo>i ob- 
struct the adversaries' suits, and prevent 
their establishing them; in the second 
case, you assist in clearing the suit for 
your partner. — "Cavendish'''' [L. A.}. 

Commanding Cards. — The best 
cards unplayed in any suit; the 
cards which give the command to 
a player. 

Comments. — As silence is one 
of the essentials of good whist, all 
comments should be barred during 
the play of the hand. (See, " Con- 
versation. ' ' ) 

It is positively unfair to make any com- 
ments upon your hand before the play, 



COMMON SENSE OF WHIST I02 " COMPI^EAT GAMESTER " 



and it is in wretched taste to complain 
about your weak hands at any time. — C. 
D. P. Hatnilton [L. A.]. 

After a hand is played, comments, in 
nine cases out of ten erroneous — for the 
same result would have eventuated from 
different play — are made, which provoke 
reply— «^. M. Deane [_L. ^4+]. 

Common Sense of Whist. — The 

quality in a good player which en- 
ables him to solve difficulties and 
surmount critical situations where 
no rules apply, or where he must 
violate the rules in order to win. 
At one time the maxim, " When in 
doubt, win the trick," was much 
applied. A better maxim is, 
• ' When in doubt, use your common 
sense." 

Success at whist depends upon the fac- 
ulty of combination and the rapidity and 
accuracy with which correct inferences 
can be drawn from the fall of the cards, 
and if information is to be withheld be- 
cause the adversaries may make use of it 
for the purpose of their strategy, the 
whole science of the game is gone. But 
there may be, and frequently is, an abuse 
of uniformity; where, in order that his 
hand may be counted or his cards known, 
a player will, under all conditions and 
•without reference to the score, play ac- 
cording to conventional rule. Good play- 
ers will, however, frequently deviate from 
recognized play, and indulge in what I 
hope I may be permitted to call the com- 
mon sense of whist. — F. H. Lewis [L. O.], 
Foot-note in Proctor's ''How to Play IVhist." 

"Common Sense School." — 

A name applied to a school of 
players who follow the teachings 
of R. F. Foster, eschewing Ameri- 
can leads, signals, and conventions 
of all kinds, and confining them- 
selves to this simple mode of play: 
To lead from short suits when they 
have no long suit which they can 
reasonably hope to bring in. (See, 
"Short-Suit Leads, Foster's.") 

Compass Whist. — A variety of 
progressive duplicate whist {q. v.), 
in which the players are arranged 
according to the points of the com- 
pass (north and south playing 



against east and west), and retain 
their relative positions throughout 
the play. Sometimes the players 
move in one direction while the 
trays containing the hands for the 
overplay are moved in another. 
Sometimes the trays only are moved, 
and the players sit still. It is the 
earliest form of the progressive 
game, and is well adapted to large 
numbers of players, especially in 
informal gatherings, where no 
special number of tables has been 
agreed upon. The players having 
the greatest number of tricks 
above the average are declared the 
winners. 

In the East, however, for some reason, 
the title "progressive whist" has never 
been popular, while the system itself has 
flourished under the title of " compass 
whist," so called because the four players 
at each table occupy the four points of the 
compass. — Milton C. Work [L. A. H.], 
"Whist of To-day." 

Before the invention of apparatus for 
carrying^ the cards from one room to the 
other without mishap or confusion, the 
players were in the habit of slightly shuf- 
fling their thirteen cards, and then leav- 
ing them face down on the table, with the 
trump turned, the four in one room then 
exchanging seats with the four in the 
other room, each retaining the point of 
the compass he originally occupied. — R, 
F. Foster [S. O.]. 

"Compleat Gamester, The." 

— A book of instruction on billiards, 
chess, etc. , published in London, 
by Charles Cotton, in 1674. It con- 
tained a description of " Ritff and 
Honours," the game from which 
whist was directly developed. 
Whist is incidentally mentioned in 
the introduction. In a subsequent 
edition (1680) occurs the first print- 
ed attempt at a description of the 
present game, which was said to 
have been named "whist, from the 
silence that is to be observed in the 
play." It is stated to be a game 
not diflFering much from ' ' Ruff and 
Honours," of which the details are 
given. Cotton also sets out at 



CONGRESS, WHIST 



103 CONVENTIONAI, SIGNALS 



length the tricks of the profes- 
sional sharper, saying: "He that 
can by craft overlook his adversa- 
ries' game hath a great advantage. " 
He points out that by winking, or 
by moving the fingers, the knowl- 
edge of the honors in his posses- 
sion can be communicated by a 
player to his partner. He declaims 
against " reneging, or renouncing — 
that is, not following suit when you 
have it in your hand. It is very 
fowl play," he says, "and he that 
doth it ought to forfeit one." A 
subsequent edition of the work was 
brought out by Seymour. (See, 
"Whist, History of.") 

Congress, Whist. — See, "Amer- 
ican Whist Iveague. ' ' 

Consultation. — In the English 
game, except in the case of a re- 
voke, partners are not allowed to 
consult as to which of any given 
penalties to exact. They may, 
however, agree as to which partner 
is to exact the penalty. In the 
American duplicate game {Law /.), 
" a player has the right to remind 
his partner that it is his privilege 
to enforce a penalty, and also to 
inform him of the penalty he can 
enforce. ' ' 

Conventional. — Of established 
usage; generally accepted; as, the 
conventional lead of the ace from 
ace, queen, jack. 

Conventionalities. — The con- 
ventionalities of whist are those 
things pertaining to the game 
which are established by usage, 
precedent, or general acceptance. 
In the earlier history of the game 
the conventionalities were com- 
paratively simple, and few in num- 
ber; but as whist became more 
scientific and intricate, convention- 
alities multiplied, until to-day it is 



hard to draw the line between con- 
ventionalities proper and plays that 
are merely arbitrary arrangements 
or expedients. 

The Americans, taking hold of the fact 
of the " mutual understanding" neces- 
sary to communicate information be- 
tween partners, include under the name 
of "conventionalities" all sorts of infor- 
mation, making no distinction between 
an inference drawn from the normal 
play of a card for ordinary general ex- 
pediency, and an arbitrary interpretation 
of it, which only acquires meaning by 
special compact between partners. They 
forget that the former is as old as Hoyle, 
and is an essential element of whist play; 
the latter is of quite recent introduction . — 
William. Pole [Z. ^4+], '^Evolution of 
Whist." 

Conventional Play. — Any gener- 
ally accepted and understood play. 

Conventional Signals. — Gener- "N(. 

ally accepted and understood sig- ^ 
nals, by means of which legitimate 
information is conveyed between 
partners at whist; such as, for in- 
stance, the play of an unnecessarily 
high card followed by a lower one, 
known as the call for trumps; the 
return of the highest from a short 
suit; the play of the lowest of a 
sequence; the discard of the high- 
est of a suit when you have entire 
command, etc. Conventional sig- 
nals are as old as Hoyle, in principle. 
They must be generally known and 
accepted. In this manner they are 
distinguished from private signals, 
or private conventions, which are 
condemned by all fair-minded 
players. 

The conventional methods of communi- 
cation, which every player should know 
by heart, may be divided into two classes: 
those used in attack, and those required 
for defense. In attack, the facts required 
to be known are: (i) The general 
strength or weakness of the hand,and the 
best suit it contains— shown by the origi- 
nal lead. (2) Whether the suit is estab- 
lished or not, and if not, how much es- 
tablishing it needs— shown by always 
leading from certain combinations of 



CONVENTIONS 



104 



COUNTERS 



cards in certain ways under similar con- 
ditions. (3) The assistance that can be 
given to the partner — shown by the re- 
turn leads and the management of 
trumps. (4) The number of trumps held 
—shown by leading them, by "calling," 
by "echoing," by "passing," and by 
"forcing." In defense, the partners re- 
quire to know: ^i) What chance there 
is of stopping the adverse suits — shown 
by the second-hand play, and by the last 
player winning the trick with the lowest 
possible card. (2) The suits which are 
best protected. (3) The suits which it is 
desirable to have led; and (4) the suits 
which it is desirable to avoid — all shown 
by the discard.—./?. F. Foster [5. 0.\ 
Johnson' s Universal Cycloptzdia,'" 1895. 

Conventions. — See, " Private 
Conventions." 

Conversation. — The conversa- 
tion necessary to carry on a good 
game of whist could easily be sup- 
plied by mutes. In other words, 
no conversation is necessary during 
actual play, if all the players 
strictly observe the rules and play 
whist. Conversation between deals 
is permissible, but should not be of 
a nature to disturb other players in 
the room. (See, also, "Silence.") 

It is an axiom that the nearer your play 
approaches to the dumb man, the better. 
— Thomas Mathews [L. O.]. 

No conversation should be indulged in 
during the play except such as is allowed 
by the laws of the game. — Etiquette of 
Whist {American Code). 

No intimation whatever, by word or 
gesture, should be given by a player as to 
the state of his hand or of the game. — 
Etiquette of Whist {English Code). 

Whist is the game of silence. Talking 
must cease when the first leader throws 
his card; silence must continue until the 
last card of the hand is played. — G. W. 
Pettes [£.. A. P.], "American IVhist Illus- 
trated.^'' 

"What are trumps?" "Draw your 
card;" "Can you not follow suit?" "I 
think there is a revoke." The above re- 
marks, or those analogous, are the only 
ones allowed to be u.sed, and only by the 
person whose turn it is to play. — Descha- 
pelles [C], '^Laws of Whist," Article no. 

Free and full discussion of the hand, of 
the play, and of the principle involved is 
not only admissible, but highly desirable, 



with a view of promoting good whist; but 
such conversation should only be carried 
on after the play of the hand, and before 
beginning the next. — George V. Maynard 
\L.A^, Whist, June, i8f 2. 

You may remind your partner, if dealer, 
to take up his trump card; caution him 
to hold up his hand; and warn him not 
to throw down his cards. The question, 
" Who dealt ?" is held to be irregular, but 
on what ground is not clear; for you may 
inquire whether the cards are correctly 
placed for the next deal. — William Cu- 
sack-Smith \L. <?.]. 

"Coroner's Table."— A table, 
specially provided, at which hands 
are examined and criticised after 
they have been played. 

Correspondence Match. — See, 
" Whist Match by Correspond- 
ence." 

Cotton, Charles. — The author 
of the " Cotnpleat Gamester," was 
born in I/ondon, England, 1630. 
His volume, which was the first 
printed book to contain a descrip- 
tive allusion to whist, was published 
in 1674. He was the adopted son 
and fellow-angler of Izaak Walton, 
and added a second part to the fifth 
edition of the latter's " Compleat 
Angler," in 1676. 

Count. — To count the cards at 
whist is to watch and remember 
how many of each suit are played. 
Only players with most extraordi- 
nary memories can remember every 
card. Ordinary players are satis- 
fied if they can remember the high 
cards out and the number of trumps 
played. Keeping count of the game 
is to record the number of tricks 
or games scored. 

Travelers tell us that savages cannot 
count beyond ten. Long experience at 
whist has convinced me that it is far 
more difficult than is commonly supposed 
for civilized people to count thirteen. — 
" Cavendish " [L. A.], " Card-Table Talk." 

Counters. — Pieces of ivory or 
metal by which the tricks, games, 



COUP 



105 COURTNBY, WII.I.IAM P. 



and rubbers won by each, side are 
plainly indicated, so that the state 
of the score may be ascertained at 
any stage of the game. Counters 
are frequently made of one piece, 
■with revolving or other devices, by 
means of which the desired infor- 
mation is given. 

At duplicate whist, it was at first 
customary, in this country, to use 
thirteen counters, or poker chips, 
and place the same on the tray in 
the centre of the table at the begin- 
ning of the hand. Each side, upon 
winning a trick, took a chip, and 
the one having a majority of the 
chips won, and counted the num- 
ber over six. On the overplay of 
the hands some players did not use 
the counters, but played and gath- 
ered the tricks in the ordinary way. 
Later improvements in the play of 
duplicate have caused the majority 
of the players to go back to the 
original Allison {q. v.) method of 
counting the tricks, which is the 
most simple, and contains the great- 
est number of checks upon mis- 
takes. By this method each player 
simply lays each card which wins 
a trick for his side (whether taken 
by himself or partner) straight be- 
fore him, top toward the centre of 
the table. Cards of a losing round 
are laid down horizontally. Thus 
the score for each hand is kept by 
four persons. 

It is understood, of course, that 
in duplicate whist score-cards are 
used, instead of counters, in record- 
ing the final result of play. 

Coup. — A brilliant play, not di- 
rected by any special rule (and 
often made in defiance of rules), by 
which an advantage is gained, or a 
difiicult situation met. Some of 
the more familiar examples of this 
kind of whist strategy are: The 
Bath coup, Deschapelles' coup, and 
the grand coup, by means of which 



a player rids himself of a super- 
fluous trump. "Cavendish" de- 
scribes seven different coups in his 
"Laws and Principles of Whist." 
Fisher Ames also mentions the fol- 
lowing as coups: Leading from 
weakness in trumps with a desper- 
ate score and a poor hand; treating 
a long suit as if it were a short one; 
leading the weakest suit; refusing 
to trump, or to overtrump; holding 
up the winning card on the second 
round; refraining from drawing the 
losing trump; leading a losing card 
to place the lead, and playing high 
cards to avoid the lead. 

A coup is a well-judged departure from 
rule.— C. D. P. Hamilton [L.A.\. 

What are called " coups" are often 
cases where to follow the rule ensures 
your losing the game. — A. W. Drayson 
[i:+^+], "-AH of Practical IVhist." 

Coups, * * * when divested of mist and 
halo, are found to be the result of quick 
apprehension rather than the flight of 
genius. — Clement Davies [L. A+J, "Mod- 
ern Whist." 

Coup de Sacrifice. — The play 
by which a master card, sure to 
take a trick, is intentionally given 
to the opponent. Named a "coup 
de sacrifice" by G. W. Pettes. 

Court Cards. — The ace, king, 
queen, and jack are popularly 
spoken of as court cards, although, 
strictly speaking, the term applies 
only to the king, queen, and jack, 
being corrupted from coat card — 
i. e., a card bearing the representa- 
tion of a coated figure. 

Courtney, William Prideaux. — 

English whist author. He is the 
fifth-born and third surviving son 
of John Sampson Courtney, of 
Alverton House, Penzance, his 
brothers being the Rt. Hon. L. H. 
Courtney, M. P., and John Morti- 
mer Courtney, C. M. G., deputy 
minister of finance, Canada. Mr. 
Courtney was born April 26, 1845, 



COURT OF APPEAI^S 



io6 



COVER 



at Penzance, and educated at the 
local grammar school, 1856-9; and 
in the London city school, from 
1859 to 1864. He entered the office 
of the ecclesiastical commission 
the year following, and retired in 
April, 1892, at which time he was 
head of the pay-room. 

Mr. Courtney has played whist 
privately for many years, but since 
1885 has been a regular player at 
the Reform Club. He is also a 
member of the Baldwin Whist 
Club, in Pall Mall, and a player at 
the Sussex Club, in Eastbourne, 
the new club at Cheltenham, and 
the Malvern Club, at Malvern. He 
favors the long-suit game, with 
modifications to suit emergencies, 
and plays the old leads. 

His " English Whist and Whist- 
Players " is an important contribu- 
tion to whist literature, being chiefly 
historical in its nature. It was pub- 
lished in New York and London, 
in 1894. He is also the author of 
one or two other works, not in the 
line of whist. He has been on the 
staff of the ' ' Dictionary of National 
Biography," and was a contributor 
to the concluding volumes of the 
last edition of the " Encyclopaedia 
Britannica." 

Court of Appeals. — See, "Judges 
of Appeals." 

Cover. — To play a higher card on 
a high card led; as, for example, to 
cover an honor with an honor — the 
king being led, you put on the ace, 
second hand. 

Fundamentally, the duty of the 
second hand is to play low, but this 
conventional and natural procedure 
has been modified materially from 
the earliest times in cases where an 
honor is led originally. Thus, 
second hand is expected to cover a 
high card led with the lower of any 
two high cards held in sequence; he 



is expected to cover an honor with 
the ace if held without any other 
high cards; to cover an honor with 
an honor, if holding three cards; 
to cover an honor if holding any 
number of cards including the ten; 
and to cover a nine, or higher, 
when holding king, queen, or jack, 
and only one small. 

In recent years, however, the 
question has arisen whether it is 
best for second hand to cover when 
holding king and one small card 
only. Dr. Pole, at the suggestion 
of "Cavendish," investigated the 
matter scientifically, and came to 
the conclusion that it was not. In 
fact, he became convinced that the 
second hand should not cover an 
honor led with any other card but 
the ace, no matter what number 
was held in suit. But W. H. Whit- 
feld, on examining Dr. Pole's argu- 
ments, and making calculations of 
his own, came to the conclusion 
that no advantage is gained by not 
covering queen led, holding king 
and one small. He states that, on 
the contrary, there is a distinct dis- 
advantage in not covering, if the 
queen should be led from short 
suits. He formulates the following 
rule: The second pla3'er, holding 
two cards (not the ace) only of the 
suit led, should, if possible, cover 
the nine, or any higher card led. 

Cover a high card, as a rule, second 
hand. — A. IV. Drayson \L-\-A-{-\ '■''Art of 
Practical Whist.''' 

It is useless for him [the second hand 
player] to cover an honor with a single 
honor, unless it is the ace. — R. P. Poster 
[S. O.], " Complete Hoyle.''' 

Many do not cover the knave with the 
king, holding king and two others. Yet 
it can easily be demonstrated to be the 
correct ■p\a.y.— Charles S. Street YL-\-A.'], 
''Whist Up to Date." 

Dr. Pole, applying his high mathemat- 
ical and logical attainments to the solu- 
tion of the question of second hand cov- 
ering an honor with an honor, holding 
fewer than four in suit, published the 
results of his calculations in the Pield, 



COVER 



107 



CROSS-RUFF 



April 26, 1884, by which he demonstrated 
that the covering- was disadvantageous. 
Since that period this time-honored prac- 
tice has been abandoned. — JV. B. Trist 
\_L. A.}, Harper' s Magazine, March, i8gi. 

The question of covering, second hand, 
does not, in my opinion, depend so much 
on a calculation of the number of times 
such play will win or lose a trick in the 
suit,as on the consideration of the amount 
of mischief done by assisting- an adver- 
sary to establish his suit, and especially 
on the first round. I do not see how this 
can be ascertained, and until it is ascer- 
tained I look upon the discussion more 
as an academic than a practical one. — 
'■'■Cavendish'" [Z. A.\ Field, i8g4. 

In trumps the recognized play [second 
hand] with either king, queen, or jack 
and one small card, for years was the 
honor. Of late, however, it has been 
pretty conclusively proven that with 
either king and one small, or queen and 
one small, unless the nine or ten is led, 
the honor is a trick-losing play, as it en- 
ables the leader to finesse too freely in 
the return. With the jack and one small, 
the question is much more doubtful, and 
the opinion of the best players is very 
evenly divided. The writer believes it 
-wise in this case to be governed by the 
size of the card led. If it is so high (nine 
or eight) as to indicate great strength in 
the leader's hand, it is probably best to 
play the jack on the first trick; otherwise 
rxoi— Milton C. Work [L. A. H.\ "Whist 
of To-day,'" i8g6. 

While "Cavendish" was in America, 
this point [covering an honor with an 
honor] came up in conversation, and he 
then told how the change of rule came 
about. From time immemorial the ac- 
cepted rule of play had been to cover an 
honor with an honor, holding but three 
of the suit. "Cavendish," playing against 
Mr. Richard Dalby Dalby, led a queen. 
Mr. Dalby, holding king and two small, 
second hand, passed. At the end of the 
hand "Cavendish" remarked; "Dalby, 
as you only had three cards of the suit, 
why didn't you cover?" Mr. Dalby re- 
plied: "I have long since made up my 
mind that it is disadvantageous at second 
hand to cover queen with king, holding 
three of the suit." Mr. Dalby's observa- 
tion set " Cavendish " to thinking, and 
he wrote to Dr. Pole, a.skit:g if it was pos- 
sible to ascertain by calculation whether 
or not it was right for the second hand to 
cover under the circumstances stated. 
Dr. Pole made an exhaustive calculation, 
which absolutely demonstrated that it 
was incorrect to cover an honor led with 
any honor except the ace, irrespective of 
number in the suit, and this calculation 
was published in the Field — Robert H. 
Weems \L. ^.], Whist, May, i8g4. 



•'Crawley, Captain." — The pen 

name of George Frederick Pardon, 
an English whist author who, in the 
estimation of " Cavendish," wrote 
"the worst book on games ever 
published." All his life he was 
an industrious booksellers' hack, 
rarely appearing before the public 
under his own name. His ventures in 
the domain of whist were : "Whist: 
Its Theory and Practice," which 
appeared in 1859, and was dedi- 
cated to his " friends and partners 
in many hard - fought games, 
Thomas Ridgway and Thomas 
Clementson;" "A Handbook of 
Whist on the Text of Hoyle," 
1863; "Theory and Practice of 
Whist," 1865; and "Whist for all 
Players," 1873. He died August 5, 
1884, at the Fleur de I^is Hotel, 
Canterbury, England. 

Critical Endings. — Final rounds 
in a hand at whist when extraordi- 
nary skill may be displayed, or 
found necessary, in winning or sav- 
ing the game. Hamilton, in ' ' Mod- 
ern Scientific Whist," illustrates 
sixty critical endings, which are in- 
valuable to the whist student. (See, 
also, "Perception Problems.") 

The end-hand in -whist is very often 
susceptible of brilliant treatment. It is 
here that the liability to error is greatest. 
To insure correctness in end-play the 
most consutninate understanding of the 
entire game is requisite. — C. D. P. Hamil- 
ton [L. A.], " Modern Scientific Whist.'" 

The chief points arising at the close of a 
game are these: (i) The right choice of 
cards to throw away to winning cards 
either of the enemy or of your own part- 
ner; (2) placing the lead, and (3) what 
may be regarded as a combination of both 
points, the recognition of the necessity 
which sometimes arises for throwing 
away a winning card or an extra trump — 
playing what is called(after Deschapelles) 
the grand coup. — R. A. Proctor \L. O.]. 

Cross- Ruff. — The play by which 
each partner ruffs or trumps the 
other's suit, alternately led for that 



CROWN COFFBB-HOUSE io8 CURIOSITIKS OF WHIST 



purpose. 



Also called " see-saw " 



There is nothing so destructive of good 
suits as a cross-ruflF, if allowed to con- 
tinue.— i?. F. Foster [S. O.], " Whist Tac- 
tics." 

Crown Coffee-House. — Acoffee- 
house on Bedford Row, at that time 
an aristocratic locality in London. 
The Crown was one of a number of 
such resorts of high character, cor- 
responding to the social clubs of the 
present day, and within its portals 
whist received its first serious con- 
sideration as a game. Up to this 
time it had been crudely played in 
taverns and low resorts, but about 
the year 1728 the first Lord Folke- 
stone and a party of gentlemen 
made a regular study of it at 
the above-mentioned house. (See, 
"Folkestone.") It is also surmised 
that Hoyle may have been a fre- 
quenter of the Crown, which soon 
set the fashion for other coffee- 
houses. At all events, he was fa- 
miliar with the teachings of the 
Folkestone school, to which he 
added a number of improvements, 
and after the publication of his 
"Short Treatise," in 1742, there 
ensued a great whist boom in Kng- 
land. (See, "Hoyle.") 

About fifty years ago [1736] whist was 
much studied by a set of gentlemen who 
frequented the Crown Cofifee-House, in 
Bedford Row. Before that time it was 
chieflj' confined to the servants' hall, with 
"all fours" and "put." They laid down the 
following rules: To pla5' frora^ the strong- 
est suit; to study your partner's hand as 
much as your own; never to force your 
partner unnecessarily, and to attend to 
the score. — Hon. Dairies Barrington, 
'■'■ArchcEologiay'' vol. 8 (1786). 

Curiosities of Whist. — A volume 
might be filled with curious inci- 
dents and matters connected with 
whist, both of a technical or scien- 
tific, as well as of a historical, na- 
ture. " Cavendish," in his " Card- 



Table Talk," davotes considerable 
space to matters of this kind, as 
does also Proctor, under the head 
of "Whist Whittlings," in his 
book, "How to Play Whist," and 
W. P. Courtney, in his " Fnglish 
Whist and Whist-Players." Aside 
from the curious features connected 
with the play or distribution of the 
cards, there are many interesting 
things to be told ; as, for instance, 
the following: 

Lord Clive, the Indian nabob, 
was an inveterate player and gam- 
bler. He played whist on the day 
of his suicide, excusing himself 
from the table during an interval 
in the game, and killing himself a 
few minutes later. Lord Mount- 
ford, another great gambler, played 
whist the last night of his life, on 
December 31, 1754. Next day he 
committed suicide. Lord Rivers 
sat down one night at the Union 
Club, in London, to play whist, 
with ;^ioo,c)oo in bank-notes before 
him. By morning he had lost 
everything, and on January 25, 1831, 
his body was found in the river. 
The Duke of Clarence, exactly one 
year to a day after this event, was 
stricken by death while playing 
whist, after dinner. Lord Lans- 
downe was taken ill while playing 
a rubber in the drawing-room of 
White's Coffee-House, in July, 1866. 
and died very soon afterwards, 
Von Moltke, the great field mar- 
shal, played a remarkable game of 
whist on the night before his death, 
making a slam and winning the 
rubber. 

Stories of players who became 
so absorbed in the game that 
they played for twelve to twenty- 
four hours at a stretch are very 
common. Such a player was Lord 
Granville; and Elwes, the most no- 
torious miser in all England, was 
another. Although he resisted 
with might and main the expendi- 



CURIOSITIES OF WHIST 109 



CUTTING 



ture of a few pennies in tlie ordi- 
nary transactions of life, at whist 
he was carried away with the 
game, and frequently risked thou- 
sands of pounds. Upon one occa- 
sion he is said to have played for 
two days and nights without inter- 
mission. 

Dr. John Moore, father of the 
gallant Sir John Moore, tells in his 
" Viewsof Society in Italy " (1790), 
how, at Florence, he was invited to 
become one of a whist-party in a 
box at the opera. In vain he 
hinted that an adjournment might 
be taken to a more convenient 
place. The answer was that " good 
music added greatly to the pleasure 
of a whist-party; that it increased 
the joy of good fortune, and soothed 
the affliction of bad." From that 
time forward, during his stay, a 
rubber of whist in the stage box, 
upon a table provided for the piur- 
pose, was the regular thing every 
opera night. 

A curious interlude in a game of 
whist happened at Edinburgh. It 
gave rise to a humorous remark by 
David Hume which was remem- 
bered for more than seventy years. 
It appears that a married lady was 
playing a rubber of whist at a table, 
when suddenly she was seized with 
the throes of labor. Hume, who 
was one of those present, playfully 
named the child the little " Paren- 
thesis, ' ' and by that appellation she 
(for it was a girl) was known all 
her life, as is told in a letter writ- 
ten by Sir Walter Scott to his 
friend Morritt. 

A good story is told of Catherine 
of Russia, who was devoted to 
whist, among other things, and 
frequently gave ' ' little whist- 
parties at which she sometimes 
played, and sometimes not." On 
one of these occasions, while pass- 
ing from table to table, watching 
the play, she had occasion to ring 



for a page. The latter was busy in 
the ante-room, also at whist, and 
could not tear himself away at a 
critical stage of the game. Her 
majesty rang again and again, and 
still receiving no answer, became 
furious. Upon going to the ante- 
room in person to wreak vengeance 
upon the luckless wight, it is said 
her anger gave way to kindly sym- 
pathy such as she was rarely guilty 
of, and instead of having him 
knouted or transported to Siberia, 
she dispatched him on his errand, 
and played his hand for him until 
his return. All of which is an ad- 
ditional proof of the fascination, 
power, and civilizing effects of the 
great game. (See, also, " Duke of 
Cumberland's Famous Hand," 
"Phenomenal Hands," "Prob- 
lems," and "Vienna Coup.") 

Cusack-Smith, Sir Wiliiam. — 

An English whist author who pub- 
lished, in 1891, a small text-book, 
which he called an " Encyclopedia 
of Whist, Prefaced with Words of 
Advice to Young Players. ' ' 

Cutting. — The act of dividing 
a pack of cards to decide who 
shall play at a table, who shall 
be partners, who shall deal, or as 
a preliminary to the deal. A 
cut must be at least to the depth 
of four cards. If, after the cards 
have been cut, the dealer drops a 
large portion of the pack under the 
table or on the table, so that they 
cannot be put together exactly as 
they were cut, Clay's decision was 
that there must be a new cut. (See, 
also, " Cutting to the Dealer.") 

The ace is the lowest card. In all cases, 
every one must cut from the same pack. 
Should a player expose more than one 
card, he must cut again. — Laws of Whist 
(English Code), Sections 13-15. 

In cutting, the ace is the lowest card. 
All must cut from the same pack. If a 
player exposes more than one card, he 



CUTTING IN 



IIO CUTTING TO THB DEALER 



must cut again. Drawing cards from the 
outspread pack may be resorted to in 
place of cutting. — Laws of Whist {Ameri- 
can Code), Sectio7i 7. 

A cut is irregular when it is not made 
by the dealer's right-hand adversary. It 
is not clean if there be any hesitation or 
awkwardness in its performance. It is 
not clean also if one card be dragged after 
the rest. The cut should be made neatly, 
and the cards fairly lifted up. — Descha- 
pelles [O.], '^ Laws," Articles 21 and 22, 

Cutting In. — Selecting partners 
at the commencement of a rubber, 
and deciding who shall have the 
first deal. After the cards are 
shuffled, they are spread face down- 
wards upon the table. Each candi- 
date for the rubber draws a card, 
and places it face upwards in front 
of him. The four lowest are suc- 
cessful, and these again cut for 
partners, in the same manner, the 
lowest two pairing against the 
highest two. The lowest of the 
four has the first deal and the choice 
of cards and seats. Ties in cutting 
are determined by the players 
making such ties cutting again. 

There is one question which has caused 
trouble in almost every club. It is the 
rule which provides for'the formation of 
tables by cutting in. It is quite natural 
that this" rule has been frequently broken, 
and in some clubs entirely disregarded. 
Strong players like to play with strong 
players, and they play this way or not at 
all. The weaker players want to play 
with the stronger, and find fault when 
they find it impossible to do so. Those 
players who complain the most are those 
who make no effort to improve on their 
own part, and who give unreasonable 
excuses for their bad plays, or say " they 
don't care," "they are only playing for 
fun," or "life is tooshort." Such players 
soon find that the best players think life 
tooshort to play with them.—:/. H. Briggs 
\L. All, Minneapolis Journal. 

Cutting Out. — Deciding by the 
lowest cards cut which of two per- 
sons shall remain in when one or 
two are required to go out. 

At the end of a rubber, should admis- 
sion be claimed by any one or two candi- 
dates, he who has, or they who have, 



played a greater number of consecutive 
rubbers than the others is, or are, out; 
but when all have played the sanae num- 
ber they must cut to decide upon the out- 
goers; the highest are out. — Laws of 
Whist {English Code), Section 20. 

In most cases, but particularly when 
the table consists of five players, it is as 
well to write on paper the roster, so that 
it can be at once decided who is out: 

A, 

B, 

C, 

D, 

are the players, and A, B, C, D, play first. 
The next player to come in is 'B,, and the 
first player out, decided by drawing, we 
will suppose is B. A, C, and D next draw, 
and A is out; then C and D draw, and C is 
out; the roster would then be as follows: 

E, 

B, 

A, 

C, 

D. 
D goes out after the rubber into which he 
has gained entrance by drawing with C. 
E, B, A, and C play a rubber, then E goes 
out, then B, and so on. When a long 
evening's play occurs, this roster prevents 
any dispute as to whose turn it is to go 
out; and when no record is kept of the 
rubbers, it is often a fruitful cause of dis- 
putes to decide whose turn it is to quit the 
table. Every precaution ought to be used 
to prevent any cause for discussion at 
whist.— ^. W. Drayson [i.+^+], "The 
Art of Practical Whist.'''' 



Cutting to the Dealer. — ^The act 
of cutting the cards when presented 
by the dealer for that purpose. In 
the American laws, this subject is 
given a separate heading; in the 
English code, the provisions will be 
found, substantiallv the same, un- 
der the head of "The Deal." 



The dealer must present the pack to his 
right-hand adversary to be cut; the adver- 
sary must take a portion from the top of 
the pack and place it toward the dealer; 
at least four cards must be left in each 
packet; the dealer must reunite the pack- 
ets by placing the one not removed in 
cutting upon the other. 

If in cutting or in reuniting the separate 
packets, a card is exposed, the pack must 
be reshuffled by the dealer, and cut again: 
if there is any confusion of the cards, or 
doubt as to the place where the pack was 
separated, there must be a new cut. 



"DALE, PARSON" 



III 



DEAI, 



If the dealer reshuffles the pack after it 
has been properly cut, he loses his deal. — 
Laws of Whist {American Code), Sections 

10-12. 

" Dale, Parson." — A character 
in Bulwer Lytton's romance, " My 
Novel." Parson Dale is a model 
whist-player, as good in his way as 
Sarah Battle in hers. So anxious 
was he to play correctly that he 
was ruffled even by his adversa- 
ries' mistakes. He was completely 
happy when matched against foe- 
men worthy of his steel, and only 
gloried in the game when con- 
ducted on legitimate and scientific 
principles. 

Dallam, Miss Frances S. — Miss 
Dallam is a teacher and player of 
recognized ability, and has many 
pupils in Baltimore, where she re- 
sides. She informs us that she has 
played whist all her life, but began 
teaching the game in 1893. To Miss 
Wheelock's instruction she owes a 
good share of her present profi- 
ciency. She has played constantly 
with the Baltimore "Whist Club, 
since its formation a few years ago, 
and during the first season she won 
the ladies' first prize, receiving 
Milton C. Work's new book on 
whist. Her team won in two severe 
contests against the strongest team 
Philadelphia could muster. Miss 
Dallam is a strict adherent of the 
long-suit school and American 
leads. She is a very steady player, 
never deceives her partner, and fol- 
lows the rules. She has been pres- 
ident of the Woman's Whist Club, 
of Baltimore, but in 1897 declined 
a re-election, as her work as a 
teacher occupied all her time. 

Dav?es, Clement. — An English 
whist author, whose book, "Mod- 
ern Whist: the Complete Theory 
and Practice," was published in 
1886. In it he emphasizes the im- 



portance of playing to the score, 
which he claims is fundamental, 
and should receive the first consid- 
eration. His instructions follow 
those of the "Cavendish" school 
and the American leads. Mr. Davies 
is a graduate of Trinity College, 
Cambridge. 

Dead Suit. — A suit in which the 
player holding it cannot possibly 
take a trick. 

Deal. — To deal is to distribute 
the fifty-two cards at whist. The 
deal means the privilege of thus 
distributing the cards, and the 
cards themselves when distributed 
are also spoken of as the deal. 

Each player deals in turn, the 
one who cut lowest in the selection 
of partners dealing first. The deal 
passes around the table, always to 
the left. 

The cards are dealt, one card to 
each player, beginning to the left 
of the dealer, and continuing until 
the entire pack is exhausted. They 
should be dealt slanting downward 
on leaving the hand, so that their 
faces may not be exposed to any of 
the players. In the early historj"- 
of whist it was customary to deal 
four cards at a time to each player, 
" but, " says Seymour, in 1734, "it 
is demonstrable there is no safety 
in that method," and "now the 
cards are dealt round one and one 
at a time as the securest and best 
way." It is a curious fact that 
Deschapelles, the great French 
player, favored the original mode 
of dealing more than one card at 
a time. In his " L,aws " (article 
36) he says: " It is singular enough 
that the plan of dealing out an en- 
tire pack of cards, one by one, 
should have ever been adopted. It 
is sometimes a great fatigue, and 
one which has imposed upon a 
class of persons who would willingly 



DBAIv 



112 



DECLARED TRUMP 



dispense witli it." This objection 
becomes intelligible -when we re- 
member that Deschapelles had but 
one arm, having lost the other in 
the defense of his country. There 
can be no doubt that the plan of 
dealing one card at a time is the 
safest and best. 

In duplicate whist, on the dupli- 
cate or overplay of the hands, pro- 
vision is made whereby each player 
has every position at the table an 
equal number of times, or as nearly 
so as possible. The leader is indi- 
cated by an index finger or other 
mark on each tray or other device 
for holding the hands, and the po- 
sition is varied in the different 
trays. As the dealer always comes 
just before the leader, the supposed 
advantages of the deal and lead are 
preserved in this way, although no 
cards are actually dealt in the over- 
play. 

Bach player deals in his turn; the right 
of deahng goes to the left. — Laws of 
Whist {English Code), Section jj. (See, 
also, "New Deal.") 

A deal may be lost irrespective of any 
misdeal, and a misdeal does not in every 
instance forfeit the deal. — Sir IVilliam 
Cusack-Smith \L. O.]. 

A player has a right, if he choose, to 
allow his deal to be taken from him; laut 
never, designedly, to take that of others. 
— Deschapelles [C], "Laws," Article _^8. 

During the deal is the term applied to 
the time between the taking of the last 
trick of a hand and the turning of the 
next trump card. — Rules of the Descha- 
pelles Club, Boston. 

The total number of different ways in 
which the fifty-two cards may be dis- 
tributed among the four players * * * 
amounts to 53,644,737,765,488,792,839,237,- 
440,000. — William Pole \L. A -\-]," The Phil- 
osophy of IVhist." 

The deal is so decided an advantage, 
where five is the number to be played for 
[at short whist], that I am confident two 
bad players with the first deal in every 

fame would in the long run beat the two 
est players in ^England. — Thomas Math- 
ews [L. O.J. 

The deal and the lead are the original 
opposing elements in the game of whist. 
Here is the starting point of analysis, the 



foundation of the philosophy and strat- 
egy of the game. The dealer has the 
advantage, being the only player who is 
from the first absolutely sure of holding 
a trump or having the last play upon a 
trick. — Emery Boaj-dman \L^A.'\, '■'Win- 
ning Whist.'''' 

Dealing. — When the pack has been prop- 
erly cut and reunited, the dealer must 
distribute the cards, one at a time, to each 
player in regular rotation, beginning at 
his left. The last, which is the trump 
card, must be turned up before the dealer. 
At the end of the hand, or when the deal 
is lost, the deal passes to the player next 
to the dealer on his left, and so on to each 
in turn. 

There must be a new deal by the same 
dealer: (i) If any card except the last is 
faced in the pack; (2) if, durin°: the (leal, 
or during the play of the hand, the pack 
is proved incorrect or imperfect; but any 
prior score made with the pack shall 
stand. 

If, during the deal, a card is exposed, 
the side not in fault may demand a new 
deal, provided neither of that side has 
touched a card. If a new deal does not 
take place, the exposed card is not liable 
to be called. 

Any one dealing out of turn, or with his 
adversaries' pack, may be stopped before 
the trump card is turned, after which the 
deal is valid, and the packs, if changed, so 
remain. — Lazvs of Whist {American Code), 
Sections 13-16. 

Dealer. — One who deals or dis- 
tributes the cards. 

Deane, Walter Meredith. — Wal- 
ter Meredith Deane, C. M. G., M. 
A., was born in Ivondon, 1840; is a 
graduate of Cambridge; was in the 
civil service for many years, sta- 
tioned at Hong Kong, China, from 
1862 to 1891; captain-superinten- 
dent of police of the colony from 
1866 to 1891. He also acted as 
colonial secretary, and as colonial 
treasurer, and member of the exec- 
utive and legislative councils. To 
whist- players he is best known by 
his ' ' ivctters on Whist Addressed 
to Moderate Players," a series of 
articles first appearing in Bailey^ s 
Magazine, and published in book 
form in 1894. 

Declared Trump. — In duplicate 
whist it is largely a custom, instead 



DEJCLARED TRUMP 



113 



DECLARED TRUMP 



of turning trumps, to declare a cer- 
tain suit trumps for the occasion. 
The laws of duplicate whist adopted 
in 1894 make no provision for this, 
except in the single-table or mnemo- 
nic duplicate game, where it is said: 
" Instead of turning the trump, a 
single suit may be declared for the 
game. ' ' The general sentiment of 
duplicate whist-players is largely in 
favor of the declared trump, and 
many go so far as to advocate a 
permanent trump for the game. 
The question of allowing a League 
club to depart from the rule which 
requires the turning of the trump, 
was brought to the attention of 
President Schwarz, in October, 
1895, by Norton T. Horr, president 
of the Cleveland Whist Club. The 
president referred the matter to the 
judges of appeals, whose opinions 
were published in Whist, Novem- 
ber, 1895, and were to the effect 
that while it was a breach of 
League law for a club to declare a 
trump, instead of turning it, there 
did not seem to be any way to pre- 
vent the members from making 
the change, especially if unani- 
mously acquiesced in by the players 
interested. In the issue of Whist 
for December, 1895, Sidne}' Lovell 
went so far as to advocate not only 
a declared trump in duplicate, but 
a national trump suit for all forms 
of whist, and he suggested clubs. 
In the next issue of Whist a writer 
signing himself " Prex " argued 
for a declared trump in duplicate, 
but ' ' so far as straight whist is con- 
cerned," said he, " we may dismiss 
the discussion. Chance enters so 
largely into it that the chance of 
turning up an honor may as well 
remain." But as to duplicate whist, 
he continued: "To my mind, the 
evolution of duplicate whist will be 
in the direction of uniformity and 
simplicity. I do not believe in de- 
claring trumps at every sitting, but 

8 



believe we will evolve a higher 
form when we make one suit 
trumps permanently. ' ' In the Feb- 
ruary issue Mr. Lovell returned to 
his argument in favor of clubs as 
the permanent and national trump 
suit. On February 19, 1897, Fisher 
Ames sent a communication to the 
executive committee of the Ameri- 
can Whist League, in which he 
suggested that it would be ' ' for the 
advantage and interest of the dupli- 
cate match games in tournaments 
and contests for trophies, and in- 
deed for all duplicate whist games, 
that a rule be established forbidding 
the turning of a trump in the pack 
in play, and requiring the umpire, 
or parties, to cut a trump suit for 
the session, in another pack." He 
continued: "The true theory of 
duplicate whist is that each side at 
beginning has no knowledge of the 
resources or strength of the other 
side. The turning of a trump card 
is in violation of this principle; 
and although the same conditions 
are in turn imposed on the other 
side, two wrongs do not make a 
right. The recording of the trump 
turned adds greatly to the labor, 
trouble, and difficulty of keeping 
the score. If the trump turned is 
so small as to affect the play in no 
degree, it is only so much more 
trouble to record and keep the run 
of it; if sufficiently high to affect 
the play, it is contrary to the true 
principles of the game." 

No decisive action was taken on 
the trump question at the seventh 
congress of the American Whist 
League (1897), although an effort 
was made to get the executive com- 
mittee to declare in its favor. This 
occurred on July 5, when Director 
P. J. Tormey offered a resolution to 
the effect that " in contests Nos. 5, 
6, 7, 8, 9, 10, II, and 12 of the 
schedule of contests for this con- 
gress, the executive committee re- . 



DESCHAPELLES 



114 



DESCHAPELLES 



commend that in all plays no trump 
shall be turned, and that clubs 
shall be declared trump. " Director 
E. Le Roy Smith moved, as an 
amendment, that the rule apply to 
all contests. Lost. On a vote, the 
original resolution was also lost. 

Deschapelles, Guillaume le 
Breton. — A phenomenal whist- 
player, considered by James Clay 
as ' ' the finest, beyond any compar- 
ison, the world has ever seen." 
This verdict has been generally 
concurred in, not only by Descha- 
pelles' contemporaries, but by every 
writer on whist since his time. 
Deschapelles was born in France, 
in 1780, and came of good family. 
His father was gentleman of the 
bedchamber to Louis XVI., and the 
same position was held by his 
brother in the court of Charles X. 
Deschapelles himself did not take 
kindly to royalty, and his republi- 
canism came very near getting him 
into serious trouble in the earlier 
days of the reign of Louis Philippe. 
On one occasion a seizure of his 
private papers disclosed the fact 
that he had plotted revolution. In 
a list of persons to be summarily 
disposed of were found many names 
of prominence, and among them 
the following, with the accusation 
as stated: " Vatry (Alphie), to be 
guillotined. Reason — Citoyen in- 
utile.'''' A worthless citizen, and 
why? He was a notoriously bad 
whist-player! 

Deschapelles is mentioned by 
Hayward as one of the principal 
players of whist at the Union Club, 
in Paris, where he frequently met 
and played with Lord Granville, 
the English ambassador, Count 
Medem, Count Walewski, the Due 
de Richelieu, General Michelski, 
Comte Achille Delamarre, M. Bon- 
pierre, and other famous players. 
He also excelled in other games, 



notably at billiards, Polishdraughts, 
and chess, being for years without 
a rival in the latter. Despite the 
fact that he had lost his right hand 
at the wrist, in the war with the 
allies, he could play billiards with 
wonderful dexterity. At whist he 
dealt the same as other players, 
and collected, sorted, and played 
his own cards with his left hand. 
He was a brilliant and daring 
player, and a perfect master of 
whist strategy, as is shown by the 
coups which he invented, especially 
the one which still bears his name. 
In his day, whist was played for 
high sums of money, and he fre- 
quently staked and won immense 
amounts. Upon one occasion a 
match was proposed between him 
and Lord Granville, another daring 
player, for 200,000 francs, and his 
part of the stake was promptly 
subscribed in shares. But the con- 
test never came oif, being stopped 
by friends of the English player, 
who feared the consequences of a 
possible failure to him. 

Deschapelles published in Paris, 
in 1839, the fragment of a great 
projected work on whist. It was 
entitled "Traitd du Whiste: 2d 
Partie, La Legislation," and issued 
by Furne, duodecimo, at five francs. 
Part I. was never published. In 
the same 3'ear there was published, 
in London, through Hookham, an 
English translation entitled, "A 
Treatise on Whist, With Laws," 
two volumes, octavo, at sixteen 
shillings. The work was disap- 
pointing, inasmuch as Deschapelles 
had spent such leisure as he could 
find during twenty years upon its 
preparation. It was reviewed in 
the Foreign Quarterly Review 
(vol. 24, p. 335.) The first part, 
had it ever been written, would 
undoubtedly have been a more 
satisfactory work. In 1842 ap- 
peared his " Traite du Whiste Tin- 



DESCHAPKIvLBS 



115 



DEUCS 



g^nu, ou Wliiste a Trois," pub- 
lished by Perrotin, in Paris. Five 
years later, his death took place in 
the same city. 

Deschapelles' brilliant manner of 
playing the game was exemplified, 
to a certain extent, in America, by 
his pupil, the late John Rheinart 
{q. V. ) , who had frequently played 
as his partner before coming to this 
country. 

I had rather he [Deschapelles] would 
lead or play third hand than be at my 
left when in an exigency I am to play. 
He plays second hand to win with it; and 
he does win with it. His finesse is 
terrific. — Lassave [O.]. 

In re Deschapelles, is it generally 
known that the Boston Herald published 
twenty-two hands, alleged to have been 
played by him ? Some of them show 
that he was quite familiar with the lead 
of the fourth best (see August it, 1889). 
And yet he died in 1847 ! ! Truly, there 
is nothing new this side of the grave. — 
R. F. Foster \S. 0.\ Whist, July, i8<)3. 

It would probably have surprised Des- 
chapelles had he been told that the time 
would come when persons calling them- 
selves whist-players would think more 
of a number of arbitrary signals, taxing 
only the attention, than of all the points 
of strategy which he and his contempo- 
raries regarded as the essence of the 
game.— ^. A . Proctor \L. O.] , Longman's 
Magazine, April, 1887. 

The "Traits du Whiste " was devoted 
principally to the laws of the game. The 
author said little about the play; but 
treated the subject in a manner highly 
spirituel. He reasoned on immensity and 
eternity; on metaphysical necessity and 
trial by jury; he invoked the stin of 
Joshua and the star of the Magi; he 
investigated the electric affinities of the 
players; and illustrated a hand by ana- 
lytical geometry .— William Pole {L. A +], 
" Evolution of fVhist." 

Karly in the present century the great 
player, Deschapelles, introduced his won- 
derful play to the Parisian clubs, far the 
most original and brilliant ever known. 
The fine " coups," as may be known by 
the French term for his startling acts, 
were of his invention; but the record 
of play not being kept, the many in- 
stances of victory achieved by the aid 
of his foresight and practice of strange 
ways are lost to ws.—G IV. Pettes [L. A . P.] 
^^ American Whist Illustrated.'" 



Deschapelles' Coup. — A cele- 
brated stratagem in whist, named 
after its inventor, Deschapelles. It 
consists in the play of king, or other 
high card at the head of a suit, for 
the purpose of forcing out the ace 
or other high card held by the ad- 
versary, thereby making good a 
lower card in partner's hand, and 
thus giving him an opportunity to 
obtain the lead and make his es- 
tablished suit. The situation justi- 
fying the sacrifice is when trumps 
have been exhausted and you have 
the lead, but are unable to play a 
card which would give the lead to 
your partner, he having an estab- 
lished suit which it is necessary to 
bring in. 

Its object is to save any card of re-entry 
that may be in the partner's hand when 
trumps are out, and you have none of his 
established suit to lead him. — P. F. Foster 
[S. O.], " Whist Strategy." 

Detached Card. — A card taken 
out of the hand and entirely sepa- 
rated from the rest, as in the act of 
play. Very often an error is com- 
mitted by players returning such 
card and taking another, and play- 
ing it instead, after the}' have partly 
or wholly exposed the first card. 
In such case it is liable to be called, 
according to section 60 of the 
English code. In the American 
code, the word " detached " is not 
used, and no penalty is prescribed, 
because, as Mr. Trist informs us, 
" it does not cover the case of a 
card, turned face outward, in the 
player's hand; and the seeing of the 
card by the partner was made a 
condition precedent to the right of 
calling it, because in almost every 
case of a detached card the adver- 
saries alone can name it; and no 
injury being done, no penalty 
should be suffered." 

Deuce. — A card with two pips 
or spots; the two-spot {q. v.). The 



DIAMONDS 



Il6 



DISCARD 



word is derived from French deux, 
Latin duo, two. It has no connec- 
tion with deuce, an evil spirit, not- 
withstanding the popular notion 
that such is the case. 

When partner leads low cards, or cards 
which are not the best, the most impor- 
tant thing for the third hand is to locate 
the deuce. So well is this known among 
experts, that very few of them will give 
■up the deuce of an adversary's suit, if they 
have any other small cards to play. * * * 
The absence of the deuce is a most im- 
portant factor in estimating whether or 
not the lead is from five or more cards, 
and in judging whether or not the part- 
ner is echoing. It has lately become so 
much the practice to play false in the 
smaller cards of the adversaries' suits 
that the plain-suit echo is almost useless. 
—R. F. Foster [5. O.], ''Whist Tactics." 

Diamonds.^ — One of the four 
suits composing a pack of cards; 
one of the two red suits. On Ger- 
man cards the corresponding sym- 
bols are bells {Schellen). In the 
original Spanish cards, from which 
all modern cards are derived, the 
symbol is oros, or dinoros (money). 
In Italian it is called danari, also 
meaning money. In French it is 
carreaux, or diamonds, represented 
the same as in English, and show- 
ing that English cards came 
through a French source. 

Ditlard, H. K. — See, "Blind 
Whist-Players. " 

Discard. — The card from another 
plain suit which a player puts on 
the round, or trick, when he is un- 
able to follow suit and does not 
wish to trump. To discard, in a 
general way, means to throw away 
useless cards, but there has been 
method and meaning in the discard 
from the earliest history of the 
game. The ordinary rule is to dis- 
card from short or weak suits, and 
an especial importance attaches to 
the first discard, which conveys 
positive information to partner. In 
case the adversaries call for or lead 



trumps, or otherwise indicate great 
trump strength, it is customary to 
reverse the ordinary rule, and make 
your original discard from your 
longest or strongest suit — the one 
you desire partner to lead to you. 
Being on the defensive, it is neces- 
sary to protect your weak suits as 
far as possible; and it is better to 
discard from your long suit, in such 
case, as you have but little hope of 
bringing it in. Discards, after the 
first, are not intended to convey 
special information, but are made 
to suit the exigencies of the play. 
Here, however, it is well to explain 
that of late several other signals, 
by means of the discard, have been 
proposed and, to some extent, ac- 
cepted, although not by authorities 
like "Cavendish." Such, for in- 
stance, is a new trump signal made 
by discarding a card at least as high 
as an eight, second hand, from an 
unplayed suit. This must be made 
early in the game, however, during 
the first three rounds of the hand. 
' ' Cavendish ' ' says: " It is true that 
a brainy player, finding strength in 
trumps and strong plain suits with 
his partner, might often be induced 
to lead a trump in consequence of a 
high discard, when otherwise he 
would not. That is a point of judg- 
ment. The exercise of judgment is 
quite different from blind abandon- 
ment." Other innovations are: 
Complete control of a suit may be 
indicated by the discard of the 
commanding card in it, and the 
non-possession of the best card of a 
suit is shown by the discard of the 
second-best. 

We may also add that it is but 
natural that in this period of great 
activity and change there should be 
found those who object to the rules 
of the discard as fundamentally 
laid down by the earliest masters 
of whist, and followed by all au- 
thorities ever since. In exceptional 



DISCARD 



117 



DISCARD 



cases, no doubt, the rules of the 
discard, like other rules of whist, 
may be profitably set aside; but 
that is no reason why we should 
abandon what in normal conditions 
have always been found most excel- 
lent rules. Whist geniuses may 
need no rules whatever, but they 
should not on that account throw 
those less gifted into chaos. 

The first discard is the most important, 
and the information given by it must be 
carefully noted. — Fisher Ames [Z. A.^ 
" Practical Guide to Whist.'''' 

If ■weak in trumps, keep gfuard on your 
adversaries' suits; if strong, throw away 
from them. — Thomas Mathews [L. O.], 
'^ Advice to the Young Whist-Player," 
1804. 

When the adversaries have declared 
strength in trumps, my discard (and my 
partner's) should convey no definite in- 
formation whatever. — W. S. Fenollosa \L. 
A. I Whist, April, i8gj. 

Your original discard indicates your 
shortest suit, if trump strength is not de- 
clared against you; your longest suit, if it 
is. Subsequent discards have no such 
significance.—^. A. Proctor \L. (?.]. 

The system of discarding most con- 
ducive to trick-taking seems to be to al- 
ways discard the card that can best be 
spared from the plaver's hand. — Milton 
C. Work [L. A . H.]," Whist of To-day." 

It is dangerous to unguard an honor or 
to blank an ace; and, also, to discard a 
single card when the game is in an un- 
developed state, as it exposes your weak- 
ness almost as soon as the suit is led. — 
'■^Cavendish" \L. A\ 

l,eads and the play of second and third 
band are in most cases governed by 
readily understood rules, but in the dis- 
card much must be left to the whist 
genius of the player. — George V. Maynard 
[L. A.], Whist, May, 1893. 

A player having full command of a suit, 
may show it to his partner by discarding 
the best card of it. Discarding the sec- 
ond best is an indication that the player 
has not the best; and, in general, the dis- 
card of any small card shows weakness 
in that .suit.— j?. F. Foster \_S. C], ''Com- 
plete Hoyle." 

Discard from the weak suit if strength 
of trumps is with partner, and from the 
strong suit if the strength is with the ad- 
versaries; and that side is considered 
strong in trumps which remains with the 
mastery, no matter from which side came 
the original lead of trumps. — Frederick 



H. Lewis \L. OX London Field, November, 
J887, 

If early in the hand (before the fourth 
trick) as high a card as a nine is discarded 
from an unplayed suit, it is generally 
safe to consider it a call for trumps. * * * 
The discard of the command indicates 
complete control of the suit. * * * The 
discard of the second best indicates no 
more of the s\xit.— Kate Wheelock \L. A.\, 
' ' Whist Rules, ' ' 1896. 

The long suit is or may be (after 
trumps) the most valuable you have, and 
every card of it, even the smallest, may 
mak; a trick. Hence, you must discard 
from a short or weak suit. * * * But 
if strength of trumps is declared against 
you, reverse the rule, and discard from 
your most numerous suit. — William Pole 
[L. A-^], ''Philosophy of Whist." 

Your partner should understand that 
your first or original discard is from your 
weakest suit, just as he understands that 
your original lead is from your strongest 
suit. But, as in the case of leads, you are 
sometimes obliged to lead from a weak 
suit, or to make a forced lead, so some- 
times you have to make a. forced discard. — 
"Cavendish" [L. A.], "Laws and Princi- 
ples of Whist." 

The play introduced by Rufus Allen, of 
Milwaukee, is to discard from your strong 
suit if trumps are led originally, whether 
by partner or opponent, and from your 
weak suits if a plain suit is opened orig- 
inally. That is to say, if no plain suit has 
yet been shown by any one, you discard 
from your best suit, or the one you want 
your partner to lead you; but if some one 
has shown a suit, you discard from the 
one of the other two in which you are 
weak, or which you do not want him to 
lead you.— yb,%« T.Mitchell [L. A.], "Du- 
plicate Whist." 

Your original discard is from your 
weakest suit, the suit in which you are 
least likely to make a trick. It is under- 
stood, however, that this is before strength 
in trumps has been declared by the op- 
ponents. If partner has asked for trumps, 
or led them, it does not affect this rule — 
you still discard from your weakest suit. 
If the opponents have first called, or first 
led trumps, your first discard is from your 
best protected suit. When trumps are 
declared against you, you play a defen- 
sive game, and husband what little 
strength you have in your weak suits. — 
C. D. P. Hamilton [L. A.], "Modern Scien- 
tific Whist." 

The present system of discarding, as 
laid down by "Cavendish," is full of dif- 
ficulty. It is to discard from your weak 
suit under ordinary circumstances, and 
from your best protected suit when the 



DISCARD 



Il8 



DISPUTES 



strength in trumps is declared against 
you: and that these should be distinctly di- 
rective to your partner (twentieth edition, 
page ii6). I find this system is no longer 
adopted by players of the first-class. 
They claim it is folly to betray to an 
enemy, who has declared superiority in 
trumps, the exact location of what little 
defensive strength you have. * * * The 
modern theory of the discard is : In 
attack, or when playing a forward game, 
preserve your own and your partner's 
suits, letting everything else go, even un- 
guarding honors and leaving aces blank. 
In defense, discard from your own and 
your partner's suits, keeping guard on 
those of the adversary. The player must 
be particularly on his guard against 
drawing too rigid inferences from dis- 
cards. It must be remembered that the 
false discard is too often a stratagem to 
mask a well-placed tenace. — R. F. Foster 
\S. O.] " Whist Strategy:' 1S94. 

The discard from the best protected 
suit, on adverse declaration of strength 
in trumps, has lately been assaulted, and 
has even been called an exploded fallacy. 
* * * The manoeuvres of intelligent 
players, with the exception of short-suit- 
ers, tend to this: To establish a suit; then, 
with reasonable strength in trumps, to 
exhaust the opponents; and, finally, to 
bring in the established suit. If these 
tactics work successfully, or seem to give 
promise of a successful issue, long cards 
of an established suit should be religi- 
ously preserved. But it may be, and often 
is, in actual play, that the wary adversary 
counterplots and strives to obstruct the 
design. Then the bigger battalion will 
generally carry the day, and, if against, 
defense must be substituted for attack. 
The question then is. What is the best de- 
fense? When the opponent is firing off 
his trump artillery, and is known to have 
plenty of ammunition in reserve, there is 
no chance for the defender by ordinary 
methods. He must, therefore, reverse 
his tactics, and try to save what little he 
can, by protecting his weak spots, and, to 
revert to card language, must discard 
from the suit in which he is well protect- 
ed, but which he cannot hope to bring in. 
There is another side to the shield. The 
m.an who starts the shooting may have 
encountered an adversary with as much 
ammunition as himself, or more, and 
who may shoot back. Then comes the 
trouble. Are the discards to be protective 
or the reverse? They become entirely a 
matter of judgment; and, as no rule can 
be laid down for judgment, the discards 
are often misleading. Then ensue re- 
criminations, and the discard from 
strength is sneered at as an exploded 
fallacy. If the players who desire to ex- 
plode it would only turn their attention 
to the fact that the first discard depends 



on who has the command of trumps 
when it is made, they would probably im- 
prove their game, and would displace the 
exploded-fallacy fad from their imagina- 
tion. Still, it has to be allowed that, un- 
der certain circumstances, the original 
discard is beset with difficulties. This, 
however, is no reason for attempting to 
explode a fallacy which is not a fallacy. 
The accepted style of discarding is conso- 
nant with sound reason; the only objec- 
tion to it, and one which cannot be sur- 
mounted by introducing any other style, 
is that judgment is often requisite for its 
correct interpretation. — ^'■Cavendish" [L. 
A .] , Scribner's Magazine, July, iSgy. 

Discard Call. — See, "Single 
Discard Call." 

Discard, Rotary. — See, "Rotary 
Discard." 

Disguising the Number. — Play- 
ing a card for the purpose of de- 
ceiving as to number in suit. 

Disputes About Penalties. — In 

this country, where whist is played 
chiefly for the sake of the game, 
disputes over the penalties pre- 
scribed by the laws are not as fre- 
quent or serious as in countries 
where stakes are the rule at the 
whist-table. One of the evils of 
playing for money is plainly evident 
in the obstinate wrangling to which 
it frequently leads. Drayson [L+ 
A-|-],inhis "Whist Laws and Whist 
Decisions," says: "When disputes 
occur relative to penalties for of- 
fenses committed against the laws 
of whist, these usually come under 
three heads, viz. : ( i ) ignorance of 
the laws; (2) misreading or forget- 
ting the law suitable to deal with 
the offense; (3) incompetency for 
reasoning soundly on the applica- 
tion of the law." General Drayson 
has done his share in trying to re- 
duce these disputes to a minimum, 
by giving in his book upwards of 
one hundred and seventy-five actual 
cases which he has decided in the 
course of his thirty years' experi- 
ence as an exponent of whist. 



DOMESTIC RUBBER 



119 



DOUBIvE-DUMMY 



No player should object to referring a 
disputed question of fact to a bystander 
who professes himself uninterested in 
the result of the game and able to decide 
the qnestion.—jEiigtieite of Whist {Ameri- 
can Code). 

No player should object to refer to a 
bystander who professes himself unin- 
terested in the game, and able to decide 
any disputed question of facts — as to who 
played any particular card, whether 
honors were claimed though not scored, 
or vice versa, etc. — Etiquette of Whist 
(English Code). 

The litigious player * * * is a man 
much given to argument and dispute. 
Although there are certain rules laid 
down for whist, yet these rules do not, 
and cannot, meet every variation in the 
game, or solve all the cases that crop up. 
The litigious player is perpetually start- 
ing such cases. — A. W Dray son [L+A+], 
'Art of Practical Whist." 

Domestic Rubber, The. — A 

rubber of whist played in the 
family circle, as distinguished from 
whist at the clubs, especially in 
England. In domestic whist, natur- 
ally enough, players who are not 
experts participate, and the habitui 
of the club is apt to find the game 
perplexing, if not trying to his 
good nature. 

The game, even when mitigated by 
muffins, music, and the humanizing 
influence of woman, is inexpressibly 
dreary. — ^^Penibridge" [Z+O.]. 

In " domestic whist" I have found it an 
excellent plan never to lead originally a 
small card of a suit in which I have 
neither ace nor king. It discourages an 
untaught partner to find you with noth- 
ing better than jack or ten when he 
returns your suit. The long-suit theory 
he does not understand, but to find you 
with ace or king every time he returns 
your suit, gives him great confidence. 
Having no ace or king, I lead a singleton 
or doubleton for a ruff Failing in that, 
I lead trumps and trust to fortune. — R. F. 
Poster [5. O.]. 

Don'ts. — P. J. Tormey, the well- 
known Pacific coast whist enthu- 
siast, in 1896 issued a small booklet, 
entitled " Whist Don'ts," in which 
he formulates about one hundred 
and fifty bits of advice, or maxims, 
in the following vein: 



Don't ever try to undo a play at whist. 

Don't try to establish two suits in one 
deal. 

Don't touch a card while the deal is 
going on. 

Don't ever compare scores during a 
match game. 

Don't bother your head how the last 
deal worked. 

Don't guess at a signal; it is better to 
be sure than sorry. 

Don't ever lead until the preceding trick 
is turned and quitted. 

Don't jump at every fad the "whist 
wind" blows your way. 

Don't ever draw a card out of your hand 
until it is your turn to play. 

Don't try to tell all you know every time 
you sit down at a whist-table. 

Don't hesitate to false card in trumps 
on your adversaries' lead of same. 

Don't think you can ever get a trick 
back that is once lost; so don't worry- 
over it. 

Don't forget that a poor hand requires 
greater whist skill to play well, than a 
good one. 

Don't hold '"post-mortems" except in 
the "morgue;" every whist club should 
have one. 

Don't forget we are all human and 
liable to err in whist as well as in other 
walks of life. 

Don't look at the bottom or trump card 
before the deal is completed; if you do, a 
new deal can be had. 

Don't cut unless you take off at least 
four cards or leave at least four. If you 
do, you have to cut again. 

Don't lose sight of the fact that you 
should make tricks in your partner's 
hand as well as your own. 

Don't forget that a card led out of turn 
must be taken back into the hand, and is 
not a " card liable to be called." 

Don't discourage your partner if he is a 
beginner: if he is willing to learn, assist 
him. We were all beginners once. 

Don't accustom yourself to saying, "It 
made no difference my playing so and 
so;" the reverse is generally nearer the 
mark. 

Double. — In the English game, 
scoring five points before your op- 
ponents win three, is called a 
double. 

The winners gain * * * a double, or 
game of two points, when their adver- 
saries have scored less than three. — ■ 
Laws of Whist (English Code), Section 8. 

. Double-Dummy. — Whist played 
by two players each having a 
dummy, or exposed hand, for his 



DOUBLE-DUMMY 



120 DOUBLE-DUMMY PUZZLE 



partner. It is governed by the 
same laws as dummy {q. v. ), ex- 
cept there is no misdeal, the deal 
being a disadvantage. The player 
who cuts lowest deals first, for his 
dummy. He also has the privilege of 
selecting his own -seat, and usually 
takes the position on the right 
of the living player, as it is better, 
in case doubt should arise as to 
whether certain cards have been 
played or not, to lead up to an ex- 
posed hand than up to a concealed 
one. 

Some players go so far as to ex- 
pose all four hands upon the table, 
in which case the play is simply an 
analytical problem like a game of 
chess. While not in high favor 
with the average whist-player, 
double-dummy is very useful for 
purposes of study, and especially 
in working out problems like the 
grand] Vienna coup, the Whitfeld 
problem, and many other whist 
puzzles. One of the finest double- 
dummy players, and constructor of 
double-dummy problems, was the 
late F. H. Lewis, who contributed 
a large number to the Westminster 
Papers during its eleven years of 
existence. W. H. Whitfeld is the 
best we now have. 

Double-dummy is not whist, nor any- 
thing like it; it much more closely resem- 
bles chess; one is a game of inference, 
the other is an exact science, where the 
position of every card is known. — "Pem- 
brtdge" [L+O.]. 

Neither dummy can revoke, and there 
are no such things as exposed cards, or 
cards played in error. It is very common 
for one player to claim that he will win a 
certain number of tricks, and for his ad- 
versary to admit it, and allow him to 
score them without playing the handout. 
—R. F. Poster [S. O.], '"'Co^nplete Hoyle." 

There is nothing in the game beyond 
the skillful use of the tenace position, dis- 
carding, and establishing cross-rufFs. 
Analysis is the mental power chiefly en- 
gaged. * * * The practice of the game 
is totally different from any other form 
of whi,st, and much more closely resem- 
bles chess. — R. P. Poster \S. 0.\ '^Complete 
Hoyle." 



The best preliminary practice is double- 
dummy, for which no advice, rules, or 
judgment are necessary, which requires 
less memory than the ordinary game, but 
exercises greater analytical skill — ap- 
proximating to chess.though more charm- 
ing, through the variety of chance, and 
with the same advantage of having no 
partner to abuse. — Clement Davies \L. 
A+'\, ''Modern Whist:' 

The player should first carefully ex- 
amine the exposed hands, and by com- 
paring them with his own, suit by suit, 
should fix in his mind the cards held by 
his living adversary. This takes time, 
and in many places it is the custom to 
expose the four hands upon the table. 
Players who have better memories than 
their opponents object to this, for the 
same reason that they prefer .sitting on 
the right of the living player [z. <?., in 
case they forget whether certain cards 
have been played, they prefer to lead up 
to an exposed hand rather than one of 
whose contents they are doubtful]. * * * 
The hands once fixed in the mind, some 
time should be given for a careful consid- 
eration of the best course to pursue; after 
which the play should proceed pretty 
rapidly until the last few tricks, when 
another problem may present itself. — R. 
P. Poster \S. 0.], " Complete Hoyle." y 

Double-Dummy Puzzle. — Gen- 
eral A. W. Drayson is the origina- 
tor of the following ingenious little 
double-dummy puzzle: Give the 
adversaries four by honors in every 
suit; give yourself and partner any 
of the other cards you choose; and 
win five by cards against them, you 
to have the lead. Two solutions 
may be found in Proctor's " How to 
Play Whist," as follows: 

First Solution. — A holds nine, 
seven, five, two of diamonds; ten, 
nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, 
three, two of clubs; no spades and 
no hearts. B holds ten, eight, six, 
four, three of diamonds; ten, nine, 
eight, seven of spades; ten, nine, 
eight, seven of hearts; no clubs. 
Y holds king and jack of diamonds; 
king and jack of spades; king, 
jack, six, five, four, three, two of 
hearts, and king and jack of clubs. 
Z holds ace, queen of diamonds; 
ace, queen, six, five, four, three, 
two of spades; ace, queen of hearts; 



DOUBLE-DUMMY PUZZLB 121 



DOUBTFUI, CARD 



and ace, queen of clubs. Z deals; 
diamonds are trumps, and A leads: 



M 
u 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 


A 2 

2 

5 


A J 

J 
J A 
A K 

KO 
<3? J 


3 


AQ 

QO 


4-0 
7 A 

6 


2 A 
A A 

AO 


A 3 

7 
90 


8 

^ 7 


(? A 





A then brings in his clubs, Y and 
Z playing any cards they please, 
and B retains his long trump until 
the thirteenth trick. Proctor adds: 
"It is obvious that Y and Z are 
powerless. If Z leads diamond ace 
at trick three, the order of tricks 
three, four, and five is simply 
changed, but the result is the same. 

Second Solution. — Clubs are 
trumps. A holds ten, six, five, four 
of clubs; ten, nine, eight, seven, 
six, five, four, three, two of dia- 
monds; no hearts or spades. B 
holds nine, eight, seven, three, two 
of clubs; ten, nine, eight, seven, 
six, five, four, three of hearts; no 
diamonds or spades. Y holds ace, 
king of clubs; queen, jack of hearts; 
ace, queen of diamonds; king, jack, 
ten, nine, eight, six, five of spades. 
Z holds the queen, jack of clubs; 
ace, king, two of hearts; ace, queen, 
seven, four, three, two of spades; 
and king, jack of diamonds. Z 
deals, and A leads as follows: 



(J 
'u 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 
4. 
5 


2 
A4. 
A 6 


QO 
A K 


A 2 


J 
A J 
^ 2 

KO 
AQ 


A 3 

^ 3 
A 7 
A8 


"0 J 

AO 
A A 


30 
A 5 





Whether Y leads a heart or 
spade, A is bound to bring in his 
diamonds. Beginning with trick 
three. Proctor also gives the fol- 
lowing alternative play : 



o 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


3 
4. 
5 
6 
7 


30 
A 5 
A 6 

4.0 
AlO 


6 A 
A A 


A 7 


2 A 
AQ 

3 A 

KO 
^ 2 


A 8 
^ 3 
A 9 


8 A 
AO 
<? J 


^ 4 





It does not matter, at trick five, 
what Y plays. 

Double Echo. — An echo which 
indicates more than four trumps in 
the hand of the player making it. 
It is made by echoing twice after 
partner's signal for trumps or lead 
of trumps. ( See, also, ' ' Four Sig- 
nal.") 

Commence a trump signal or echo in 
every suit until completed in one, but do 
not begin a second signal or echo, if one 
■was completed, unless to show great 
strength. This is called a double signal, 
or double echo. — Kate Wheelock \L. A.I, 
" Whist Rules.'" 



Doubleton. 

card suit. 



-An original two- 



Having no ace or king, I lead a single- 
ton or doubleton for a ruff. — R. F. Foster 
\S. a], "Complete Hoyle:' 

Doubtful Card. — A card led by 
the opponent on your right which 
your partner may or may not be 
able to take. It may have been led 
from strength or weakness. It is 
well to take it, second hand, unless 
there be a good reason for passing 
it. (See, also, ' ' Doubtful Trick. ") 

Passing a doubtful card is not a call for 
trumps, but it implies either four trumps 
or three good ones that had best not be 
broken, and is a direct intimation to part- 
ner to lead them, if he has any assist- 
ance. — C. D. P. Hamilton \L. A^. 



COUBTFUIy TRICK 



122 DRAYSON, ALFRED W. 



Doubtful Trick. — A trick whicli 
your partner may or may not be 
able to take; a trick in which the 
card first led is a doubtful one, and 
you, having none of the suit, second 
hand, must decide whether to 
trump or discard. This depends 
upon the trump strength or weak- 
ness in 3'our hand. If strong {i.e., 
possessing at least four), you pass 
the trick, and thereby convey in- 
formation to your partner which 
may cause him to lead trumps at 
the first opportunity. 

Passing doubtful tricks is usually con- 
sidered an indication of at least four 
trumps.—^. F. Foster [S. C], "Whist 
Strategy.^'' 

If you are weak in trumps they are 
only good for trumping, and you may use 
them unhesitatingly for that purpose. 
But if you are numerically strong in 
trumps, they are so valuable that you 
ought not to waste any on the chance of 
its being an unnecessar5' sacrifice; in this 
case, too, your discard from a plain suit 
may be advantageous to you hereafter, 
and may give valuable information to 
your partner: — William Pole \L. .(4+], 
Philosophy of Whist.'''' 

Doubt, In. — An uncomfortable 
frame of mind in which a player 
sometimes finds himself when he 
has not paid strict attention to the 
game, or when for some other 
reason he does not remember the 
fall of the cards. Hoyle's advice 
is: " When in doubt, win the 
trick." 

Draw of Cards. — Players draw 
their cards from the centre of the 
table, and place them in front of 
themselves, to indicate how they 
were played, if for any reason this 
becomes necessary and is demanded 
during the play of a round or trick. 

It is not allowed to draw your cards for 
your partner, unless he request it. The 
cause of this prohibition is evident; here 
is the boundary within which intimations 
are confined. — Deschapelles [O.], '■'Laws." 

Any one during the play of a trick, and 
before the cards have been touched for 



the purpose of gathering them together, 
may demand that the players draw their 
cards. — Laws of Whist [American Code), 
Section 34. 

Any one during the play of a trick, or 
after the four cards are played, and be- 
fore, but not after, they are touched for 
the purpose of gathering them together, 
m.ay demand that the cards be placed be- 
fore their respective players.— Zaze/j of 
Whist {English Code), Section 8$. 

Each person in playing ought to lay his 
card before him; after he has done so, if 
either of the adverse parties mix their 
cards with his, his partner is entitled to 
demand each person to lay his card before 
him; but not to inquire who played any 
particular card. — Edmond Hoyle [O.]. 

Any player,before the cards are touched 
for the purpose of being gathered, can 
require each player's card to be named or 
placed before them. In former times, it 
IS supposed that each player put his card 
in frontjOf him instead of throwing them, 
as we do now, in the middle of the table. 
—Charles Mossop \L-\-0.'\, Westminster 
Papers, April i, iS^g. 

Drayson, Alfred Wilkes. — 

Among the many eminent men 
who have brought genius and 
scholarship to bear upon the eluci- 
dation of whist, and who have 
helped to make the game a delight- 
ful study. General Drayson must 
ever be held in high and honored 
remembrance. He was born at 
Waltham Abbey, Essex, England, 
April 17, 1827, and now lives in 
quiet retirement at Southsea. 

General Drayson 's life has been 
an eventful one. His education 
was obtained in part at the Roches- 
ter Grammar School, to which he 
was sent at the age of eleven. After 
two years he was obliged to discon- 
tinue his attendance owing to a se- 
vere attack of scarlet fever. He 
was then taken in charge by an 
elder brother, a civil engineer, and 
with him he went on surveying ex- 
peditions, which afforded healthful 
outdoor exercise, returning strength 
and useful knowledge. After this 
we find him taking a three-years' 
course as a cadet at the Royal Mili- 
tary Academy, Woolwich, where, 



DRAYSON, AIvFRED W. 1 23 DRAYSON, ALFRED W. 



on his examination, he duly passed, 
receiving a commission in the Royal 
Artillery. Shortly afterward he was 
ordered to Africa, where he arrived 
just in time to participate in a 
Kafl&r war. He served ten months 
on the frontier, and saw much rough 
service. He was then ordered to 
the new colony of Natal, where he 
lived three years with the Zulus 
and Natal Kaffirs, and gained those 
experiences which enabled him to 
write several interesting and suc- 
cessful books about South Africa. 

Upon the young soldier's return to 
England he was promoted to a cap- 
taincy, and made adjutant at Wool- 
wich. He was next appointed 
instructor in surveying and practi- 
cal astronomy at the Royal Military 
Academy, and soon after became 
professor at the same institution. 
In addition he took charge of the 
Royal Artillery Observatory, and 
instructed the officers in the various 
branches of astronomy. He vi'as 
twice re-appointed, and served fif- 
teen years in these positions. 

In 1876 he served in India^ as 
president of two committees for 
the improvement and re-armament 
of the various forts in Bengal, and 
for his valuable services he received 
the thanks of the government. 
Upon his return home he was 
placed in command of the Royal 
Artillery in British North America, 
with headquarters at Halifax, Nova 
Scotia, where he resided nearly five 
years. In 1882 he retired on a pen- 
sion, with the rank of major-gen- 
eral, after thirty-eight years of 
service. 

General Drayson's books, other 
than those on whist, are: "Sport- 
ing Scenes Among the Kaffres," 
which was published in 1858 and 
passed through several editions; 
"Tales at the Outspan," "Among 
the Zulus," "TheWoolwich Cadet," 
" Experiences of a Woolwich Pro- 



fessor," "From Keeper to Cap- 
tain," "The Diamond Hunters," 
" The White Chief of the Umzim- 
vubu," etc. Among his scientific 
works are: " Practical Military Sur- 
veying," for many years a text-book 
in military colleges; "Common 
Sights in the Heavens," "The 
Cause of the Glacial Epoch," "Un- 
trodden Ground in Astronomy," 
etc. He has also been a frequent 
contributor to the magazines and 
scientific journals. His discovery 
of the second rotation of the earth, 
and the true cause of the ice age, 
was received with incredulity 
twenty-five years ago, but Ameri- 
can scientists first admitted its 
correctness, and to-day General 
Drayson's position is vindicated. 

We think we have said enough 
to show that he was by his training, 
intellect, and achievements superb- 
ly equipped for the study and im- 
provement of whist, a science in 
which he is universally admitted to 
be one of the masters. When men 
of his calibre and attainments seri- 
ously devote themselves to its ad- 
vancement, lovers of the game may 
well rejoice. He began his whist 
studies when a child of six years. 
His father, a good, old-fashioned 
whist-player, considered that whist 
was a good training for the intel- 
lect, and frequently indulged the 
lad with a game of double-dummy 
as a treat. This early exercise in- 
duced a love for the game, and dur- 
ing his long residence at Woolwich 
whist of an afternoon was a fre- 
quent attraction at the Royal Artil- 
lery mess. When in India his 
proficiency as a player soon became 
known, and he was asked to write 
some articles on whist for the 
Pioneer. This led to the produc- 
tion of his splendid book, "The 
Art of Practical Whist," which in 
1897 had passed through five edi- 
tions, and which contains, among 



DRAYSON, ALI'RBD W. 1 24 DRAYSON, AI^FRED W. 



other original suggestions, the pro- 
posed lead of the antepenultimate 
from suits of six, supplementing 
"Cavendish's" penultimate lead 
from five. General Drayson's im- 
provement found favor in the Uni- 
ted States, where N. B. Trist, in 
collaboration with "Cavendish," 
subsequently rounded out the idea 
by the establishment of the fourth - 
best principle, counting from the 
top of the suit down, instead of 
from the bottom, and showing be- 
sides number in suit also the pos- 
session of exactly three cards 
higher than the one led. 

The "Art of Practical Whist" 
■was published in 1879, ^.nd con- 
tained the first announcement of 
the antepenultimate lead. In the 
second edition General Dra}'son 
added some interesting suggestions 
on the subject of drawing the last 
trump. In an appendix to the 
third edition he announced and 
discussed his well-known develop- 
ment of the ask for trumps, which 
he named the ' ' change the suit ' ' 
signal {q. v.). In the appendix to 
the fourth edition, published in 
1885, he added a number of sug- 
gestions for the simplification of 
the discard, and also a very clever 
and humorous description of 
twenty-six types of whist-players. 
In the fifth edition ( 1886), he pays 
attention also to the American 
leads, which, he personally assures 
US, he considers good in most 
cases. He is an advocate of the 
original lead from long suits, as a 
rule, but says there are exceptions. 
He adopts no cast-iron rules for 
leads, but is guided by the score, 
and by his partner's and adver- 
saries' skill and perception. 

Of the "Art of Practical Whist " 
it has been well said: " It is a safe 
guide to the beginner, and an in- 
structive companion and sagacious 
counselor to the more expert. It 



is the science of common sense." 
His next work, ' ' Whist Laws and 
Whist Decisions, " appeared in 1896, 
and is admirably adapted for the 
inculcation of an accurate under- 
standing of the laws of the game, 
and their proper construction and 
application. 

General Drayson was elected an 
honorary member of the American 
Whist League, at its second con- 
gress, in 1892, and although he has 
not been able to attend any of the 
annual gatherings, he takes a warm 
and sympathetic interest in the 
League and American whist in gen- 
eral, as witness the following ex- 
tract from a letter written by him 
to R. H. Weems, corresponding 
secretary of the organization, under 
date of May 25, 1896: "I am 
much gratified to know that sys- 
tems of play which I adopted 
twenty-five years ago, and which 
fell flat in England, except among 
personal friends, have in America 
been lately appreciated. It seems 
to me that in England, when any 
novelty is brought forward, people 
ask, ' Who has brought this for- 
ward ?' If the ' who ' is not an ad- 
mitted authority, the novelty is 
ignored. In America it is asked, 
' What is the novelty ?' and it is ex- 
amined, and, if found to be sound, 
is adopted. It is progress versus 
stick-in-the-mud. I can assure you 
it is a very great disappointment to 
me to feel that in spite of all your 
kind suggestions, I dare not ven- 
ture on a trip to Brooklyn. Rough 
service in South Africa and in India 
have taken a great deal out of me; 
thus having passed three-score 
years and ten, I am obliged to be 
careful. Any disturbance of my 
usual quiet habits sets me wrong. " 

General Drayson has played 
whist for more than sixty years, in 
England, France, Spain, South 
Africa, India, and Canada. It will 



DRIVB WHIST 



125 



BUFFER 



always be a regret to American 
players that lie could not have 
added to his record the United 
States. 

D rive Wh ist. — A method by which 
straight whist is played at social 
parties by a large number of per- 
sons, somewhat after the manner 
of progressive euchre. As many 
tables as possible are j&lled by the 
players, who select their partners 
for the first hand, unless the hostess 
prefers to do so by some other 
means, such as drawing lots. A 
stated number of hands are played, 
or a time is set for play to cease. 
The cards are shufiied and cut for 
every hand, which constitutes a 
game. Both winners and losers 
score all the tricks which they take, 
the hands being played out. The 
winners at each table drive the 
losers to another table. In some 
cases, partners play with each other 
during the entire evening; in other 
cases, the arrangement is preferred 
whereby partners change at the 
end of each hand. Prizes are 
given to the lady and gentleman 
making the highest score during 
the evening. Refreshments also 
form a feature of the evening's 
entertainment. 

Whist parties where "drive" whist is 
played, are apt to be " bumblepuppy " 
parties instead, for when a lot of women 
meet as guests of another woman, there 
are sure to be some who only play for 
fun, and who seem to think that that pre- 
cludes any knowledge of systematic play, 
and the great necessity of whist, silent 
attention. The volume of talk that comes 
from a whist-party would (generally) put 
to shame a fair or a sewing society. But 
for the present it is a society fad, and un- 
til society drops that and takes up some- 
thing else, whist-lovers suffer and wait 
with what patience they may, — Harriet 
Allen Andersoti [L. A.], Home Maga- 
zine, 1895. 

Duffer. — A player who is all at 
sea concerning the principles of 
the game which he is attempting, 



but who thinks he knows if" all; a 
bumblepuppist {q. v.). "Caven- 
dish" has formulated the follow- 
ing amusing satire, which he calls 
"The Duffer's Whist Maxims " : 

1. Do not confuse your mind by 
reading a parcel of books. Surely, 
you've a right to play your own 
game, if you like. Who are the 
people that wrote these books? 
What business have they to set up 
their views as superior to yours? 
Many of these writers lay down 
this rule: " Lead originally from 
your strongest suit;" don't you 
do it, unless it suits your hand. 
It may be good in some hands, 
but it doesn't follow that it should 
be in all. Lead a single card 
sometimes, or, at any rate, from 
your weakest suit, so as to make 
your little trumps when the suit 
is returned. By following this 
course in leads you will, nine 
times out of ten, ruin both your 
own and your partner's hands; 
but the tenth time you will per- 
haps make several little trumps, 
which would have been useless 
otherwise. In addition to this, if 
sometimes you lead from your 
strongest suit, and sometimes from 
your weakest, it puzzles the adver- 
saries, and they never can tell what 
you have led from. 

2, Seldom return your partner's 
lead; you have as many cards in 
your hands as he has; it is a free 
country, and why should j'ou sub- 
mit to his dictation? Play the suit 
you deem best, without regard to 
any preconceived theories. 

It is an excellent plan to lead out 
first one suitand then another. This 
mode of play is extremely perplex- 
ing to the whole table. If you 
have a fancy for books, you will 
find this system approved by "J. 
C." He says: " You mystify' alike 
your adversaries and your partner, 
you turn the game upside down, 



DUFFBR 



126 



DUFFER 



reduce it to one of chance, and, in 
the scramble, may have as good a 
chance as your neighbors." 

3. Especially do not return your 
partner's lead in trumps, for not 
doing so now and then turns out to 
be advantageous. Who knows but 
you may make a trump by holding 
it up, which you certainly cannot 
do if your trumps are all out. 
Never mind the fact that you will 
generally lose tricks by refusing to 
play your partner's game. 

Whenever you succeed in making 
a trump by your refusal, be sure to 
point out to your partner how for- 
tunate it was that you played as 
you did. 

Perhaps your partner is a much 
better player than you, and he may 
on some former occasion, with an 
exceptional hand, have declined to 
return your lead of trumps. Make 
a note of this. Remind him of it 
if he complains of your neglecting 
to return his lead. It is an unan- 
swerable argument. 

4. There are a lot of rules — to 
which, however, you need pay no 
attention — about leading from se- 
quences. What can it matter which 
card of a sequence you lead ? The 
sequence cards are all of the same 
value, and one of them is as likely 
to win the trick as another. Be- 
sides, if you look at the books, 
you'll find the writers don't even 
know their own minds. They ad- 
vise in some cases that you should 
lead the highest, in others the low- 
est, of the sequence; and in leading 
from ace, king, queen, they actually 
recommend you to begin with the 
middle card. Any person of com- 
mon sense must infer from this 
that it don't matter which card of 
a sequence you lead. 

5. There are also a number of 
rules about the play of the second, 
third, and fourth hands, but they 
are quite unworthy serious consid- 



eration. The exceptions are almost 
as numerous as the rules, so if you 
play by no rule at all you are about 
as likely to be right as wrong. 

6. Before leading trumps, always 
first get rid of all the winning cards 
in your plain suit. You will not 
then be bothered by the lead after 
trumps are out, and you thus shift 
all the responsibility of mistakes 
on your partner. But if your part- 
ner has led a suit, be careful when 
you lead trumps to keep in your 
hand the best card of his lead. By 
this means, if he goes on with his 
suit, you are more likely to get the 
lead after trumps are out, which, 
the books say, is a great advantage. 

7. Take every opportunity of 
playing false cards, both high and 
low. For by deceiving all round, 
you will now and then win an extra 
trick. It is often said, " Oh, but 
you deceive your partner." That 
is very true. But, then, as you 
have two adversaries and only one 
partner, it is obvious that by run- 
ning dark you play two to one in 
your own favor. Besides this, it is 
very gratifying, when your trick 
succeeds,to have taken in your oppo- 
nents, and to have won the applause 
of an ignorant gallery. If you 
play in a commonplace way, even 
your partner scarcely thanks you. 
Anybody could have done the 
same. 

8. Whatever you do, never attend 
to the score, and don't watch the 
fall of the cards. There is no 
earthly reason for doing either of 
these. As for the score, your ob- 
ject is to make as many as you 
can. The game is five, but if you 
play to the score six or seven, small 
blame to you. Never mind running 
the risk of not getting another 
chance of making even five. Keep 
as many pictures and winning cards 
as you can in your hand. They are 
pretty to look at, and if you remain 



DUGGAN, GEORGB E. 1 27 DUKE OF CUMBERLAND 



■with the best of each suit you ef- 
fectually prevent the adversaries 
from bringiug in a lot of small 
cards at the end of the hand. As 
to the fall of the cards, it is quite 
clear that it is of no use to watch 
them, for if everybody at the table 
is trying to deceive you, in accord- 
ance with maxim 7, the less you 
notice the cards they play the less 
you will be taken in. 

9. Whenever you have ruined 
your hand and your partner's by 
playing in the way here recom- 
mended, you should always say 
that it " made no difference." 

It sometimes happens that it has 
made no difference, and then your 
excuse is clearly valid. And it will 
often happen that your partner does 
not care to argue the point with 
you, in which case your remark 
will make it clear to everybody 
that you have a profound insight 
into the game. If, however, your 
partner chooses to be disagreeable, 
and succeeds in proving you to be 
utterly ignorant of the first ele- 
ments of whist, stick to it that you 
played right, that good play will 
sometimes turn out unfortunately, 
and accuse your partner of judging 
by results. This will generally 
silence him. 

10. Invariably blow up your part- 
ner at the end of every hand. It is 
not only a most gentlemanlike em- 
ployment of spare time, but it gains 
you the reputation of being a first- 
rate player. 

Duggan, George E. — An emi- 
nently successful teacher of whist, 
born in Hamilton, Ontario, Can- 
ada, in 1845. He played whist as a 
boy of eighteen, and in social circles 
was for many years considered a 
good player. In 1882, however, he 
began to seriously study the game, 
and in 1890 began his work as an 
instructor, in New York City. He 



went to Chicago during the World's 
Fair, and liked the city so well that 
he remained permanently. Many 
of the best whisters have been since 
numbered among his pupils there, 
both men and women. " I am sat- 
isfied," he says, " from a long and 
varied personal experience, and a 
study of the various systems that 
have of late sprung up like mush- 
rooms (some points in each, like an 
extra course at dinner, being occa- 
sionally desirable), that there is 
only one system for regular daily 
diet, that of the ' master,' ' Caven- 
dish.* So I teach it, with the oc- 
casional other pointers, as oppor- 
tunity presents. ' ' 

Duke of Cumberland's Famous 
Hand. — One of the most widely 
quoted and astonishing hands at 
whist is the famous Duke of Cum- 
berland hand. Proctor uses it as 
a frontispiece to his book, ' ' How 
to Play Whist," and quotes from 
The Kaleidoscope (evidently a jour- 
nal published in England) a state- 
ment to the effect that the hand 
"was dealt to the Duke of Cum- 
berland, as he was playing whist at 
the rooms at Bath, ' ' a great resort 
in its day for whist-players who 
played for heavy stakes. "Port- 
land," in his volume of whist lore, 
entitled "The Whist Table," gives 
the hand as a striking example of 
how " good cards " may be "beaten 
by sheer bad luck. " It is a veritable 
whist curiosity, but despite the gen- 
eral acceptance of the story con- 
nected with it, we seriously doubt 
whether the cards were dealt in 
actual play. We believe, with 
Fisher Ames, that while the bet 
may have been made, and the 
money lost, the hand itself was 
prepared beforehand. This does 
not detract from its interest, how- 
ever, as a whist puzzle. The duke, 
it is said, lost ^^20,000 on the play. 



DUKB OF CUMBERI.AND 128 



DUMMY 



The following diagram will show 
the play of the hand in detail. A 
is the hand played by the duke. 
The underscored card wins the 
trick, and the card under it is the 
next one led : 



i 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
lO 
11 
12 
13 


« 7 
KO 

* 9 
AO 

* J 
X K 
^ J 
«? Q 

Q* 
^ K 

K4k 
C? A 

A ♦ 


« 8 


<^ Q 
J 

6 4 

QO 

<^ 7 

7 tS 

^ 8 

8 t^ 
^ 9 

9 « 

<^io 

lO* 

J ♦ 


* 2 

* 3 


3 

«>io 


* 4 

* 5 


2 
*Q 


* 6 

2 4 

(? 2 

3 « 
^ 3 

4 « 

<:? 4 

5 4|k 

«:? 5 


A A 


loo 


9 


8 


7 


6 
5 


4-0 









Score : A-B, o; Y-Z, 13. 

Dr. Pole gives the hand (although 
with a different suit for trumps, 
etc.) in his "Theory of "Whist," as 
an example " to show how singu- 
larly, under extreme circumstances, 
the bringing in of a long suit may 
annihilate the most magnificent of 
cards," and adds: " The hand is a 
very remarkable whist curiosity." 
Of the opening lead he says: 
" There can be no doubt about this 
being the proper lead." Of Z's 
lead on the third round he has this 
to say: "The propriety of this lead 
is often questioned, but it is de- 
fended by the impolicy of leading 
either of the extremely weak plain 
suits, and by the lead of trumps 
being up to a renouncing hand, 
and therefore the most favorable 
possible. Also, by giving Y the lead 



again, it enables him to continue 
the diamond, for Z to make his 
small trumps upon." 

The hand was probably made up, and 
one hand given to the duke, and on his 
being asked what he would lead from it, 
and replying that he should lead trumps, 
he was offered a heavy bet that he could 
not make a trick if he did so; and having 
accepted the wager, he lost accordingly. 
Some such story is probably connected 
with it, as the hand is so evidently a 
manufactured one. — Fisher Ames \L. A.], 
Whist, May, 1893. 

.. Dummy. — Dummy is whist 
played by three players, one of 
whom has for partner an exposed 
hand known as the dummy. There 
are several varieties of dummy, 
chief among which may be men- 
tioned the English game for three 
players; the French game, known 
as " wor/ " {q. v.), for three or 
four players; and the recently im- , 
ported game of " bridge " {q. v.).^ 
Ordinary, or English, dummy is 
governed by the same laws as whist, 
with the following exceptions: 

1. Dummy deals at the com- 
mencement of each rubber. 

2. Dummy is not liable for the 
penalty of a revoke, as his ad- 
versaries see his hand; should he 
revoke, and the error not be discov- 
ered until the trick is turned and 
quitted, it stands good (and the 
hand proceeds as though the revoke 
had not been discovered). It 
should be remembered, however, 
that it is dummy's hand alone 
which is exempt from the penalty 
of the revoke. If this partner re- 
vokes, he is liable to the usual 
penalties. 

3. Dummy being blind and deaf, 
his partner is not liable to any 
penalty for an error whence he can 
gain no advantage. Thus, he may 
expose some or all of his cards, or 
may declare that he has the game, 
or trick, etc., without incurring 
any penalty; if, however, he lead 



DUMMY 



129 



DUPIylCATE WHIST 



from dummy's hand when he 
should lead from his own, or vice 
versa, a suit may be called from 
the hand which ought to have led. 

There can be no doubt that 
dummy has been most popular in 
France, in its French form. Des- 
chapelles says that in playing the 
game decisive strokes are in favor 
of the defense (i. e., dummy) in 
the first rounds, after which the 
advantage gradually leans to the 
assailants. He therefore recom- 
mends that the defender should 
act with energy in the commence- 
ment, having little or nothing to 
hope for when the play assumes its 
regular course. 

It is sometimes agreed that each 
player shall take his turn in play- 
ing with the dummy, a change 
being made at the end of each 
game. This is especially well 
adapted to the American game of 
seven points, honors not counting. 
Others play three rubbers, or a 
tournie, each player having dum- 
my for a partner during one rub- 
ber. Others again agree that one 
player shall play with dummy con- 
tinuously throughout the sitting, 
in which case it is usual for him to 
allow his adversaries one point per 
rubber for the advantage of play- 
ing with the exposed hand, which 
enables dummy's partner to ascer- 
tain the cards held collectively by 
the two adversaries. 

Dummv is not considered the same 
thing as whist.— ^4 . IV. Dray son [L+A +] , 
^^ Whist Laws and IVJiist Decisions.^'' 

Frenchmen do not play whist. When 
they plav what they call whist, it is nearly 
always dummy. Four form a table and 
one sits out. — ^'Cavendish" [X. >i.], Letter 
to Foster, zSg2. 

Dummy's partner can play his cards as 
irregulafiy as he pleases, with no fear of 
deceiving dummy, and this is a great ad- 
vantage in itself, but it is about offset by 
the advantage afforded the adversaries for 
shaping their play with regard to dum- 
my's weakness. — Cassius M. Paine \L. 
Ai\, JVhist, November, i8gz. 



It is much played in France under the 
name of " le mort,'" and in Germany un- 
der the name of " der Blinde"' [the 
blind] ; in fact, in the latter country, more 
especially in private society, it is prefer- 
red to whist; and it is no uncommon 
thing to find a fourth player cutting in in 
his turn, one of the players at the table, 
of course, being cut out for the time. — 
Frederick H. Lewis [C], The Field, Febru- 
ary 15, iSyg. 

This [dummy whist] as played in Eng- 
land is to me a dull game, especially so 
to dummy's opponents. The game is 
frequently over, and the cards thrown 
down, before the hand is half played out; 
and as the player with the dummy can- 
not deceive his partner, it is his interest 
always to play false cards, whereby the 
ordinary calculations of whist become of 
little use.— James Clay [L. 0+] , ' ' Treatise 
on the Gatne." 

Writers on whist pay little or no atten- 
tion to dummy. The English authors 
mention it only in connection with laws 
and decisions. No American text-book 
makes any allusion to the game, and 
there is no reference to it in the American 
Whist League's code of laws. Neverthe- 
less, it is believed by many that the day 
is not far distant when dummy will super- 
sede all other varieties of whist among 
the most expert players. — R. F. Foster 
\S. 0\^^ Complete Hoyle," 1897. 

The advantage or disadvantage of play- 
ing with a dummy depends largely upon 
the cards in the exposed hand and the 
relative positions of the other cards. We 
think, however, that it is quite generally 
considered to be an advantage to play 
with the dummy; in fact, so great an ad- 
vantage that when stakes are played for 
the players rotate regularly in taking 
the dummy. The advantage lies in the 
fact that the dummy's partner knows 
absolutely every card held by his side, 
and in the majority of cases he will be 
able to use the information to the fullest 
advantage. * * * If there is any time 
when the adversaries have an advantage 
it is when dummy's hand is very weak, 
for they then know that they have only 
one opponent to contend with, and 
keep leading up to the weak hand at 
every opportunity. — Whist [L. A.]. 

Dummy '•Bridge." — See, 
"Bridge." 

Duplicate Play. — See, "Over- 
play." 

Duplicate Whist. — Duplicate 
whist is ordinary whist, with this 
exception: The hands are kept sep- 
arate as played, and are then played 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



130 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



again, each side in the overplay 
receiving the hands previously 
held by their opponents. The idea 
is to place all the players on an 
equality, so far as the distribution 
of the cards is concerned, the ele- 
ment of chance being eliminated 
as far as possible, and the element 
of skill correspondingly increased. 
It now becomes a contest to see 
which side can make the most 
tricks out of the same hands, the 
losses or gains made by each being 
indicated on a score card or sheet 
provided for that purpose. 

A separate pack of cards is used 
for each hand played, and each 
player's cards are kept apart by 
means of trays. At first, envelopes 
were used for this purpose, but 
this method was crude and unsatis- 
factory. Since then many different 
devices have been invented and 
put upon the market (see, "Tray, 
Whist"), but the one based upon 
the fundamental and controlling 
patent is known as the Kalamazoo 
whist tray. The object of the 
whist tray is to keep each player's 
hand separate for the duplicate or 
overplay; to indicate the hands 
which each player at a table shall 
have in the overplay, and to show 
who is the leader, each hand. 

The tray is each time placed in 
the centre of the table, with the 
side marked by two stars, or some 
other device, turned toward some 
particular player, say, north. In 
this position an index hand in the 
centre of the tray points to the 
player who is to lead, the preceding 
player being, of course, the dealer. 
Care is taken to give each player 
the same number of deals or leads, 
by varying the direction in which 
the hand points on the various 
trays belonging to each set. 

There are two methods of keep- 
ing count of the tricks won by each 
side during the play of a hand. 



One is by means of thirteen chips 
or checks, which are placed upon 
or next to the tray, one chip being 
taken for each trick won by the 
side winning it. This method of 
keeping count is not as satisfactory, 
in our estimation, as the following, 
originally used by James Allison 
{q. v.), in his improvement of the 
game: Each player places in a 
horizontal position before him his 
cards in all tricks won by himself 
and partner, and places crosswise 
the cards belonging to those tricks 
which are won b}' the adversaries. 
The cards are made to slightly 
overlap each other, after the usual 
manner. When all four players 
thus keep the count, which is soon 
learned and practiced without ef- 
fort, they act as a check upon each 
other, and errors, should such be 
made by any player, are easily rec- 
tified. 

According to the laws of the 
game, the trump is turned for every 
original deal, as in straight whist. 
For the overplay the trump in each 
hand is the same as it was in the 
original, and a low card of the 
trump suit is generally placed face 
up in the dealer's hand. Many 
players, however, prefer to declare 
one suit trump for the evening 
(see, "Declared Trump"), and 
some have even gone so far as to 
advocate a permanent trump suit, 
which undoubtedly would simplify 
the play by removing an annoy- 
ance frequently inflicted upon 
others by players who have short 
memories. The declared trump is 
permitted under the laws for 
mnemonic, or single-table, dupli- 
cate, but in other forms of dupli- 
cate the American Whist League 
favors the turning of trump each 
deal. 

After the cards have been dealt, 
the first player places the card he 
wishes to lead before him, face up- 



DUPI.ICATB WHIST 



131 



DUPIylCATK WHIST 



ward, usually toward the centre of 
the table, next to the tray. On 
completion of the round (the others 
having played likewise), he takes 
his card and places it face down- 
ward, and nearer to himself, on the 
edge of the table. After the entire 
deal has been played, and the re- 
sults have been scored, each player 
takes up his cards, shuffles them 
slightly and then slips them, face 
down, into his side of the tray, un- 
der the rubber band or aperture 
provided for the purpose. The tray 
is then laid aside and another is 
placed on the table, with the stars 
pointing the same as before. The 
hand pointing to the leader shows 
which player is to deal this time, 
and the latter takes another deck 
of cards and distributes them as in 
ordinary whist. The cards are then 
played and put away, as previously; 
and thus any desired number of 
hands are played, and placed in 
as many trays. Each tray is num- 
bered on the imder side, for con- 
venience in keeping the score, 
and in comparing corresponding 
results of the original and dupli- 
cate play. 

Any number of tables that can be 
accommodated may play duplicate 
whist, the trays being passed from 
table to table, and played by each 
in turn; or both players and trays 
may be made to go from table to 
table, sometimes in opposite direc- 
tions. Many ingenious systems of 
moving have been devised for this 
purpose. (See, " Duplicate Whist 
Schedules.") When only one table 
is played it is known as single-table 
or mnemonic duplicate iq. v.), in 
which each pair replays the hands 
previously played by the other 
side. This is the simplest and 
most obvious form of the game, but 
so great is the chance of remember- 
ing particular hands (even though 
the trays are mixed for the over- 



play, and the overplay itself post- 
poned for a time), that many good 
players refuse to play it, and in 
some clubs it is entirely prohibited. 
John T. Mitchell endorses the re- 
mark of the late George W. Pettes, 
that it is not duplicate whist, but 
whist in duplicate; just as " Caven- 
dish ' ' and Drayson declare that 
dummy is not whist. 

All whist matches in this country 
are now decided by duplicate play. 
The oldest form of such contests is, 
no doubt, that of team against 
team. Four players are usually 
selected to represent a club, and 
they play against a similar number 
or team from another club. It is 
also customary to form teams of 
this kind in clubs, under respective 
captains. Other contests at dupli- 
cate are: club against club, pair 
against pair, and individual 
matches. 

In private, duplicate whist is also 
largely played at parties, where the 
host or hostess usually performs the 
duty of passing and caring for the 
trays, or looking after the players, 
to see that they move correctly 
from table to table. Prizes are 
usually awarded at such gatherings 
to the couple making the highest 
score. Refreshments are generally 
served after the play of the original 
hands, the duplicate play following 
after the intermission. (See, also, 
"Duplicate Whist, History of," 
"L/aws of," etc.) 

The object of duplicate whist is to sup- 
plement the general game of whist by 
distributing equal strength in cards to 
each side engaged iu play.— Casstus M. 
Paine [L. A.], PV/tist, October, i8gz. 

Duplicate whist, as ordinarily played, 
greatly reduces, but does not entirely 
eliminate, the element of luck. In pairs 
and teams, the chance of cutting in with 
good or poor partners, or against good or 
poor opponents, is ever present. As the 
strength of a chain is its weakest link, so 
the strength of any pair or team is the 
play of its weakest member, and the 



DUPI/ICATB WHIST 



132 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



score of any game cannot be a fair test of 
the skill of all the players. — C. E. Coffin 
[L.A.]. 

We read with pride that the most in- 
tense interest in the game, and especially 
in the American game of whist, the du- 
plicate system — which every year elimi- 
nates more and more the luck of hands, 
and reduces it more and more to a sci- 
ence — is extending to the remotest 
regions of our country, even into the 
mining camps, where once other games 
were the favorite; in the loggers' camps, 
"where rolls the Oregon;" and on the 
Sierra Nevadas, and into far-off Alaska, 
as far westward of San Francisco as the 
latter is of Boston.— G. W. Morse [L. A.}, 
Speech at Seventh Congress of the A. IV. L., 
1897. 

Every whist-player knows that when 
the high cards are against him it is im- 
possible for him to take a majority of the 
tricks; and while there may be some- 
thing in keeping down the majority of 
his opponents, it is nothing compared 
with the certainty that before the close 
of the game the chances will be evened up, 
and both sides given the same oppor- 
tunities. This certainty adds zest to the 
contest, and makes every player bend all 
his energies to the game, knowing full 
well that if he lets opportunities slip there 
is no way to recover them; for there is 
practically no luck in duplicate whist, and 
therefore no going behind the returns. — 
John T. Mitchell [L. A.], ''Duplicate 
Whist:' 

So far as is possible, all influence of 
luck is eliminated. It is impossible, how- 
ever, to take out this element entirely, 
and luck or chance has much to do with 
the result of a:ny one match, or series of 
a few matches, at duplicate whist. The 
way the lead happens to come, the success 
or failure of a finesse, whether justifiable 
or not, the choice of one suit rather than 
another equally good to open, and other 
plays which are good in principle and 
judgment, may result in great differences 
in the result. A case came to the author's 
knowledge where the selection of one suit 
instead of another of equal or slightly 
higher value resulted in a gain of four 
tricks, the other suit being led on the 
overplay. — Fisher Ames \L. Ai\. 

I am often asked, " Does rejoiti (dupli- 
cate whist) entirely eliminate luck ? " and 
I must saj' that it does not. I am confi- 
dent that in a series of matches, or sit- 
tings, the best player will come out ahead 
in the end; but I should be very sorry to 
guarantee his winning every time he sat 
down to play, even under absolutely 
equal conditions as to partners and ad- 
versaries. The cards may not favor his 
style of game, however good it may be on 
general principles. I once played twelve 



hands up and back at the club, and held 
what I thought very good cards; but 
somehow my partner had nothing to sup- 
port me, * * * and hand after hand 
was butchered. When the hands were 
played at the other table, the same fate 
might be supposed to await them; but the 
players at the other table did not believe 
in long suits, and never led trumps unless 
in doubt. The cards just suited a ruffing 
game, and I lost eleven points on the 
series. * * * You may have a bad part- 
ner for a particular hand, while the 
player to whom you are opposed— that is, 
the one with whom you are compared — 
has a very good one. Of course, you will 
have the good and he the bad one after a 
while, but the bad one may be with you 
when you have a critical hand, in which 
some little detail of finesse or of unblock- 
ing may make a difference of three or 
four tricks; whereas, when you get the 
good partner, the hand he plays with you 
may not be capable of the difference of 
more than one trick, however badly 
played. * * * i have seen a bad part- 
ner's neglect to play ace on ten led, when 
holding only ace and queen, to make a 
difference of^ five tricks. * * * One of 
the three players left in on the final round 
for the diamond medal, at Milwaukee, 
would have won in the first round but for 
his supposing that a very good player on 
his right hand had no trumps, because he 
did not answer a call for them which he 
had not seen. Of the two elements of 
luck— good cards and good pastners — 
rfi;bz<^ certainly does eliminate the first, 
but I do not think that any arrangement 
of the players would entirely do away 
with the last.— /?. F.Foster IS. C], ''Du- 
plicate IVhist," i8g4. 



Duplicate Whist, History of.— 

Duplicate whist marks the latest 
and most important phase in the 
great evolution by which whist has 
become more and more a game of 
skill, and less a game of chance. 
The first marked step in this direc- 
tion was the introduction of the 
signal for trumps, in England. 
This was strongly objected to at 
first, because it would "increase 
the power of good players over 
poor ones, already too great. ' ' If 
this signal was allowed, what was 
there to prevent the introduction 
of others which would enable an 
expert player " to determine all 
the more important features of his 




Joodo2 'MaibnsVfiS)" sHt !b atfisnbqqO 



luBclVi 



ri'^L.r 








1% wi-ij;^j- 



'•^97 ■ 
Every wbi'i 

the hiffh K-nrd 

U 
t)i 



t\ 



Opponents of the "Cavendish.:'. 3j^iS.^?£I£ 



Pembridg.e." ' 

his c.iciKi'is - 
■well that if hi- 

is m v}-r:v i •. 
pi 

tl-_ 

'/r.'.-Charles Mossop 



itiessHp fhcri:. 

' K'/ P:Fd§ter, 



hfc plaj^jiviiti you 
rence of 

, badly 

cd. * » * I have seen a bad part- 
nef'ect to p'av ace on ten led, whea 
;i- '•"' "Ml queen, to make a 

" " One of 

round 
■• '.-e, 
;i the firs, 
i^ery &■ 



■ ?-,, 1- -■- -^ \j 
' ' M Ogufe'*" ^^^ final 1 



E. C. Howell. 



)r's 

■ut 



o-'.'ti-pi.iy.--y' 
I aro nftpti 



^pllc^te Whisii, Hist9ryof.— 

' ■ :' latest 

ill the 

-I evil ..-. ' ■'■■' ''"'as 

become ■ f 

RkilV '.: . ■ ■ -e, 

I this direc- 

lon of the 

, ill Hnglaii''. 

obi ec ted to 



in the enc; tntt i ; 
srtiaranttt- his win; 



;;etierai prjncipies. I oucc piaytd iwwi*« tiie Uii.- 



it was 
.action 
. ti'shle ." 
termitje a 
.^atures of h 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



133 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



partner's hand, as if it was before 
him ?' ' — prophetic words! The next 
movement in reducing the game to 
a more scientific basis was the eHm- 
ination from the American play of 
that element of luck known as 
honors. Then came the American 
leads, to enable the partners to do 
the thing so dreaded by the English 
luck-players — to thoroughly know 
the value of each other's hands, and 
play them practically as one. Fi- 
nally comes duplicate whist, to 
crown all, by eliminating the large 
element of chance which in the 
ordinary game attaches to the draw- 
ing of cards. Although there is 
still the luck of the lead (whether 
one suit be opened or another), as 
well as some other matters in which 
one side or another may be favored, 
duplicate whist may be said to 
practically afford a fair test as to the 
relative merits of whist play, and, 
in the long run, of the relative 
merits of the players themselves. 

The principle of duplicate whist 
— that of placing the players on an 
equality so far as the hands are 
concerned — is very old. General 
Drayson states that in his boyhood, 
in playing double-dummy with his 
father, after the hands were dealt 
the distribution of the cards was 
recorded on a sheet of paper. After 
the hand was played and the result 
scored, the cards were sorted out 
and re-distributed according to the 
memorandum previously made, and 
young Drayson then took the hand 
first played by his father, and saw 
what he could make out of it. 
General Drayson does not mention 
this as at all original with his father. 
A primitive form of duplicate 
is also said to have been played in 
Berlin and Paris, and is mentioned 
by John T. Mitchell in his book on 
"Duplicate Whist." Foster and 
"Cavendish," however, after due 
investigation, fail to find any basis 



for the assertion. Certain it is that 
the first authentic record which we 
have of the employment of what 
may be fairly called duplicate whist 
is the match which was described 
by " Cavendish" in BeWs Life, 
London, March 6, 1857, over the 
signature of " Experto Credo." It 
was also noteworthy as his first 
contribution to whist literature. In 
his account " Cavendish" tells of 
an experiment made by the stu- 
dents of the "Little Whist School," 
to determine the value of skill at 
whist. In the course of his com- 
munication, he says: "The scheme, 
besides possessing the greatest sim- 
plicity, almost entirely eliminates 
luck. * * * In each of two sepa- 
rate apartments a whist-table is 
formed, each table being composed 
of two good players against two 
confessedly inferior ones. A hand 
is played at one table; the same 
cards are then conveyed to the 
other table, and the hand is played 
over again, the inferior players now 
having the cards which the good 
players held, the order of the hands 
of course being preserved. The 
difference in the score will mani- 
festly be twice the advantage due to 
play in that hand. It is necessary, 
however, to bear in mind that 
chance is not entirely eliminated, 
inasmuch as bad play might, and 
frequently does, succeed; again, 
some hands offer a greater scope 
than others for the exercise of tal- 
ent Still, all that portion of luck 
(by far the largest) arising from 
good and bad cards, is by this 
method done away with." 

The four good players in the 
historic contest were: "Caven- 
dish," "Mogul" (Matthias Boyce), 
Daniel Jones ( brother of ' ' Caven- 
dish"), and E. Wilson. The con- 
fessedly poor players were: Messrs. 
Bullock, Izard, Chinery (afterwards 
editor of the London Times), and 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



134 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



Jolin D. Lewis ( subsequently mem- 
ber of Parliament). Thirty-three 
hands were played in each room. 
"In room A," says "Cavendish," 
in his " Card-Table Talk," "the 
good players held very good cards, 
and won four rubbers out of six ; 
in points, a balance of eighteen. 
In room B, the good players had, 
of course, the bad cards. They 
played seven rubbers with the 
same number of hands that in the 
other room had played six, and 
they won three out of the seven, 
losing seven points on the balance. 
The difference, therefore, was 
eleven points, or nearly a point a 
rubber, in favor of skill. " " Caven- 
dish" also gives the arrangement 
of the players at the tables, as 
follows: 

Daniel Jones. 



Table i. 



i^dward Wilson. 



Bullock. 



Table 2. 



Izard. 

"In this match," says Foster, 
" most of the principles still in use 



were introduced. Two of the four 
representing system sat north and 
south in one room, and their part- 
ners sat east and west in the other. 
The hands were dealt in one room 
only, and the cards were not re- 
corded, but were kept in front of 
the player holding them, instead 
of gathering them into tricks. 
They were then carried into the 
adjoining room on little trays, and 
there overplayed." 

There can be no doubt that this 
was the true beginning of dupli- 
cate whist, even though the imme- 
diate object was to find the differ- 
ence between good and inferior 
play generally, rather than to test 
the comparative skill of players 
of equal, or nearly equal, merit, as 
is generally the case in duplicate 
whist nowadays. The experiment 
was commented upon by Dr. Pole, 
in his "Philosophy of Whist," in 
1883, and subsequently also given 
space in the London Field, so that 
soon the attention of the entire 
whist world was obtained for it. 

In this country, E. H. Sadler, 
now of Kansas City, played a du- 
plicate game away back in the 
'6o's, but it was duplicate double- 
dummy, like that enjoyed by Gen- 
eral Drayson and his father. Mr. 
Sadler's method was for the leader 
to announce in advance how many 
tricks he could take; and if the 
dealer thought he could do better, 
he overbid the leader, something 
after the manner of " solo whist." 
The hands were then played accord- 
ing to the leader's ideas, and were 
afterwards replayed, the dealer 
taking the leader's hand to see 
whether he could make more out 
of it. Another claim for early ex- 
periments in duplicate is made 
by F. Sanderson, of Chicago, who 
states that he played it, in 1880, 
with George E. Smith, E. Wauk- 
lin, and others, employing the en- 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



135 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



velope method, each hand being 
placed in a receptacle, properly 
marked, numbered, and tied up in 
packages. Chips were used in 
counting the tricks during play. 

In 1882, N. B. Trist, of New 
Orleans, having read about " Cav- 
endish's" famous experiment, in- 
troduced duplicate play into the 
New Orleans Chess, Checker, and 
Whist Club. It came about in this 
way: The club appropriated every 
year a certain sum for prizes to be 
played for in tournaments. After 
one of these tournaments, the de- 
feated contestants complained of 
their ill luck in the distribution of 
the cards, and thought their defeat 
was due to this fact. Mr. Trist, 
who was among the winners, pro- 
posed that the three other success- 
ful contestants should join him in 
challenging any four members of 
the club to play, for a special prize, 
twenty-four hands, which were to 
be overplayed. The match was 
played during the month of July, 
and the result was that Mr. Trist's 
team scored 321 tricks, and their 
opponents 303. 

We come now to the first inter- 
club duplicate match in America, 
of which there is any record. It 
was played in West Philadelphia, 
Pa., in the spring of 1883, at the 
residence of Captain John P. Green, 
vice-president of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad. It was a match game 
between a team from the Saturday 
Night Whist Club and a team from 
the University of Pennsylvania. 
The former consisted of Messrs. 
J. P. Green, E. P. Townsend, J. C. 
Pinkerton, and Dr. Jones; the latter 
of Messrs. Gustavus Remak, Jr., 
Milton C. Work, E. A. Ballard, and 
J. P. Cowperthwaite. (The first 
three players on the University 
team, it may be mentioned in pass- 
ing, are now members of the famous 
Hamilton Whist Club team. ) The 



University team won the match by 
seventeen tricks. 

Going back to the old world once 
more, to note in chronological 
order the events connected with 
the game, we find that on April 16, 
1888, a duplicate match was played 
at Glasgow, Scotland, between 
teams from the Carleton and Wan- 
derers' clubs. An account of this 
important contest appeared in the 
London Field, which stated that 
on this occasion " a new system of 
duplicate play," the invention of 
Mr. James Allison, was tested. The 
cards, at the commencement of 
each hand, were dealt in the usual 
manner, but in the course of play 
were not formed into tricks. Each 
player kept his thirteen cards 
before him till the finish of the 
hand, and after playing to each 
trick he placed his card either long- 
wise or shortwise, to show by which 
side the trick had been won. This 
arrangement prevailed at two 
tables, the hands being simulta- 
neously played. The hands, as 
soon as finished, were gathered up 
by each player and placed, backs 
up, on the table, the dealer leaving 
the trump card, face up, on top of 
his pack. The players then changed 
tables and re-played the hand, the 
players being reversed. A deal was 
only necessary every two hands, 
and but little more time, after some 
practice, was taken than in playing 
one hand in the ordinary way. 

This certainly marked a distinct 
advance in the history of duplicate 
whist, doing away with the task of 
noting down or registering the 
various cards originally held by 
each player, and of re-sorting them 
according to the register, for the 
overplay. The true rise and popu- 
larity of duplicate in America also 
dates from the year of the Glas- 
gow match, for among the whist 
enthusiasts in the city of Chicago 



DUPWCATE WHIST 



136 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



who read the account in the London 
Field, and were charmed with it, 
was John T. Mitchell, who soon set 
about and organized a match to be 
played in the same manner. It 
took place at the residence of Dr. 
Camp, in the spring of 1888, 
and is the first match of the kind 
on record in the West. The eight 
players participating were: John T. 
Mitchell, Harry and Ezra Booth, 
G. K. Mitchell, J. W. Mitchell, 
Frank Huntress, George Owen, 
and G. C. Aldrich. The play was 
so satisfactory that it resulted in 
the organization of the Chicago 
Duplicate Whist Club, which cre- 
ated a great furore by successively 
defeating half a dozen other organi- 
zations at duplicate. The matches.: 
attracted wide attention. On one 
occasion there were forty players 
on a side (at Milwaukee), and at 
another sitting as high as two hun- 
dred took part. Mr. Mitchell be- 
came the leading spirit in the du- 
plicate whist movement, and soon 
his quick perception and ingenuity 
suggested notable improvements in 
the play, which he published in 
the Chicago Globe of December 2, 
1888, and in the Chicago Tribune 
of January 20, 1889. This brought 
him a flood of letters from all parts 
of the country, and kept him more 
than ever busy answering inqui- 
ries. He also continued to lead his 
club to victory, and to advocate the 
new style of game until its popu- - 
larity was assured. This popularity 
was so largely due to his efforts 
that his admirers named him the ; 
father of duplicate whist. The Al- 
lison system was generallj^ adopted 
in this country, with the following 
improvements: The players were 
reversed prior to the commence- 
ment of the game, the players of 
one team sitting north and south 
at the first table and east and west 
at the second table, while the op- 



posing four were placed east and 
west at the first table and north 
and south at the second; the hands 
being passed from one table to the 
other by means of trays or boards 
specially designed to hold the 
hands. 
', The invention of these trays 
formed still an other important step 
in the progress of duplicate whist. 
The credit for this improvement 
largely belongs to Cassius M. Paine, 
to whom, jointly with James L. 
Sebring, a patent was granted on 
November 3, 1891, for the device 
which to-day is in universal use, 
and which assured the success and 
permanent popularity of the new 
form of whist. 

In 1892, Mr. Mitchell published 
the first text-book of the game, 
containing a description of the 
various methods of play in vogue, 
including his own. The title of the 
book is " Duplicate Whist," and in 
1897 a second, revised and greatly 
enlarged, edition, was published. 
Another volume, entitled " Dupli- 
cate Whist and Whist Strategy," 
by R. F. Foster, made its appear- 
ance in 1894. In the same year the 
American Whist League adopted 
special laws for the play of dupli- 
cate (revised at the seventh whist 
congress, 1897), and the game has 
received a large share of attention 
in every book on whist published 
since. It is now also played to 
some extent in conservative Eng- 
land, in Scotland, in Australia, in 
Canada, in India, and in other 
countries, and bids fair before long 
to conquer the entire whist world. 

There are four varieties of competition 
now in common use: Club against club, 
team against team, pair against pair, 
man against man. The first is possible 
only where clubs are within easy reach 
of each other. It consists of the smaller 
club putting every available member into 
the field, and thelarger selecting enough 
of its members to match them. I think 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



137 



DUPIvICATE" WHIST 



this system may be credited to the Mil- 
waukee Whist Club, whose greatest 
achievement has been putting fifty-two 
of its own players into the field against 
fifty-two delegates from all parts of the 
country, and defeating them handsomely 
after three hours' play. The team-against- 
team method is the oldest, and consists 
in picking out four players from one 
club to play against four from another; 
or it may be that four players with a cer- 
tain theory agree to try their strength 
against four holding contrary views. In 
some clubs it is a popular plan to elect 
two captains and allow them alternately 
to choose from the members until each has 
a team. The Commonwealth Club, of 
Worcester, Mass., seems to have been the 
first to try this at duplicate whist, in 1890. 
The pair-against-pair method was prob- 
ably first suggested by J. T. Mitchell, of 
Chicago, and it is probably the most com- 
mon form of the game now, as it requires 
only the same number of players that 
would be necessary to make up an ordi- 
nary whist-table. The man-against-man 
game is my own idea, and although, 
when I first proposed it several writers 
tried to show that it was not a fair test, 
time has proved that it is probably the 
best of all, as it is the only one in which 
the possibilities of combinations of play- 
ers IS exhausted. — R. F. Foster [5. C], 
^'■Duplicate Whist and Whist Strategy^' 
1894. 

Duplicate Whist, Inter-Club. — 

Inter-club duplicate whist is the 
form adopted by the American 
Whist League for final play in 
team-of-four matches, the prelimi- 
nary play being regulated by the 
Mitchell progressive system. 

In inter-club duplicate, the dupli- 
cate, or overplay, of the hands is 
not made at the same table nor by 
the same players who played the 
original hands, but by co-partners 
at another table; hence, it is known 
as the team-of-four game. Two 
players of one four sit north and 
south at the first table; the other 
two take positions east and west at 
the second table. The east and 
west positions at the first table, and 
the north and south positions at 
the second table, are filled by the 
opposing team of four. Thus when 
the duplicate, or overplay, is com- 
pleted, both teams have held all 



the hands at both tables, and each 
side should have taken thirteen 
tricks for every hand. The differ- 
ence between that and the number 
actually taken shows the loss or 
gain. A diagram showing the po- 
sition of the players in the fortj^- 
eight deals of the final play of 
team-of-four matches will be found 
in the article on "Challenge 
Trophy." 

When the system is used for a 
larger number of players or teams 
from each club, the trays containing 
the hands are passed from table to 
table, so that all the players play 
the same deals, an average being 
struck for the north and south and 
east and west players, thus giving 
a basis from which to count indi- 
vidual gains and losses to the re- 
spective halves of each team of 
four. 

The inter-club game may be used to ad- 
vantage within clubs for tournaments 
between individuals, pairs, or fours. It 
has been the style of game played at the 
Chicago Whist Club almost since its very 
organization; and as this club is where 
the writer has gained most of his experi- 
ence in such matters, the game which it 
has adopted naturally suggests itself to 
him as the best that has been so far de- 
vised. From eighty to one hundred play- 
ers have taken part in the weekly tourney 
of the Chicago Whist Club for more than 
four years, and there is no demand for a 
change of style yet. When everybody 
wanted to play the individual game, the 
players had to be divided into sections in 
order to accommodate the schedules 
which it was necessarj' to play by; and 
when there were entries for pairs, teams 
of four, and individuals all at the same 
time, all were allowed to play according 
to their inclinations; but the game was 
always inter-club duplicate whist, with 
the exception of a few mouths at the 
start, before this satisfactory game had 
developed.— 7o/z« T. Mitchell [L. A.], 
'^Duplicate Whist,'''' iSgy. 

Duplicate Whist, Laws of. — The ^ 

laws of duplicate whist were 
adopted at the fourth congress of 
the American Whist League, which 
was held at Philadelphia, May 22- 



DUPLICATB WHIST 



138 



duplicate; whist 



26, 1894. Before this there existed 
no regular code of rules and regu- 
lations. Since 1894 the necessity 
for further legislation manifested 
itself from time to time, and ac- 
cordingly the laws underwent a 
thorough revision at the seventh 
congress, held at Put-in-Bay, in 
1897. (See, "American Whist 
League.") The laws, as now per- 
fected and in force, are as follows: 

Duplicate whist is governed by 
the laws of whist, except in so far 
as they are modified by the follow- 
ing special laws: 

Law A — The Game and the 
Score. — A game or match consists 
of any agreed number of deals, 
each of which is played once only 
by each player. 

The contesting teams must be of 
the same number, but may each 
consist of any agreed number of 
pairs, one-half of which, or as near 
thereto as possible, sit north and 
south; the other half, east and west. 

Every trick taken is scored, and 
the match is determined by a com- 
parison of the aggregate scores won 
by the competing teams. In case 
the teams consist of an odd number 
of pairs, each team, in making up 
such aggregate, adds, as though 
won by it, the average score of all 
the pairs seated in the positions op- 
posite to its odd pair. 

Each side shall keep its own 
score; and it is the duty of the 
players at each table to compare 
the scores there made, and see that 
they correspond. 

In a match between two teams, 
the total number of tricks shall be 
divided by two, and the team whose 
score of tricks taken exceeds such 
dividend wins the match by the 
number of tricks in excess thereof. 

In a match between more than 
two teams, each team wins or loses, 
as the case may be, by the number 
of tricks which its aggregate score 



exceeds or falls short of the average 
score of all of the competing 
teams. 

In taking averages, fractions are 
disregarded, and the nearest whole 
number taken, one-half counting as 
a whole, unless it is necessary to 
take the fraction into account to 
avoid a tie, in which case the match 
is scored as won by "the fraction 
of a trick." 

Law B — Forming the Table. — 
Tables may be formed by cutting 
or by agreement. 

In two-table duplicate, if the 
tables are formed by cutting, the 
four having the preference play at 
one table, and the next four at the 
other. The highest two at one table 
are partners with the lowest two at 
the other. The highest two at each 
table sit north and south; the low- 
est two, east and west. 

Law C— Dealing and Misdeal- 
ing. — The deal is never lost; in case 
of a misdeal, or of the exposure of 
a card during the deal, the cards 
must be redealt by the same player. 

Law D — The Trump Card. — The 
trump card must be recorded, be- 
fore the play begins, on a slip 
provided for that purpose. When 
the deal has been played, the slip 
on which the trump card has been 
recorded must be placed, face up- 
wards, by the dealer, on the top of 
his cards; but the trump card must 
not be again turned until the hands 
are taken up for the purpose of 
overplaying them, at which time it 
must be turned and left face up- 
wards on the tray until it is the 
dealer's turn to play to the first 
trick. The slip on which the trump 
card is recorded must be turned 
face downwards, as soon as the 
trump card is taken up by the 
dealer; if the trump card has been 
otherwise recorded, such record 
must also be then turned face down- 
wards. 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



139 



DUPIvICATE WHIST 



The dealer must leave the trump 
card face upwards on the tray until 
it is his turn to play to the first 
trick, when it should be taken into 
his hand. If it is not taken into 
the hand until after the second 
trick has been turned and quitted, 
it is liable to be called. 

After it has been lawfully taken 
up, it must not be named; and any 
player thereafter naming it, or 
looking at the trump-slip or other 
record of the trump, is liable to 
have his highest or lowest trump 
called by his right-hand adversary 
at any time during the play of that 
deal, before such adversary has 
played to any current trick, or be- 
fore the preceding trick is turned 
and quitted, in case it is the offend- 
er's turn to lead. The call may be 
repeated until the card is played, 
but it cannot be changed. 

Law E— Irregularities in the 
Hands. — \i a player is found to 
have either more or less than his 
correct number of cards, the course 
to be pursued is determined by the 
time at which the irregularity is 
discovered. 

1. Where the irregularity is dis- 
covered before or during the orig- 
inal play of a hand: 

There must be a new deal. 

2. Where the irregularity is dis- 
covered when the hand is taken up 
for overplay, and before such over- 
play has begun: 

The hand in which the irregular- 
ity is so discovered must be sent 
back to the table from which it was 
last received, and the error be there 
rectified. 

3. Where such irregularity is not 
discovered until after the overplay 
has begun : 

In two-table duplicate, there must 
be a new deal; but, in a game in 
which the same hands are played 
at more than two tables, the hands 
must be rectified as above, and 



then passed to the next table with- 
out overplay at the table at which 
the error was discovered, in which 
case, if a player had a deficiency 
and his adversary the corresponding 
surplus, each team takes the aver- 
age score for that deal; if, however, 
his partner had the corresponding 
surplus, his team is given the low- 
est score made at any table for that 
deal. 

In the overplay of a deal, if a 
trump is turned other than that 
recorded on the trump slip, in a 
game of three or more tables, the 
player at fault shall be given the 
low score for that deal; and, in 
single or two-table duplicate, there 
must be a new deal. 

Law F^Playing the Cards. — 
Each player, when it is his turn to 
play, must place his card, face up- 
wards, before him and towards the 
centre of the table, and allow it to 
remain upon the table in this posi- 
tion until all have played to the 
trick, when he must turn it over 
and place it face downwards, and 
nearer to himself, placing each suc- 
cessive card, as he turns it, on top 
of the last card previously turned 
by him. After he has played his 
card, and also after he has turned 
it, he must quit it by removing his 
hand. 

A trick is turned and quitted 
when all four players have turned 
and quitted their respective cards. 

The cards must be left in the 
order in which they were played 
until the scores for the deal are 
recorded. 

Law G — Revoking. — A revoke 
may be claimed at any time before 
the last trick of the deal in which 
it occurs has been turned and 
quitted and the scores of that deal 
recorded, but not thereafter. 

A player may ask his adversaries 
if they have any of the suit re- 
nounced; but the question estab- 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



140 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



lishes the revoke, if it is his part- 
ner who has renounced in error. 

Law H — Cards Liable to be 
Called. — The holder of a card liable 
to be called can be required to play- 
it only by his right-hand adver- 
sary; if such adversary plays with- 
out calling it, the holder may play 
as he pleases; if it is the holder's 
turn to lead, the card must be 
called before the preceding trick is 
turned and quitted, or the holder 
may lead as he pleases. 

The unseen cards of a hand faced 
upon the table are not liable to be 
called. 

Law I^Enforcing Penalties. — 
A player having the right to call a 
suit loses such right unless he an- 
nounces to the adversary first win- 
ning a trick, before the trick so 
won by such adversary is turned 
and quitted, what particular suit he 
desires led. 

A player has the right to remind 
his partner that it is his privilege 
to enforce a penalty, and also to 
inform him of the penalty he can 
enforce. 

A player has the right to prevent 
his partner from committing any 
irregularity, except renouncing in 
error. 

Single- Table or Mnemonic Du- 
plicate. — The laws of duplicate 
whist govern, where applicable, ex- 
cept as follows: 

Each player plays each deal 
twice, the second time playing a 
hand previously played by an ad- 
versary. 

Instead of turning the trump, a 
single suit may be declared trumps 
for the game. 

On the overplay, the cards may 
be gathered into tricks instead 
of playing them as required by 
Law F. 

In case of the discovery of an 
irregularity in the hands, there 
must always be a new deal. 



Duplicate Whist, Luck at. — 

While luck is eliminated in the dis- 
tribution of the cards at duplicate 
whist (the first and greatest con- 
sideration), it still figures in the 
matter of playing against good or 
bad opponents, when reaching 
critical hands, at certain tables; in 
cutting in with good or bad part- 
ners; in opening one suit or an- 
other when both are equally strong 
in your own hand; and in the suc- 
cess or failure of a finesse or other 
special play at any stage of the 
game. The luck of the lead may 
be aptly illustrated by the presenta- 
tion of a number of hands from 
actual play. Here is one which 
was dealt in the Providence ( R. I. ) 
Whist Club in 1895. A held two 
five-card suits of precisely equal 
strength, and it was purely a mat- 
ter of chance which he would make 
his original lead from; but, as will 
be seen from the overplay, a differ- 
ence of six tricks was involved. 
Hearts are trumps; the under- 
scored card takes the trick, and the 
card under it is the next one led: 



.1 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 

4 


8 
6 
^ 5 

"O 6 


100 


3 
5 

'^ 2 

^ 3 

^ 8 

C? 9 

2 « 

3 « 

4 « 

5 4k 

6 4k 

7 
7 4k 


*io 

« 7 

'^ Q 


AO 


Q? 7 

* 2 

* 3 

*4 

A t^ 


'^ A 


5 


"0 J 


^ K 


6 « 6 
7*8 
8*9 


^10 


10 ♦ 


9 « 

* 5 

2 
40 

♦ Q 

QO 


9 
10 
1 1 


90 
J 

KO 


K « 


Q 4k 


8 4k 


12 ♦ J 

13 * K 


* A 


Z> 4 









Score, A-B, 0; y-Z, 13. 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



141 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



In the overplay, tlie player hold- 
ing the A hand opened from the 
club instead of the diamond suit, 
and the result was quite different: 





A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

U 

12 

13 


« 8 

c:? 5 


♦ 2 

9 « 

♦ 3 
A <|» 

♦ 4 

2 
100 


<y 3 
4 « 

c:? 2 


*io 
10* 

♦ 7 

8 4» 

* A 

J ♦ 
Q* 


♦ 6 

^ 6 


3 « 

<:? 8 


♦ 9 

^ J 


2 41 

3 
<;:^ 9 

5 

5 « 

6 # 

7 
7 « 


80 
6 
9 

* J 

J 

* K 
KO 


<y 7 

40 
« 5 

QO 
♦ Q 

AO 


^ A 
(^ K 
<^ Q 

C:? 4 


K« 





Score: A-B, 6; Y-Z, 7. 

Clinton Collins, in Whist for 
March, 1895, describes another in- 
teresting example, as follows: 
" North, the original leader, had 
in his hand three clubs, with the 
queen at the head, which were 
trumps; the jack and deuce of 
hearts; the ace, jack, eight, and 
three of spades; and four dia- 
monds, including the ace and 
queen. His partner, although 
north did not know it, had the 
king and queen of spades; the 
king of diamonds, with others, 
and also the king of hearts, as the 
four good cards of his hand. North 
had a vague feeling that on the 
original play the hand for their 
side had some way gone wrong. 
This, combined with the fact that 
he preferred not to lead from his 
ace-jack and ace-queen tenaces in 
spades and diamonds, induced him 



to make an irregular lead from the 
heart suit, which proved to be the 
worst thing he could possibly have 
done. 

" North leads the jack of hearts; 
east, next, has but the queen and 
trey, and plays the queen; south 
has but the king and four, and 
covers the queen with the king; 
west finally takes the trick with 
the ace, and has left in his hand 
the ten, nine, eight, seven, six, and 
five, the six best that remain. The 
temptation was great to lead trumps, 
of which he had three, headed by 
the king. He does so with a small 
one, and hits upon a partner with 
six trumps in his hand, headed by 
ace and jack, who finesses with the 
jack; leads the ace; leads a third 
time, west taking with the king; 
and now, having the lead in his 
hand, he takes successively with 
hearts, the ten, nine, eight, seven, 
six, and five, his partner discarding 
all the cards in his hand except the 
three trumps which he lays down. 
The result for east and west is a 
slam. 

" Of course, north was greatly 
upbraided by his partner for the 
jack of hearts lead, but his reason- 
ing, that he wanted his other suits 
led up to, was not so bad when ex- 
plained. Combined with this un- 
fortunate lead, it required the 
lucky lead of trumps on the part 
of west, and the finesse of the ace- 
jack by east to fill up the cup of 
woe for the unfortunate ones. The 
gain, if I remember, was four or 
five on the hand. " 

The following hand, showing a 
difference of seven tricks, is re- 
ported by Fisher Ames as having 
been dealt at the Newton Club, 
with the exception of the substitu- 
tion of the queen of clubs for a low 
one in B's hand, in order to make 
it a little more pointed. Hearts are 
trximps, and A leads: 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



142 



DUPLICATE WHIST 





•c 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


(5 2 
^ 7 
V Q 
A 4k 


(? 4 
^ 8 
<I? J 

2 <» 

8 4k 

9 4k 

10 4k 

3 
60 
8 
100 
J 
AO 


^ K 


^ 6 
<2? 9 

^?io 

♦ 2 
4k 4 

♦ 6 
4k 7 

A 9 
40 

*io 

4k J 

5 

QO 


^ A 


<i? 3 

5 4k 

6 4k 

7 4k 
2 
7 
KO 

*Q 


K 4k 
Q 4k 


J 4k 


4 4k 


S 4k 


A 8 

* 3 

* 5 
90 


« A 


4k K 


^ 5 





ence of six tricks on the overplay. 
Clubs are trumps, and A, as usual, 
is the leader: 



Score: A-B, 13; Y-Z, o. 

" The proper lead from A's 
hand," says Mr. Ames, " by all the 
canons of whist, is the jack of 
spades." On the overplay, this 
lead was made, with the following 
result: 



1 

u 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 


J ♦ 

♦ 3 

3 4k 

4k 5 

4 A 

* 8 

90 


2 4k 

^ 2 


5 4k 
*Q 

7 4k 
4kK 

6 4k 
4k A 

70 


<y 6 
* 7 
^ 9 


8 4k 

Z> 7 


* 2 

* 9 

20 


9 4k 
^ J 


AO 





The rest are taken by A-B, who 
score 6 to 7 for Y-Z. This hand 
cost a good pair of players a match 
against inferior antagonists. 

Here is a hand, played at the 
American Whist Club in Boston, in 
which the play of a single card 
(the ten of spades) made a differ- 



in 

M 
u 
'u 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 


^ J 
7 A 
K4k 
10 4k 

*Q 
30 
70 
90 

^ 2 


'^ 3 
9 4k 
5 A 

^ 4 

4k K 


^ 5 
A 4k 


(;? A 


6 A 
J A 
QA 

8 A 

J 


2 4k 

3 4k 

4 « 
2 

100 

QO 

♦ 5 
4k 2 


50 
6 

AO 


KO 


40 
A 10 


8 
^ 8 

* 3 

* 7 
9? 9 


10jC?I0 
11*9 
12,(;? Q 
13 <:? K 


^ 7 
A 4 
A 6 
Z> 6 


4k A 


A J 
A 8 









Score; A-B, 6; Y-Z, 7. 

The overplay of the hand resulted 
more favorably to another set of 
players, who managed it as follows: 





A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

10 
11 
12 
13 


^ J 
10A 


^ 3 

5 A 
^ 4 

^ 8 
A3 
A 7 
A K 

9 A 
^ 9 

50 

6 
80 
AO 


Z> 5 
3 A 
100 
2 

A 5 

A J 


<I> A 
6 A 

R? 6 

^ 7 

A 4 

A 6 

A 10 
J A 
40 
8 A 
Q A 
J 
KO 


^ K 


^ Q 


AQ 


A 9 

3 
K A 


A A 


2 A 
QO 
4 A 
A A 
A 8 


^10 


^ 2 
7 A 
7 
90 


A 2 



Score; A-B, 12; Y-Z, i. 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



143 



DUPLICArE WHIST 



"At trick two, A's play of the 
ten of spades, instead of seven of 
spades, makes the difference, or a 
great part of the difference, in the 
result," says Fisher Ames. "Al- 
though somewhat peculiar play, it 
was founded on a good and valid 
reason, to wit, a desire to win the 
trick, if possible, and continue the 
hearts. At trick three, B's play of 
ten of diamonds, instead of com- 
pleting his call in spades, was good. 
The discard of the ten was as good 
as a call, and it was worth while to 
get rid of diamonds. At trick five, 
Y should have covered queen of 
clubs." 

Duplicate Whist, Progressive. 

— A system of duplicate whist in 
which the trays containing the 
hands are passed in one direction, 
while the east and west players 
move in the other direction from 
table to table; sometimes also called 
"compass whist" {q. v.). It is 
the invention of John T. Mitchell, 
of Chicago, and the best descrip- 
tion of both the system and its 
modifications is contained in the 
new edition of Mr. Mitchell's " Du- 
plicate Whist," published in 1897 
by Ihling Bros. & Everard, at Kala- 
mazoo, Mich. Says Mr. Mitchell: 
"The form of the progressive 
game introduced by the writer into 
the Chicago Whist Club in 1892 
was adopted by the American Whist 
League for the preliminary play for 
the Hamilton Trophy at the con- 
gress of 1893, and has been a feat- 
ure of all succeeding congresses. 
The number of hands to be played 
are divided equally among the num- 
ber of tables, and the quota at each 
table is played before any pro- 
gression takes place. When a set 
has been played, the east and west 
players move to the next higher 
numbered table, while the hands 
are passed to the next lower num- 



bered table, and another set is 
played. Then the east and west 
plaj'ers move again in the same 
direction as before, and the hands 
are passed in the opposite direction 
as before, and so on until a com- 
plete round of the tables has been 
made. The hands are passed from 
the first to the last table, while the 
east-west players move from the 
last table to the first. At the con- 
clusion of the game, every east and 
west pair has played against every 
north and south pair, and every 
pair has played all the hands. The 
gain or loss to each team is com- 
puted by the average for the respec- 
tive hands, which is figured by 
dividing the aggregate score by the 
number of tables. 

' ' The above directions apply only 
to games in which the number of 
tables is odd. If the number of 
tables is even, after the east and west 
plaj'ers have made half the circuit 
they strike the same hands that 
they started with. This difficulty 
has been very cleverly overcome by 
the invention of Professor A. Had- 
lock, of Kalamazoo, Mich., whose 
method is as follows: 'Divide the 
total number of hands to be played 
into two equal parts, and finish 
one-half before starting the other. 
When the east and west players 
get half-way round in the pro- 
gression they remain for another 
hand, or set of hands, at the table 
at which they find themselves, and 
then pass on to the next table. 
This makes them finish the first 
half with one table yet to play. 
When the second half of the game 
begins, the east and west players 
move back to the table next follow- 
ing the one at which they played 
the double set, and proceed as be- 
fore. When they get half-way 
round the second time, they find 
themselves at the table at which 
they did not play at all the first 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



144 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



time; and as that is where thej' now 
play a double set of hands before 
passing to the next table, when 
they get around the second time 
they have played an equal number 
of hands at each table.' Profes- 
sor Hadlock's game will apply to 
any number of even tables; and in 
the case of four tables, it may be 
remarked, there is no change of 
positions between the first and 
second halves of the game, as at 
the third change the east and west 
players finish the first half, and are 
seated at the proper tables for com- 
mencing the second. 

"If the number of tables is an 
even number not divisible by three 
(such as four, eight, ten, fourteen, 
etc.), there is another way, the in- 
vention of the writer, to get around 
the difiiculty, as follows: Start the 
game exactly as described in the 
directions for odd tables, but di- 
vide the quota to be played at each 
table into two equal portions, and 
let the east and west players move 
after every half set of hands has 
been played, and go the round of 
the tables twice. The hands, how- 
ever, only make the round once, 
and are played in exact succession 
by the north and south players, 
who play the unplayed half of the 
first set against the next comers; 
then the first half of the next set, 
and so on. If the number of tables 
is so great that only one deal can 
be started at each table, neither of 
the above methods of getting 
around the even-table difficulty 
can be adopted, in which case the 
skipping-one-table game invented 
by E. T. Baker, of Brooklyn, N. Y., 
comes into play. This is as fol- 
lows: ' After the east and west 
players have gone half-way around, 
they skip one table and continue 
the progression. This brings them 
to the table at which they started, 
with one hand to play, and they 



play that hand against their origi- 
nal opponents.' 

' ' There are two progressive 'four' 
games. One, also the invention 
of the writer, is applicable to any 
number of tables which divided 
by two brings an odd result, such 
as six, ten, fourteen, etc. In this 
game, half the north and south 
players move, and half the east 
and west players sit still. The 
four players move as a unit, or 
remain seated as a unit, the north- 
south players at the odd-numbered 
tables and the east and west at the 
even being the sitting fours, while 
the east and west at the odd and 
the north and south at the even are 
the moving fours. The hands are 
passed back and forth between the 
odd-numbered tables and the next 
higher, and between the even-num- 
bered tables and the next lower 
(thus completing a match between 
the two fours at contiguous tables), 
and are then passed in blocks of 
two to the next lower two tables, 
while the moving fours go to the 
next higher two tables. At the 
conclusion of the game all the 
moving fours have played all the 
sitting fours, and they have both 
played all the hands. 

" If the number of tables divided 
by two is even, the quota of hands 
to be played against each four may 
be halved, and the moving fours go 
the round of the tables twice, ac- 
cording to directions in the pair 
game. This would not do, how- 
ever, in the case of twelve or 
twenty-four tables, as the halves of 
these numbers divide evenly by 
three. 

' ' The other progressive * four' 
game is the invention of Mr. E. C. 
Howell, of Boston, and was called 
in the programme of the fifth 
American whist congress, held at 
Minneapolis in 1895, ' Howell's 
modification of the John T. Mitchell 



DUPWCATE WHIST 



145 



DUPI^ICATE WHIST 



progressive system.' It provides 
for the playing of every four against 
every other four, and also for com- 
plete matches between them. In 
the writer's pair game no attempt 
is made to have the east and west 
co-partners of any north-south team 
play the same hands in duplicate 
against the north and south co- 
partners of the east-west team that 
started them. This is accomplished 
in the Howell method by the fol- 
lowing process: ' The players move 
as in Mitchell's system, but the 
trays are carried, not to the next 
table, but from the middle to the 
head, with the others in natural 
order. With only three tables in 
play, the two systems are identical. 
With five tables, Howell moves the 
trays up two tables; with seven 
tables, three; with nine tables, 
four, and so on.* 

"When the number of players 
engaged make an even number of 
tables, an extra table is put in, and 
during the play there are always 
two tables which are idle; but the 
hands are passed back and forth 
just the same as though the tables 
were fully occupied. 

" The effect of this scheme is to 
bring about the overplay of the 
same deals by the same teams, and 
the score is usually counted by 
matches won instead of tricks 
gained. In case of a tie, the tricks 
decide. 

" When both sexes participate in 
the game, and one sex is not op- 
posed to the other, the ladies may 
sit north and east, the gentlemen 
west and south; and if the gentle- 
men move in one direction while 
the boards are passed in the other, 
each lady will meet every gentle- 
man, either as partner or opponent. 
When there is time for a number 
of sittings, both the ladies and 
gentlemen may change opponents 
at successive games, using the in- 
to 



dividual schedules for multiples cjf 
four, and the pair schedules for 
other numucrs, as guides in seat- 
ing themselves at the commence- 
ment of each game. If one sex is 
opposed to the other, and the num- 
ber of tables engaged divided by 
two brings an odd result, such as 
six, ten, fourteen, eighteen, etc., 
the game in which the sitting fours 
and moving fours oppose each 
other may be played, the ladies, of 
course, being the sitting fours." 

Progressive duplicate whist is the gen- 
eric name by which those systems otdu- 
plicate are known in which the purpose 
IS to have as many as possible of the 
players meet one another during the prog- 
ress of the match.— J?. R Foster \S. O.J , 
"Complete Hoyle." 

John T. Mitchell, of Chicago, some 
years ago invented a system of play 
which is especially attractive for club or 
social purposes when twelve or more 
players get together for a whist sitting, or 
series of sittings. Mr. Mitchell gave his 
system a very appropriate name, viz.: 
progressive [duplicate] whist, as it con- 
sists of the east and west pairs all pro- 
gressing, while the north and south pairs 
remain seated. — Milton C. Work [Z. A. 
J/.], " IVktst of To-day. • • 

Duplicate Whist, Schedules 
for Playing.— A great deal of in- 
genuity and hard study has been 
brought to bear upon the subject 
of arranging and moving the play- 
ers and trays at the tables for du- 
plicate whist. Among the first to 
labor in this direction was Thomas 
C. Orndorff {q. v.), and although 
his efforts were mainly devoted to 
improving the manner of engaging 
two teams of four in matches, the 
results of his labors were valuable, 
as was attested by all who saw his 
method used at the first congress 
of the American Whist League 
(Milwaukee, 1891). 

Others whose arrangements of 
schedules for duplicate play have 
been especially noteworthy are W. 
H. Whitfeld, of Cambridge, Eng- 
land, the noted whist analyst; Pro- 
fessor E. H. Moore, of the University 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



146 



DUPLICATB WHIST 



of Chicago, a mathematician of fine 
ability; A. G. Safiford, of Washing- 
ton, D. C, a pioneer in this Hne of 
whist development; Professor Had- 
lock, of Kalamazoo, Mich.; B. C. 
Howell, of Boston, the short-suit 
expert; Charles E. CoflSn, author 
of " The Gist of Whist," and John 
T. Mitchell, who brought duplicate 
whist to the front in America. Mr. 
Mitchell says: 

" Formulas for eight, twelve, and 
sixteen plaj'ers were published in 
Whist of January, 1892, by Mr. A. 
G. Safiford, of Washington, D. C, 
who was the first in the field with 
solutions of problems of this nature; 
but until Mr. W. H. Whitfeld came 
to the rescue, in 1895, I was unable 
to obtain a formula for any number 
higher than sixteen, with the ex- 
ception of thirty-two. The latter 
I obtained in the following manner: 
Mr. Saffbrd had told me if I num- 
bered the players from one up, 
placing one and two against three 
and four, five and six against seven 
and eight, nine and ten against 
eleven and twelve, at successive 
tables for the first game, and for 
the second game placed them in 
numerical order down the north 
seats at the successive tables, back 
along the south seats, down again 
along the east or west seats, and 
back again to the first table along 
the west or east seats, and made 
the players take a similar course 
after every change, I could work 
out a formula. I went to work on 
the idea, but after countless experi- 
ments found that it would only 
work for eight, sixteen, and thirty- 
two, and it is because I found it to 
work for thirty-two that Mr. Whit- 
feld has not given us a solution for 
that number. ' ' 

Mr. Whitfeld, although without 
practical experience in duplicate 
whist, took the matter of arranging 
progressive duplicate schedules up 



as an interesting mathematical 
puzzle. For individuals, he pro- 
duced schedules for twelve, twenty, 
twenty-four, twenty-eight, thirty- 
six, forty, forty-eight, fifty-two, fifty- 
six, and sixty-four players. For 
teams, he produced schedules for 
eight, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, 
eighteen, and twenty, and the 
same are published in Mitchell's 
"Duplicate Whist." Other team 
schedules for four, six, and ten 
will be found therein, as well 
as additional schedules covering 
the same ground as those of 
Mr. Whitfeld. Professor Moore, 
of Chicago University, published 
some elaborate and highly original 
calculations on the subject in the 
American Journal of Mathematics 
(volume 18, pp. 264-303, 1896, Bal- 
timore), and his labors are also 
utilized by Mr. Mitchell. Professor 
Moore originated what he calls a 
" /r?^/<f- whist tournament arrange- 
ment," by means of which, in com- 
bination with known arrangements, 
he is able to construct other ar- 
rangements. "Thus," says he, 
" from the known arrangement of 
four and sixteen players I con- 
structed for the Denver Whist Club 
an arrangement for sixty-four 
plaj'ers. Again, using Mr. Whit- 
feld 's ordinary arrangement for one 
hundred players, and my triple ar- 
rangement for sixteen and one hun- 
dred and sixty players, we can 
construct two ordinary arrange- 
ments for sixteen by one hundred, 
and one hundred and sixty by one 
hundred players, and one triple 
arrangement for sixteen by one 
hundred and sixty players. ' ' 

Mr. Howell is the discoverer of 
Howell's law for writing schedules, 
by means of which it is possible to 
arrange the players in tournaments 
in a few minutes, even though 
there should be a large number. 
His method of duplicate whist for 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



147 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



pairs, lately completed, provides 
schedules for pairs from seven pairs 
to twenty-eight pairs inclusive, and 
any number of pairs can be pro- 
vided for. Every pair is made to 
meet every other pair, and to over- 
play an equal number of hands 
with every other pair. Many re- 
gard the pair-against-pair play the 
most interesting form of compe- 
tition . 

Mr. Safford has been for several 
years at work upon a complete set 
of schedules covering what he calls 
the comparative system. It in- 
cludes all methods of play and any 
number of players. Among other 
things, he has arranged a schedule 
for eight married couples, where- 
by no husband or wife is ever 
in the same set at the same time, 
and yet they overplay the same 
hands. 

Schedule for Single-Table {or 
Mnemonic) Duplicate. — In the 
single-table game, each player plays 
each deal twice, the second time 
playing a hand previously played 
by an adversary; a single suit 
may be declared trump for the 
game, and on the overplay the 
cards may be gathered into tricks. 
(See, "Laws of Duplicate Whist.") 
Single-table duplicate is played by 
providing a pack of cards and a 
tray for every original deal. When 
the agreed number of hands have 
been played, the trays are turned 
quarter way around. If the play- 
ers wish to avoid the part which 
the memory may play in the game, 
the second half, or overplay, may 
be postponed until a future sitting, 
and another game begun. If it 
is desired to show a record for 
individual play, the players may 
change partners after every four, 
six, or eight hands. This is done 
in accordance with the following 
schedule formulated by Mr. Mit- 
chell: 



_ , N. s. E. w. 

Deals I to 4, 6, or 8 12 3 4 

Deals 5 to 8, 7 to 12, or 9 to 16 1342 
Deals 9 to 12, 13 to 18, or 17 to 

^ 14 2 3 

Mitchell says: "Players should 
not try to memorize the location of 
cards so as to take advantage of 
their mnemonic ability in the play- 
off. It may help them to win 
mnemonic games, but it will not 
improve their whist-playing." 

Coffin's Three-Table Schedule. — 
Charles E. Coffin has devised, and 
the American Whist Club of In- 
dianapolis, Ind., has adopted, what 
Mr. Coffin calls the "Individual 
Merit Score Card," which is so 
arranged that each player will have 
each of the other players for a 
partner in one-third, and for an 
opponent in two-thirds, of the 
deals. The result of their play in 
a series of sittings must nearly, if 
not entirely, eliminate the element 
of luck, and show the true indi- 
vidual merit of all. 

The deals are divided into three 
equal parts, and designated as series 
A, B, and C. 

In series A— N. and S. are partners 
against E. and W. 

In series B — N. and E. are partners 
against S. and W. 

In series C— N. and W. are partners 
against S. and E. 

North remains seated, and keeps 
the score. Let the score card re- 
main on the table all the time, to 
avoid errors. «; 

"Any number of deals divisible *' 
by three may be played, ' ' says Mr. 
Coffin. "Seven in each series is 
the usual number for one sitting. 
The average time for each deal, 
forward and back, is ten minutes. 
It will require three and a half 
hours, therefore, to play the twenty- 
one deals. If more or less are de- 
sired, change the figures on the 
margin of the card to correspond 
with number used. 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



148 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



"Play the original of all deals 
before commencing the duplicate; 
then resume the original positions, 
and overplay in same order. The 
deals in each series should be in ir- 
regular order. 

' ' In clubs, or matches of more 
than one table, the method of 
' Individual Merit' may be used in 
a progressive way. I^et all players 
take precedence in order of rank in 
the score. The four highest take 
table No. i ; the next four, table No, 
2, and so on to the foot table. In 
case of an odd number being pres- 
ent, the lowest players cut in with 
the last table according to the laws 
of whist. This order of seating 
the players is now used in many 
clubs, and is an extra incentive to 
study the game. ' ' 

Mr. Cofl&n's score card is here- 
with reproduced, slightly reduced 
in size: 

INDIVIDUAI, MERIT SCORE CARD. 



Table No.. 



-189. 



Deals are equally divided into Series A, 
B. C. Players change partners after each, 
series. 



N 

s 


E 
w 



In Original, score tricks taken by N. 
and S. players only. In Duplicate, score 
tricks taken by E. and W. players only. 





North 
AND South. 


East 
AND West. 


0) 

V 

"C A 




Tricks. 


Gain. 


Tricks. 


Gain. 




1 










I 


2 










2 


3 










3 


4 










4 


5 










5 


6 










6 


7 










7 
















N. S. 
Gain. 




E. W. 
Gain. 







B 


Players Sitting S. and E. 
Change Seats. 


B 


8 










8 


9 










9 


10 










10 


II 










11 


12 










12 


13 










13 


14 










14 
















N. E. 
Gain. 




S. W. 
Gain. 







C 


Players Sitting S. and W. 
Change Seats. 


C 


15 










15 


16 










16 


17 










17 


18 










18 


19 










19 


20 










20 


21 










21 
















N. W. 
Gain. 




S. E. 
Gain. 







Resume Original Positions for Overplay. 

INDIVIDUAI. RECORD. 

The gain of one side is the loss of the 
other. Score the net gain or loss of each 
player at the end of each series. 



0) 

•c 

11 
tc 

A 
B 
C 

I 

Net 


North. 


South. 1 


East. 


West. 




1_ 




i-r 








d 



-a 


d 



a! 



5_ Do not compare scores with other tables. 

Schedules for Large Numbers of 
Individuals. — Several ingenious 
methods have been devised for 
handling large numbers of players, 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



149 



DUPIvICATE WHIST 



especially in domestic parties, 
where duplicate whist is also con- 
stantly growing in favor. " Safiford 
and Mitchell have both distin- 
guished themselves in this line," 
says Foster. ' ' The simplest form 
has been suggested by Mitchell, and 
is especially adapted for social gath- 
erings of ladies and gentlemen." 

According to Mitchell's arrange- 
ment (it may again be explained 
here), when both sexes participate, 
and one sex is not opposed to the 
other, the ladies may sit north and 
east, the gentlemen west and 
south; and if the gentlemen move 
in one direction while the boards 
are passed in the other, each lady 
will meet every gentleman, either 
as partner or opponent. When 
there is time for a number of sit- 
tings, both the ladies and gentle- 
men may change opponents at suc- 
cessive games, using the individual 
schedules for multiples of four, and 
the pair schedules for other num- 
bers, as guides in seating them- 
selves at the commencement of 
each game. If one sex is opposed 
to the other, and the number of 
tables engaged divided by two 
brings an odd result, as six, ten, 
fourteen, eighteen, etc., the game 
in which the sitting fours and mov- 
ing fours oppose each other may be 
played, the ladies, of course, being 
the sitting fours." 

Here are Mr. Mitchell's sched- 
ules for four ladies and four gentle- 
men; six ladies and six gentlemen; 
eight ladies and eight gentlemen; 
and sixteen ladies and sixteen gen- 
tlemen, in which ladies play once 
with each gentleman, and once 
against each lady; gentlemen once 
vnth each lady, and once against 
each gentleman. The ladies sit 
north and east; the gentlemen, 
south and west. 

Schedule for four ladies and four 
gentlemen : 



Table i. Table 2. 

Game. N. S. E.W. n. S. K.W. 

First 1423 3241 

Second 1234 4321 

Third 1342 2431 

Fourth 1122 3344 

Schedule for six ladies and six 
gentlemen: "If it is not desired 
to have the ladies play with the 
ladies, nor the gentlemen with the 
gentlemen, it takes but six even- 
ings to make a complete circuit. 
Number the ladies from one to six, 
the gentlemen from seven to twelve, 
and play on the successive evenings 
by the following formula: 

Table i. Table 2. Table 3. 
Game. N.S.E.W. N.S.E.W. N. S.E-W. 
First ...11021169312584 7 
Second ..11131221048695 7 
Third ..1124 S3 11 5 9 2 10 6 7 
Fourth ..I 85 94126103112 7 
Fifth ...19610582114123 7 
Sixth ..I 72 8 3 94 10 511 6 12 

" The above is not a perfect for- 
mula, but it answers for the ladies' 
and gentlemen's progressive games. 

" The following is a formula, for 
eight ladies and eight gentlemen, 
which will answer for either the 
ladies' and gentlemen's progressive 
game or for the inter-club game, the 
changes in the latter case being 
made on successive rounds or 
games, and no movement of players 
taking place during any one round 
or game. 

Table i. Table 2. 

Game. N. S. E.W. N. S. E.W. 

First 1726 5438 

Second 1837 6542 

Third 1248 7653 

Fourth 1352 8764 

Fifth 1463 2875 

Sixth 1574 3286 

Seventh 1685 4327 

Eighth I 122 3344 

Table 3. Table 4. 

First 8345 6271 

Second 2456 7381 

Third 3567 8421 

Fourth 4678 2531 

Fifth 5782 3641 

Sixth 6823 4751 

Seventh 7234 5861 

Eighth 5566 7788 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



150 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



"The last line is not in the 
schedule, but is necessary to com- 
plete the circuit. This is Safford's 
formula for eight players extended 
to suit the requirements. 

' 'The ladies sit north and east, and 
the gentlemen south and west, or 
vice versa, each lady plays once with 
and once against every gentleman, 
once against every lady, the gentle- 
men contray 

Formula for sixteen ladies and 
sixteen gentlemen on the same 
basis: 

Tables i & 2. Tables 3 & 4. 

N. s. :e. W. N. S. E. W. 

.172 



Game. 

First . . 
Second 
Third . 
Fourth . 
Fifth . . 
Sixth . . 
Seventh 
Eighth . 
Ninth . 
Tenth . 
Eleventh 
Twelfth 
Thirteenth 
Fourteenth 
Fifteenth . 



I 9 



3 13 

4 14 

5 15 

6 16 

7 2 



9 15 II 
10 16 12 



13 » 

14 9 

15 10 

16 II 
2 12 



9 

13 10 

14 II 

15 12 

16 13 
2 14 



3 13 8 

4 14 9 

5 15 10 

6 16 II 



3 9 5 

4 10 6 

5 II 7 

6 12 8 

7 13 9 

8 14 10 



Tables 5 & 6. 
Game. N. S. E- W. 

First 16 14 5 13 

Second 2 15 6 14 

Third ..... 3 16 7 15 

Fourth 4 2 8 16 

Fifth 5392 

Sixth 6 4 10 3 

Seventh .... 7 5 11 4 

Eighth 8 6 12 5 

Ninth 9 7 13 6 

Tenth 10 8 14 7 

Eleventh .... 11 9 15 8 
Twelfth .... 12 10 16 9 
Thirteenth ... 13 11 2 10 
Fourteenth . . 14 12 3 11 
Fifteenth ... 15 13 4 12 



Tables 7 & 8. 
N. S. E. W. 

3 4 6 10 

4 5 7 II 

5 6 8 12 

6 7 9 13 

7 8 10 14 

8 9 II 15 

9 10 12 16 

10 II 13 2 

11 12 14 3 

12 13 15 4 

13 14 16 5 

14 15 2 6 

15 16 3 7 

16 2 4 8 
2359 



"To complete the circuit the two 
I's play against the two 2's, the 3's 
against the 4's, and so on. Only 
half the figures are given, as the 
second half is only a repetition of 
the first, except that the figures are 
reversed. Table r, for instance, is 
just as above, while table 2 would 
read 12, 2, 7, i. The ladies sit 



north and east, the gentlemen 
south and west, or vice versa. 

" In regard to figuring the ' aver- 
age, ' that is done simply by adding 
all the north and south scores to- 
gether, and dividing the total by 
the number of tables in the game; 
and adding all the east and west 
scores, and dividing in the same 
manner. Of course there can be 
no 'average* unless there are at 
least three tables in the game. ' ' 

Here is Mr. Safford's ingenious 
schedule for eight married couples, 
so arranged in two sets that no 
husband and wife are ever in the 
same set at the same time. When 
seven sets have been played every 
lady will have overplayed four 
hands against every other lady and 
gentleman, including four held by 
her husband. The same will be 
true of every man. Indicators are 
placed on the tables to show play- 
ers their successive positions. The 
numbers represent the husbands, 
and the letters the wives, the 
couples being a-i, b-2, etc. The 
couples a-i always sit still; the 
ladies go to the next higher letter 
of the alphabet, and the men to the 
next higher number; h going to b, 
as a sits still, and 8 to 2. 




One hand is dealt at each table, 
and overplayed at each of the 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



151 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



others. A different point of the 
compass should deal at each table, 
in order to equalize the lead. * * * 
The score of each four hands should 
be added up by each individual 
player, and the results tabulated at 
the end of every four hands. * * * 
The winner is the player who loses 
the fewest tricks. "This," says 
Foster, ' ' is the only known sj^stem 
for deciding whether or not a man 
can play whist better than his wife. ' ' 
Charles S. Carter, in 1893, pub- 
lished an arrangement for ten ladies 
and ten gentlemen seated at five 
tables, the ladies north and east, 
and the gentlemen south and west, 
north and south playing against 
east and west. "By this plan," 
said Mr. Carter, "each lady plays 
with every gentleman, and each 
gentleman plays with every lady 
during the progress of the game; 
thus giving abundant opportunity 
for sociability, and for strangers 
to become acquainted with each 
other." 



EIGHT pi,aye;rs. 



Table 1. 



Table 2. 



Game. N. S. E. W. N. S. E. W. 



First . 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 



2 4 
6 8 
10 12 



, 15 14 16 13 
19 18 20 17 



7 18 20 5 

II 2 4 9 

15 6 8 13 

19 10 12 17 

3 14 16 I 



Table 3. Table 4. Table 5. 

Game. N. S. E.W. N. S. E.W. N.S.E.W. 

First u 14 16 9 15 10 12 13 19 6 8 17 

Second 15 18 20 13 19 14 i5 17 3 10 12 i 

Third . ig 2 4 17 3 18 20 I 7 14 16 5 

Fourth. 3681 7245 II 18 20 9 

Fifth . 7 10 12 5 II 6 8 9 15 2 4 13 



If it is desired that the ladies and 
gentlemen should play both with 
and against each other, formulas for 
eight, twelve, and sixteen players 
will be found in the January, 1892, 
number of Whist, in an article 
written by A. G. Safford, of Wash- 
ington . 

Mr. Safford's schedules were as 
follows: 



Game. 
First. . . . 

Second i 

Third i 

Fourth I 

Fifth I 

Sixth I 

Seventh i 



Table i. 
N.S.E.W. 
1253 



Table 2. 
N. S. E.W. 
8467 



7 8 



TWELVE PI<AYERS. 



Table i. 
Game. N.S.E.W. 
263 



First 
Second 
Third . 
Fourth 
Fifth . 
Sixth . 
Seventh 
Eighth 
Ninth . 
Tenth . 



Table 2. Table 3. 
N.S.E.W. N.S.E.W. 



.1374 
,1485 
1596 
1 6 10 7 
1 7 II 8 
I 8 12 9 
I 9 2 10 
I 10 3 II 
I II 4 12 



12 II 79 
2 12 8 10 



Eleventh i 12 5 2 



2 9 II 

3 10 12 

4 II 2 
512 3 
624 
7 3 5 
- 4 6 

10 9 5 7 

11 10 6 8 



9 8 



10 5 8 

11 6 9 

12 7 10 

2 8 II 

3 912 

4 10 2 

5 II 

6 12 

7 2 

8 3 

9 4 



4 

5 

6 

7 

S 

9 

3 10 

411 

512 

6 2 

7 3 



SIXTEEN PI,A.YERS. 



Game. 
First . . . . 
Second . . . 
Third . . . 
Fourth . . . 
Fifth . . . . 
Sixth . . . 
Seventh . . 
Eighth . . . 
Ninth . . , 
Tenth . . . 
Eleventh . , 
Twelfth . , 
Thirteenth . 
Fourteenth 
Fifteenth . 



First . 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 

Sixth 

Seventh 

Eighth 

Ninth 

Tenth 

Eleventh . 

Twelfth . . 

Thirteenth 

Fourteenth 

Fifteenth . 



Table i. 

N. S. E. W. 

I 2 12 7 

I 3 13 8 

I 4 14 9 

I 5 15 10 

I 6 16 II 

I 7 2 12 



8 3 

9 4 

10 5 

11 6 

12 7 

13 8 

14 9 

15 10 

16 II 

Table 3. 

653 
764 
8 7 5 
986 

10 9 7 

11 ID 8 

12 II 9 

13 12 10 

14 13 II 

15 14 12 

16 15 13 

2 16 14 

3 2 15 

4 3 16 
542 



Table 2. 

N. S. E. W. 

16 15 9 13 

2 16 10 14 

3 2 II 15 

4 3 12 16 

5 4 13 2 

6 5 14 3 

7 6 15 4 

8 7 16 5 



ID 9 3 

11 10 4 

12 II 5 

13 12 6 

14 13 7 

15 14 8 

Table 4, 

8 II 10 

9 12 II 

10 13 12 

11 14 13 

12 15 14 

13 16 15 

14 2 

15 3 

16 4 

2 5 

3 6 

4 7 



4 
5 
6 
7 
8 

9 

16 10 



A seven-table game, for ladies 
and gentlemen, is described in 
Whist for March, 1896, by Harry 



DUPIvICATB WHIST 



152 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



F. Stafford, of Los Angeles, Cal., 
as follows: " I had seven tables. 
After playing the hand placed at 
each table, I had everybody move, 
and left the hand at the table. The 
gentlemen play north and east, the 
ladies south and west. I then 
moved the gentlemen up, the north 
gentlemen two tables, the east gen- 
tlemen one table; and I moved the 
ladies down, the south lady two 
tables, and the west lady one table. 
After playing the seven deals, it will 
be seen that every player has 
played every deal. Every gentle- 
man has had half of the ladies for 
partners, and half of the gentlemen 
for opponents. I then changed east 
gentlemen with the north gentle- 
men, and brought on a new set of 
deals, and proceeded as before. At 
the end of fourteen deals each gen- 
tleman has played partners with 
each lady, and against one-half of 
the gentlemen twice. I got the 
comparative standing of each player 
by the averaging method. I found 
this method quite satisfactory, and 
but little confusion after the first 
move. ' ' 

" E. R. D.," in Whist for Febru- 
ary, 1897, gives the following ar- 
rangement of twelve players: In 
eleven sittings each player will 
play with the eleven others, once 
as partner and exactly twice as ad- 



versary. Number the players from 
one to twelve. The first and second 
sittings are as follows: 



First Sitting. 



Second Sitting. 







N 








I 




w 


12 


2 


6 






S 








N 








4 




w 


7 


5 


9 






S 








N 








3 




w 


8 


10 


II 









N 








I 




n 


w 


2 


3 


7 






S 






w 




N 




n 


9 


4 
II 


12 






S 






w 




N 




n 


8 


5 
6 


10 



During all the eleven sittings No. 
I occupies the same position. Every 
other number increases by one at 
each successive sitting. No. 12 be- 
coming No. 2. 

Another individual schedule for 
twelve, arranged by Hugh McDou- 
gall, is published in Whist for 
April, 1897, as follows: 



First Table. 


Second Table. 


Third Table. 


N. S. -B,. W. 


N. S. E. W. 


N. S. 


E. w. 


I — 2 vs. 3 — 4 


5— 6 vs. 7— 8 


9 — 10 vs. 


II — 12 


I — 3 w. 10 — 8 


9 — 11 vs. 2 — 6 


7— 4Z'J- 


12—5 


I — ^vs. 8 — II 


2—5 vs. 10 — 12 


3 — 6 OT. 


9— 7 


I — 5 w. 9 — 2 


6 — 10 vs. 12 — 3 


II — 7 vs. 


4- 8 


I — 6 vs. It — 5 


10 — 1 vs. 8 — 9 


4 — 12 vs. 


2— 3 


I — T vs. 2 — 10 


12 — 8 w. 9 — 4 


5— Z-vs. 


6— II 


1 — iiVS. 6 — 12 


3— <jvs. 4— 5 


10 — II vs. 


7— 2 


I — 9 M. 7 — 3 


II — ^vs. 5 — 10 


12—2 VS. 


8— 6 


T — 10 VS. 4 — 6 


7 — 12 vs. 3 — II 


2 — SVS. 


5— 9 


I — II vs. 12 — 9 


4 — 2 vs. 6 — 7 


8— 5W. 


3—10 


I— 12 VS. 5 — 7 


8 — 3 z/J. II — 2 


6 — ^vs. 


10 — 4 



Note I. — That in the eleven games 
each player plays one game with 
each of the other eleven. 



Note 2. — ^That in the eleven rounds 
each player is opposed to each other 
player (at the same table) twice. 



DUPI/ICATE WHIST 



153 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



Note 3. — That after the tourna- 
ment is completed, each player has 
played two games against each 
other player (sitting at the two 
other tables), whether north, east, 
south, or west, in the same position. 

Any multiple of four hands may 
be played at each table to equalize 
the deal and the lead. 

Schedules Showing Teatn Play, 
Howell Plan. — A writer in Whist 
of January, 1895, describes the 
Howell modification of the Mitchell 
plan for progressive play for teams 
of four, as follows: "A new 
method of duplicate play, devised 
by Edwin C. Howell, was tried on 
this occasion. It was completely 
successful, and competent judges 
pronounce it by far the best system 
ever used in a tournament for fours. 
It is a modification of John T. Mit- 
chell's ' progressive' method, in 
which, after every round, the north 
and south pairs move to the next 
table in one direction, and the trays 
to the next table in the opposite 
direction, so that if the number of 
teams is odd every team eventually 
plays all the deals. 

" From Mitchell's plan, however, 
the element of match play between 
teams, or the overplay of the same 



deals by the same two teams, is 
absent. For instance, with five 
teams competing, if the north and 
south pair of team No. i plays the 
first set of deals against the east 
and west pair of team No. 5, the 
east and west pair of team No. I 
plays the same deals, not against the 
north and south pair of team No. 5, 
as it would in match play between 
the two teams, but against the 
north and south pair of team 
No. 4. 

" This deficiency Howell has sup- 
plied by a simple change in the 
manner of moving the tra3'S. The 
players move as in Mitchell's sys- 
tem, but the trays are carried, not 
to the next table, but from the 
middle table to the head, with the 
others in natural order. With only 
three tables in play, the two systems 
are identical. With five tables, 
Howell moves the trays up two 
tables; with seven tables, three; 
with nine tables, four, and so on. 
The effect of this scheme in bring- 
ing out the overplay of the same 
deals by the same teams, as well as 
the general manner of using the 
system, will appear from the follow- 
ing illustrative schedule for five 
teams: 



I 




2 


INITIAI, POSITION. 

3 


4 


4 5 


5 


Deals 
1—4 


I 2 


Deals 
5-8 


2 3 


Deals 
9—12 


3 4 


Deals 
13—16 


Deals 
17—20 



3 4 5 

,t,'^^'^,ff?,^l'l7^=*^ merely to seat the players by teams. There is no play. The north 
and south pairs now move one place to the rigrht. 

First Playing Position. 




51234 

After playin^the deals here indicated, the north and south pairs again move one 
place to the right, and the trays two places to the left. 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



154 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



Second Playing Position. 



Deals 
9—12 


I 2 


Deals 

13—16 


2 3 


Deals 
17 — 20 


3 4 


Deals 
1—4 


4 


5 


Deals 

5-8 


4 




5 




I 




2 


3 


Move players and trays as before. 










Third Playing Position. 








3 




4 




5 




r 


4 


5 


2 


Deals 
17—20 


I 2 


Deals 
1—4 


2 3 


Deals 

5-8 


3 4 


Deals 
9 — 12 


Deals 
13—16 


3 




4 




5 




I 


2 


Move as before. 


Fourth Playing Position. 








2 




3 




4 




5 


4 


5 


I 


Deals 

5-8 


I 2 


Deals 
9 — 12 


2 3 


Deals 
13—16 


3 4 


Deals 
17—20 


Deals 
r-4 



The play is thus completed. 

Examination of the foregoing 
schedules will show that teams i 
and 2 have overplayed deals 5-8; 
teams i and 3, deals 17-20; teams 
I and 4, deals 9-12; teams i and 5, 
deals 1-4; teams 2 and 3, deals 
9-12; teams 2 and 4, deals 1-4; 
teams 2 and 5, deals 13-16; teams 
3 and 4, deals 13-16; teams 3 and 
5, deals 5-8; teams 4 and 5, deals 
17-20. In short, every team has 
played a match of four deals against 
every other team. 

By repeating the schedule, or by 
playing a greater number of deals 
at each table, the matches between 



teams may be made as long as 
desired. 

If the number of teams is even, a 
dummy team may be entered, or, 
better, an extra table may be 
added, and the schedule be carried 
out exactly as though the number 
of teams were odd, except that the 
north and south pair of one team, 
and the east and west pair of 
another, sit out during each round. 
This variation of Howell's formula 
was suggested by Walter H. Barney. 
It adapts the system to an even quite 
as well as to an odd number of teams. 
For example, take four teams: 



I 




2 


INITIAL POSITION. 
3 


4 


4 




Deals 

1—4 


I 2 


Deals 
5-8 


2 3 


Deals 
9—12 


3 4 


Deals 
13—16 


Deals 

17—20 



North and south pairs move one place to the right. 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



155 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



First Playing Position. 



Deals 

1—4 



Deals 
5-8 



2 3 



Deals 
9 — 12 



3 4 



Deals 
13—16 



Deals 
17 — 20 



The east and west pair of team i and the north and south pair of team 4 sit out, and 
deals 1-4 and 17-20 are not in play. 

Sbcond Playing Position. 



Deals 
17—20 


I 2 


Deals 
1—4 


2 3 


Deals 
5-8 


3 4 


Deals 
9—12 


4 
4 


Deals 
13—16 


3 

2 




4 

Fo 

3 


URTH 


Playing F 

4 


OSITI 


I 

3N. 


2 
I 


Deals 

5-8 


I 2 


Deals 
9—12 


2 3 


Deals 
13—16 


3 4 


Deals 
17—20 


Deals 

1—4 



Examinations will again show 
that every team has here overplayed 
four deals with every other team, 
just as in the schedule for five 
teams. 

Schedules of Play for Pairs, 
Teams of Four, etc. — A most im- 
portant system is described in the 
July, 1897, number of Whist, by 
Charles M. Clay {q. v.\, its origi- 
nator. It is a universal system for 
compass matches between pairs, for 
multiple teams of four, or for two 
teams of any number, and with any 
number of tables whatever, though 
its practical limit is probably six- 
teen tables, on account of the time 
required. 

When the match is between fours, 
each four seat themselves together 
at a table, then the east-west pairs 



move up one table before beginning 
play. 

After each round the east-west 
pairs move up one table. 

When the match is between two 
teams of more than four on a side, 
the visiting team seat themselves at 
tables I, 3, 5, etc., and the home 
team at tables 2, 4, 6, etc., then the 
east- west pairs move up one table 
before beginning play. After each 
round the home pairs move, the 
visitors sitting still throughout the 
play. 

When the match is between pairs, 
no preliminary arrangement is 
necessary. 

The system of play consists in 
placing upon each table more than 
one board, and playing, eachround, 
only one-half the boards, or, in 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



156 



DUPLICATE WHIST 



case of five boards, say, playing only 
two the first round, and the remain- 
ing three the next round. This sys- 
tem requires that the moving play- 
ers shall make the circuit of the 
tables twice, so that there are always 
twice as many rounds as tables. 

For each different number of 
tables it is necessary to write down 
in advance a simple schedule, as 
follows: Write in numerical order 
the number of rounds to be played. 
Beneath, in vertical lines, write the 
numbers of the trays, in regular 
numerical order, which are to be 
played each round. For six tables, 
four trays at a table, the schedule 
would be written thus: 
J 2 s 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 

1 3 5 7 9 II 13 15 17 19 21 23 

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 

Now place on the tables, begin- 
ning with table i, the trays under 
the odd numbers first, and after- 
ward these under the even num- 
bers. That is, place on table i, 
trays i, 2, 5, 6; on table 2, trays 9, 
10, 13, 14; on table 3, traj's 17, 18, 
21, 22; on table 4, trays 3, 4, 7, 8; 
on table 5, trays 11, 12, 15, 16; on 
table 6, trays 19, 20, 23, 24. 

The deals are to be played in reg- 
ular numerical order, except, of 
course, that when the last numbers 
occur on the same table with the 
first, they are to be played before 
the first. That is, deals 23, 24, are 
to be played before deals i, 2, if 
they come on the same table. On 
the first round, deals i and 2, 9 and 
10, 17 and 18, 3 and 4, 11 and 12, 
19 and 20, are to be played at the 
respective tables. 

If the number of trays on a table 
is odd, the formula varies slightly. 
Thus, for five tables, five trays on a 
table, the schedule is: 



2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


3 


6 


9 


II 


13 


16 


4 


7 


10 


12 


14 


17 


5 


8 






15 


18 



Here, since each set of trays, 
being five in number, cannot be 
divided evenly, it is divided as 
nearly as possible into halves, the 
parts consisting of twos and threes. 

First write down two, then three; 
then three, then two, and so on, 
every time alternating the order of 
division. The trays are placed on 
the several tables thus: Table i, 
trays i, 2, 6, 7, 8; table 2, trays 11, 
12, 16, 17, 18; table 3, trays 21, 22, 
3, 4, 5; table 4, trays 9, 10, 13, 14, 
15; table 5, trays 19, 20, 23, 24, 25. 

On the first round, the first two 
deals at each table are to be played, 
then the next three, and so on. On 
table 3, of course deals 21, 22, are 
to be played first. 

After each round the players 
move up one table, always taking 
with them the deals just played, 
and placing them beneath the 
others which they find there. Of 
course, they are to play those 
which they have not played before. 

In matches between fours the 
east-west players will meet, at the 
end of the first circuit, with their 
north-south partners. They should 
seat themselves at the table with 
them and note what boards should 
be played according to the schedule. 
These boards they may play against 
their north-south partners, if they 
wish to, but, evidently, they will 
not affect the result. Therefore it is 
better to consider these boards as 
played — that is, to omit playing 
them — and to pass on to the next 
table, playing there the next boards 
in order. When the second circuit 
is completed, it will be found that 
each team plays and overplays 
against each other team the same 
boards; also, that the same set of 
boards has been played by more 
than two teams. 

Unfortunately, there is one ex- 
ception to the universal application 
of this system. That is, in matches 



EAST 



157 



ECHO 



between multiple teams of four, it 
will not work with an odd number 
of boards upon an even number of 
tables. The only cases where that 
would be likely to occur are eight 
or ten tables of three boards each. 

The defect is that it makes team i 
play only two boards against team 2, 
but four boards against team 3. This 
can be obviated in either of two 
ways: first, by using a dummy 
table, as in the Howell system; 
second, by a device of Walter H. 
Barney, of putting only two boards 
on each table except the last, and 
placing upon that all the remaining 
boards. This necessitates, how- 
ever, going round three times. 

It is not necessary to place the 
trays according to the formulas 
given. They can be placed in their 
normal order, if preferred. The 
advantage of the formula is that 
each team plays against each other 
every board in consecutive order. 
The advantage of placing the boards 
on the tables in their normal order 
is, that the pairs sitting still play all 
the boards in regular numerical 
order, while those moving play 
them in reverse order, hence it is 
very easy to detect any mistake. 

Mr. Barney has given the system 
much study, and has done much to 
perfect it, and is fully convinced of 
its superiority. 

After the first circuit, all north 
players should exchange places 
with their south partners. 

East. — The player who, in part- 
nership with west, sits in opposition 
to north and south at the whist 
table. This designation is more 
especially used at duplicate whist. 
East is the second hand when north 
leads. In the more common mode 
of designating the players^ east is 
represented by the letter Y. 

Echo. — A response to partner's 
trump signal or call for trumps. 



The echo is made by repeating the 
signal, in trumps or plain suits. In 
other words, your partner having 
called, you respond by playing a 
higher card, followed by a lower 
one. The echo is only made if you 
hold four trumps or more, and is 
intended to convey that important 
information to partner. If you do 
not echo, he understands that you 
hold three trumps or less. Several 
other waj's of echoing to partner's 
call have been devised; such as, 
refusing to take the trick when 
partner leads trumps, trumping 
with a higher card than necessary 
when taking a force, etc. Some 
players even go so far as to echo on 
a trump lead or call on the part of 
the adversaries; but "Cavendish," 
the original inventor of the echo 
(who announced it in 1874), de- 
clares that to echo on the adver- 
saries' lead of trumps is a violation 
of the underlying principle of the 
echo. (See, also, "Plain-Suit 
Echo.") 

It is important that the echo should be 
made at the earliest practicable moment. 
—G. IV. Pettes [L. A. P.}. 

By the " echo" in a plain suit you may 
avoid a sacrifice of a high trutap card, to 
make it in trumps. — A.J. Mcintosh {L.A.\ 
"■Modern Whist,'" 1888. 

This echo is a most powerful aid, as it 
is almost certain to enable you to win an 
extra trick. — A. IV. Dray son \L-\-A\-'\, 
''The Art of Practical Whist.'' 

When you have four or more trumps, 
and your partner leads them, you "echo" 
in the same way, if vou do not try to take 
the trick— Val. W. Starnes {S. O.] . 

On being forced, you may "echo" by 
trumping in with a higher card than you 
subsequently play. To an adverse trump 
lead or "call," if yourself strong enough 
to "call" originally, you may likewise 
"echo." — Emery Boardman [Z+^.], 
"Winning Whist.''' 

There is another echo which is made to 
show the possession of four trumps, irre- 
spective of partner's lead of or call for 
trumps, which is made with three indif- 
ferent cards of a plain suit by playing the 
middle card first, the higher next, and the 
lower last.— John T. Mitchell \L. A.]. 



ECHO 



158 



EI/EVBN RULE 



The echo is reported to be an extension 
of the signal, and is the most innocuous 
of the series; it does very little harm, and 
always amuses somebody. When the 
signal-man holds half the trumps and the 
echoer the remainder, it amuses them 
and does not hurt the adversary, for 
weight will tell vrholly irrespective of 
conventions. — '■'Pembridge" \L-\-0.\, "De- 
cline and Fall of IVhist." 

The "echo" signal has, like the signal 
for trumps, its negative as well as its posi- 
tive aspect. Just as not signaling for 
trumps, when you have the opportunity, 
means that you have not more than a cer- 
tain degree of strength in trumps and 
plain suits combined, so, not to echo the 
signal, if you have the chance, means 
that you have not more than three 
trumps. — R. A. Proctor [L. O.J. 

When your partner leads a trump or 
asks for trumps, if you have numerical 
strength in trumps, you should ask at the 
first opportunity. This is called the 
echo of the call, though it is made use of 
also in response to a lead. The advan- 
tages of the echo are manifold. Your 
partner, being strong in trumps, may 
hesitate to take a force, but your echo en- 
ables him to do so without fear, and to 
persevere with the trump lead. — "Caven- 
dish''' [i. A!\, "Laws and Principles of 
IVhist." 

The advantages of the echo are evident; 
if partner can count your trumps, he does 
not go on with an unnecessary round. 
The echo is usually a very simple thing, 
but at times it is not so easily accom- 
plished; it should be made, however, 
even at some sacrifice of strength; but 
situations will occur — holding exactly 
four trumps, three high cards, and one 
small one — when you will lose a trick if 
you attempt to echo. Of course, when it 
IS evident that loss will result, you will 
not echo. — C. D. P. Hamilton [Z. ^.], 
'■'■Modern Scientific IVhist.''^ 

" Cavendish" was indefatigable in bring- 
ing into use the new system of improved 
communications. He introduced a fresh 
one, affecting in an important way the 
management of trumps. When a player 
resolves to lead them, it becomes very de- 
sirable for him to know to what extent 
his partner is able to support him. This 
may be seen, to some extent, by the card 
he returns; but in the thirst for informa- 
tion in the present day it cannot be waited 
for— it is wanted at once. Suppose, there- 
fore, I either lead trumps, or call for them: 
the moment my partner sees this, if he 
happens to hold more than three he also 
calls for trumps, which is to be under- 
stood to communicate that fact to me. 
This is called the echo of the trump call. 
Of course, if I do not see an echo I under- 



stand he holds only three, or less. This 
was published by " Cavendish," in 1874.— 
IVilliam. Pole \L. A-\-'\, "Evolution of 
Whist." 

Eight-Spot. — A low card, which 
ranks seventh in the pack; often 
spoken of as the middle card, as 
there are six higher and six 
lower ones than it. It is led only 
as a fourth-best card in the Ameri- 
can leads, and as a low card in the 
old-leads system. In the Howell 
(short-suit) system the lead of the 
eight, seven, or six indicates the 
ruffing game, with generally not 
more than two in suit, and none 
higher than the card led. 

Eldest Hand. — The player to the 
left of the dealer; the ' one who 
makes the opening lead. 

Eleven Rule. — A rule formulated 
by R. F. Foster, and first published 
in his "Whist Manual," in 1889, 
It is applicable to the fourth-best 
lead, and shows the exact number 
of cards in the suit higher than the 
one led. This is done by deducting 
from eleven the number of pips, or 
spots, on the card led; the remain- 
der shows the number of cards in 
the suit against the leader higher 
than the one led. For instance: 
The seven is led; if the pips on it 
are deducted from eleven the re- 
mainder will be four, which is the 
number of cards, higher than the 
one led, which are out against the 
leader. Those not in his partner's 
hand must be held by the adversa- 
ries. The same rule may be ap- 
plied to the second round of a suit, 
if the leader follows a high card 
with the fourth best. 

This is a simple and useful rule, applica- 
ble when a fourth-best card is led.— C D. 
P. Hamilton [£. A^. 

The latest whist novelty is the eleven 
rule, the object of which is to give a sim- 
ple method by which the number of cards 
superior to the fourth best led that are 



EI.EVENTH CARD 



159 ELLIOTT, EUGENE S. 



out against the leader may be quickly- 
ascertained. This is accomplished by de- 
ducting the number of pips on the fourth- 
best card from eleven, the remainder be- 
ing the number of the higher cards. This 
has been derisively called playing whist 
by arithmetic. The eleven rule was first 
worked out by Mr. R. F. Foster, of New 
York, who, however, did not divulge it, 
except to his pupils; it was afterward in- 
dependentlv discovered by Mr. E. F. M. 
Benecke, of Oxford, England, and given 
to the public in the Field of January 4, 
1890.— TV. B. Trist [L. A.], Harpei-'s Maga- 
zine, March, i8gi. 

In the natural order of denominations 
the ace, or one-spot, would be low and 
the numeral equivalents [in a suit] would 
range from one to thirteen, but the 
anomaly of regarding the ace high makes 
the range of numeral equivalents two to 
fourteen, hence fourteen is the base 
number [of the rule]. When a player 
leads his fourth-best card, the numeral 
denomination of that card deducted from 
fourteen will give the whole number of 
intervening cards. A.s the leader is 
known to remain with three of the inter- 
vening cards, it is possible to determine 
at once how many are held by the re- 
m.aining players. The process is short- 
ened by first deducting the three higher 
cards known to be in the leader's hand 
from fourteen, and then using eleven as 
the base. The difference between eleven 
and the denomination of the card led 
tells at once how many intervening cards 
are held by the three other players. — 
Whist [L. A.], November, 1893. 



Eleventh Card. — The master card 
of three remaining ones in a suit 
when ten have been played. 

The eleventh, so called because it is the 
best of three remaining of the suit, is 
sometimes a power, if you know that the 
other two are divided between the oppo- 
nents.— (?. IV. PeHes[L. A. P.], "American 
tVhist Illustrated." 

The eleventh card is the best one of the 
remaining three of a suit, and can be led 
to advantage if you know the location of 
the other two: (a) If they are divided be- 
tween the two opponents, you can give 
your partner an opportunity to trump or 
discard to advantage, (b) If the two are 
with your left opponent, you can force a 
trump from right opponent and make him 
lead to your own or partner's advantage, 
(c) If the two are on the right, you force 
a trump from left, and partner may dis- 
card or overtrump to advantage. — C. £. 
Coffin \L. A.], ''The Gist of WhisV 



Elliott, Eugene S. — The founder 
and first president of the American 
Whist League, was born in Vermil- 
ion county, Illinois, August 13, 
1842. He entered Dartmouth Col- 
lege in September, 1861, and was 
to have graduated with the class of 
'65, but caught the war fever, and, 
with eighty other students, mostly 
from Dartmouth and the Normch 
Military Academy, he enlisted in 
Company B, Seventh Squadron, 
Rhode Island Cavalry. After being 
mustered out at the close of the 
war, he engaged for a time in busi- 
ness pursuits, and then studied law, 
being admitted to the bar of Mil- 
waukee county in 1876. He was 
elected city attornej^ of the city of 
Milwaukee in 1886; was renomi- 
nated by both the Republican and 
Democratic parties, and re-elected 
in 1888; was renominated by his 
party (the Republican) in 1890, but 
was defeated with the rest of the 
ticket upon the Bennett law issue, 
which was construed as an attempt 
to interfere with parochial and 
other separate schools. Mr. Elli- 
ott's party claimed that it was the 
duty of the State to provide every 
child with such an education in the 
English language as should enable 
him to adequately perform the 
duties of citizenship. 

Since 1890 he has held no salaried 
office, but has continued to be ac- 
tively engaged in the practice of 
his profession. He has retained his 
interest in politics, however, and 
usually takes an active part in cam- 
paigns as a stump speaker. He was 
a delegate-at-large from Wisconsin 
to the Republican National Conven- 
tion at St. Louis, which nominated 
William McKinley for the presi- 
dency. He has also for years taken 
an active part in Masonry, being 
past grand master of his State, and 
past grand commander of the 
Knights Templar of Wisconsin. 



ELLIOTT, EUGENE S. i6o ELLIOTT, EUGENE S. 



Mr. Elliott knew nothing about 
whist until after the organization 
of the club now known as the Mil- 
waukee Whist Club, but had always 
been fond of chess, which he began 
to play at the age of ten years, at- 
taining to great proficiency. He 
had been instrumental in organiz- 
ing several chess clubs at various 
times, without achieving for them 
any permanent existence, but in 
September, 1875, he made one more 
effort. He proposed to his brother, 
Theodore B. Elliott (now deceased), 
then a lawyer of high standing at 
the Milwaukee bar, and to Rufus B, 
Allen (both of whom were fond of 
euchre), that they should assist in 
the organization of a chess club, 
in which card-playing was also to be 
permitted as an inducement. To 
this they assented, and the Milwau- 
kee Chess Club was the result. Mr. 
Elliott was chairman of the first 
meeting, and the club was organ- 
ized with ex- Attorney-General Win- 
field Smith as president; James G. 
Jenkins, now United States circuit 
judge, was the second presiding 
oflacer, and Mr. Elliott the third. 
The game of euchre soon gave way 
to whist, which was introduced to 
the club by Mr. Allen, and soon 
also supplanted chess. 

In 1878 Mr. Elliott removed to 
St. Louis, with the intention of 
permanently locating there. He 
remained and practiced his profes- 
sion about eighteen months, when 
he returned to Milwaukee. During 
his absence the play of chess had 
fallen into great decay, and the 
members of the club changed its 
name to the Milwaukee Whist Club, 
play being restricted to whist and 
chess under the rules; but, in fact, 
whist alone has ever since held 
sway. Thus Mr. Elliott became a 
whist-player by force of circum- 
stances, to the joy and benefit of 
all lovers of whist in America, for. 



with his accustomed energy, he 
now began to work for the advance- 
ment of the greatest of all games. 
He ofi'ered the resolution which was 
passed by the Milwaukee Whist 
Club in September, 1890, for the 
appointment of a committee to 
consider the feasibility of holding a 
whist congress. He was appointed 
chairman of the committee; was 
made temporary and afterwards 
permanent chairman of the first 
congress, and was honored by 
being chosen as the first president 
of the American Whist League, 
which was formally organized at 
the congress held at Milwaukee, in 
1891. (See, "American Whist 
League.") " His judicial tempera- 
ment," said C. S. Boutcher, in de- 
scribing him at this congress, 
* ' eminently fits him for a presiding 
officer. Cool, diplomatic, impar- 
tial, firm, he directs a convention 
so that harmony prevails and busi- 
ness progresses. The delegates to 
the congress were by no means a 
unit in their views on whist, and the 
conduct of its affairs. The avoid- 
ance of dissension, and the success 
of the congress, were largely due 
to the breadth and scope shown by 
Eugene S. Elliott in the direction 
of its proceedings," 

This was the universal estimate, 
and succeeding congresses insisted 
upon keeping him at the helm, 
until at the fourth congress he 
positively declined further re-elec- 
tion. 

In a letter received from him, 
Mr. Elliott speaks thus modestly 
of his own abilities as a player: 
"While extremely fond of the 
game, and appreciating its many 
beauties, I have never regarded 
myself as an expert, nor entitled to 
claim rank among; players of the 
first force. If I had begun the 
study of whist at as early an age as 
I began to play chess, it is possible 



EMBLEMS, WHIST 



l6l ENGLAND, WHIST IN 



that I might have attained higher 
rank; but I began too late to obtain 
what a first-class player must have, 
a perfect whist memory and correct 
intuitive inference from the fall of 
the cards." 

While he has given the game 
much time and study, he has never 
allowed it to supplant more serious 
duties. He finds it, however, a 
great solace when professional cares 
have wearied the mind, and a 
pleasant relief from those responsi- 
bilities which his profession im- 
poses upon the busy lawyer. 

Emblems, Whist. — Devices 
which are selected by clubs or other 
organizations as their distinctive 
marks, or badges. Thus, the em- 
blem of the American Whist League 
is the ace of clubs, with the letters 
"A. W. L." inscribed on the lobes. 
The emblem of the Woman's 
Whist League is the ace of dia- 
monds with the letters " W. W. L. " 
incribed on it. 

In a certain sense, playing cards 
employed at whist and other games 
are said to have some emblematic 
significance, each card in accord- 
ance with the picture or represen- 
tation which it contains. 

England, \Affiist ?n. — Short 
whist, or the game of five points, 
honors counting, is the whist of 
England, and stakes are played for, 
as a rule, at the clubs and in pri- 
vate. The element of chance in 
short whist is so large that it is ad- 
mirably adapted for quick play, and 
the rapid consummation of bets, 
which are also fireely made upon 
each game, or the rubber, as the 
case may be. This love of play for 
gain (or loss) seems ingrained in 
the British whist-player, and dates 
from the very beginning of whist. 
It is customary for those who frown 
upon gambling to draw a fine dis- 



tinction between that vice and the 
playing of whist for stakes, the 
universal plea being that it lends 
additional interest to the game, and 
that the stakes are small and insig- 
nificant in themselves. And yet 
we know, as a matter of fact, that 
when men once begin to play for 
money, and the gambling instinct is 
thoroughly aroused, bets and stakes 
may become quite important. In- 
stances are on record in England, 
where thousands of pounds have 
been lost on a single rubber; ^25,- 
000 at a single sitting; and in one 
case, it is said, as high as ^"20,000 
was lost on a single hand ! (See, 
"Gambling.") We are aware that 
gambling is as prevalent in America 
as elsewhere, and have no right, 
therefore, to assume a higher virtue 
for our people on that account; but 
it certainly does seem fortunate 
that gambling has been thoroughly 
eliminated from whist, which is 
thus made a home game and a pure 
game, such as may safely be recom- 
mended to the young, without fear 
of demoralizing influences. When 
whist is played for money in Amer- 
ica, it is played by those who play 
for money at whatever game they 
undertake. Such men are at once 
classed as gamblers. As a rule, 
however, they find the American 
seven-point game without honors 
less suited to their purpose than 
draw-poker, or other games of 
chance. 

Whist is sometimes played for 
"love" in England (/. e., without 
stakes), and duplicate whist is also 
played to some extent; but so long 
as the five-point game (with honors 
counting greatly in excess of what 
they should) prevails there, any 
game, except that which Eng- 
lishmen are accustomed to, will be 
found rather dull. English con- 
servatism will make a change from 
the five-point game a difficult mat- 



ENGLAND, WHIST IN 1 62 ENGLAND, WHIST IN 



ter, but, if the step should ever be re- 
traced which was taken in 1785, or 
thereabouts, when long whist was 
cut in two by the gambling frater- 
nity to accelerate their bets (see, 
"Short Whist," and "Peterbor- 
ough, Lord"), there can be no 
doubt but the English people as a 
whole would rejoice, as did the 
people of this country when Ameri- 
can whist was placed upon a higher 
plane. 

Although this is a consummation 
devoutly to be wished, the outlook 
for whist is said to be rather 
gloomy in England at the present 
writing ( 1 897 ) . The gambling spirit 
so assiduously fostered by play- 
ing for stakes seems to have 
broken through all restraints, and 
to have developed into a mania for 
"bridge" {q. v.), to the disgust 
of all true lovers of whist. It can- 
not be that the craze will last, but 
in the meanwhile genuine whist 
seems to be under a cloud at the 
London clubs. As regards whist 
play in other parts of England, we 
are informed by a correspondent, 
writing under date of September 
4, 1897, that during the winter 
there is a good deal of whist in the 
club at Bath, in that at Bourne- 
mouth, and in the new club at 
Cheltenham. Bath is the winter 
resort for those suffering from rheu- 
matism; Bournemouth, for weak 
chests, and Cheltenham, for hunting 
men and those who are fond of gay 
society. There are some good 
players among the residents of each 
place, and their ranks are often re- 
cruited from London and else- 
where . ' ' Very good whist and 
piquet," says our correspondent, 
" used to prevail in the Union Club 
at Brighton, but it has fallen off 
during recent years. Sir Richard 
Rennie is one of their most trust- 
worthy players at both games. An 
excellent rubber can still be found 



at the Sussex Club, Eastbourne, but 
there, too, death and old age have 
made gaps among the players. 
There is good whist, also, at South- 
sea. During the autumn season a 
good deal of whist, chiefly by visit- 
ors, is played at Scarborough, Har- 
rowgate, and Buxton. In one 
August, three or four years ago, 
no less than eleven members of the 
Baldwin Club, in London, might 
have been seen playing in the card- 
room of the club at Harrowgate. 
Whist can be obtained in the club 
at Great Malvern, where Major 
Wintour is their chief performer. 
Also, at Leamington, Exeter, and 
Exmouth. The Marquis of Dro- 
gheda plays at the last-named place. 
He excels at piquet rather than at 
whist. ' ' 

(See, also, " American and Eng- 
lish Laws," "American Game," 
"International Match," "Laws of 
Whist," and " Whist Clubs. " ) 

The English play a game of chance. 
They trust to "honors" for a large part 
of their success. They play a short game, 
and a smart tell-tale game, for a purpose. 
Brilliant play with them is very occa- 
sional. — G. W. Pettes \L. A. PJ\,"American 
Whist Illustrated." 

It will cause Americans to smile when 
they learn that in a late issue of the I,on- 
don Field an advertisement appeared, as 
follows: 

" Whist enthusiast desires to meet with 
others who have mastered book play, and 
will meet frequently and regularly for 
practice, without stakes or bets. 

"D. G. H." 

Just fancy what this means — that in the 
great metropolis of London a poor, lone- 
some whist-player desires to meet with 
others who do not scorn later-day devel- 
opments and progress. I pity the poor 
Englishman. If he would emigrate to 
this ^reat and glorious country, and take 
up his residence in any little town of 
10,000 or more people, he will find the as- 
sociates he seeks without advertising in 
a paper of the Field's standing. This re- 
calls to my mind what " Cavendish" told 
me when he first visited this country in 
1893. The day of his arrival had been 
publicly announced, and the whist-play- 
ers of this city knew that he was to be my 
guest. They called quite constantly to 



ENGLAND, WHIST IN 1 63 



EQUAL CARDS 



pay their respects to the great whist au- 
thor, and every day and for many hours 
■we played whist. "Cavendish" thought 
I had previously arranged for him to meet 
the best players in this vicinity, and it 
was almost an impossibility for him to 
believe that such was not the case, and 
that he was simply meeting the general 
run of players. It was a revelation to 
him, because the average of play here 
was so much higher than he was accus- 
tomed to at home that he thought, and 
naturally, that the best players had been 
selected to meet him. It has been, and 
still is, the exception for him, to get three 
other good whist-players at the whist 
table in England. He very soon found 
that it was the exception to have any but 
four very good players at the whist table 
in America. I have heard that since his 
return to England he informs his coun- 
trymen that they have been distanced in 
the race, and that if they want to play 
whist well and intelligently they will 
have to do as we have done — study the 
game in all its phases, and not, as has 
been their custom, to consider it merely 
a game of chance, the main object being 
to win the other fellow's money. — R. H. 
Wecnis \L. A.], Brooklyyi Eagle, iSgj. 

There can be little question that whist 
in England to-day does not occupj' the 
position that it does in this country, and 
the reason for it is self-evident. It is the 
duplicate feature that has caused the 
game to attain the height of popularity 
that it has now reached in almost every 
American city. The Englishman is too 
conservative to adopt this, and too fond 
of his stake to play straight whist for the 
love of the game. There are many games 
of cards admirably suited for those who 
play for the sake of the stake, not for the 
science of the game. Whist, however, 
cannot be numbered in that category. 
Until the Englishman changes his habits, 
therefore, the outlook for whist in the 
British Isles is far from bright. As for an 
international match with England, that 
under the circumstances seems absolutely 
hopeless. The writer consulted with Mr. 
Jones and others on the subject, but when 
confronted with the condition of the 
game in England, he realized how futile 
were any schemes he had to propose 
looking to the accomplishment of this 
long-wished-for game. If the American 
Whist League wishes to win the inter- 
national honors it will have to look for 
them elsewhere. There is at present no 
possibility of such an event being ar- 
ranged with any of the members of the 
London clubs. The average Englishman 
regards a man who will play a game of 
cards for the love of the game and the 
honor of victorj' as a sort of rara avis to 
be more or less pitied — a kind of dime 
museum freak. One fiue old barrister, a 



gentleman from the top of his high silk 
hat to the rather heavy sole of a large- 
sized and ill-fitting shoe, in talking over 
American whist with the writer, asked, 
as a matter of curiosity, how many 
nights, on an average, an American whist 
expert would devote to the game. Upon 
his query being answered as accurately as 
its general character permitted, he in an 
absolutely dumfounded :nanner inquired 
whether all play was without a stake. 
Being assured that this was so beyond a 
doubt, he lifted his hands in horror and 
said: "And yet you tell me you have no 
leisure class in America; verily, men that 
you say are busy must have much val- 
uable time to waste." This man was a 
typical English whist-player, and he hon- 
estly thought that he was fond of the 
Za.m.&.— Milton C. Work \L. A. J/.], Phila- 
delphia Telegraph, i8g6. 

English Code. — See, "Laws of 
Whist." 

English Whist Clubs. — See, 
"Whist Clubs." 

Entry and Re- Entry. — The laws 
of entry and re-entry to the whist 
table in the English code (sections 
21-25) provide as follows: A 
player wishing to enter a table 
must declare his intention before 
any of the players have cut a card; 
those who have neither belonged to 
nor played at any other table have 
the prior right of entry; a player, 
with consent of the other three 
players, may appoint a substitute 
during a rubber; a player cutting 
into one table, while belonging to 
another, loses his right of re-entry 
into the latter; if anyone break up 
a table, the remaining plaj'ers have 
the prior right to him of entry into 
any other. 

To entitle one to enter a table, he must 
declare his intention to do .so, before any 
one of the players has cut for the purpose 
of commencing a new game, or of cut- 
ting out. — Laws of IVhist {A merican Code), 
Section 6. 

Equal Cards. — Cards of equal 
value, in sequence originally, or 
after intermediate cards have been 



EQUIVOCAL CARD 



164 



ESTABLISHED SUIT 



played. For instance, ace and king 
of the same suit, held in the same 
hand, are of equal value. The ten 
and eight spot are of equal value 
when the nine has been played. 

Equivocal Card. — See, "Doubt- 
ful Card." 

Error, Cards Played in. — Cards 
are played in error when they are 
played contrary to the rules; as, for 
instance, playing out of turn, re- 
voking, etc. The English code 
(sections 67-70) provides that if the 
third hand plays before the second, 
the fourth hand may play before 
his partner; should the fourth hand 
play out of turn, he may be required 
to win or not win the trick; if any 
one omits to play to a trick, and the 
error is not discovered until he has 
played to the next, the adversaries 
may claim a new deal; if any one 
plays two cards to the same trick, 
or mixes his trump or other card 
with a trick, and it is not discovered 
until the hand is played, he is an- 
swerable for all subsequent revokes 
he may have made. 

The American code (sections 24- 
26) provides that if a player leads 
out of turn, a suit may be called 
from him or his partner the first 
time it is the turn of either to lead, 
the suit to be called by the right- 
hand adversary; but if the player 
has none of the suit, or if all have 
pla5'ed to the false lead, no penalty 
can be enforced; and if all have 
not played to the false lead, the 
cards erroneously played may be 
taken back, and are not liable to 
be called. The penalties for play- 
ing out of turn by third and fourth 
hands are precisely the same as in 
the English code, above stated. 

Errors. — Mistakes made in play. 
Pole calls attention to several kinds, 
differing much in their importance. 
Errors of form — infractions of the 



book rules — such as leading wrong- 
ly, playing false cards, not return- 
ing trumps, etc., are culpable, and 
ought to be reproved. Errors of 
observation or memory — neglect- 
ing to take advantage of the fall 
of the cards, and playing badly 
in consequence — should be viewed 
more leniently. Or, having duly 
observed, a player may play dis- 
advantageously. This is an error 
of judgment, and is still more ex- 
cusable. Even good players are 
liable to such errors, and it has 
been said of whist-players, as Na- 
poleon said of his generals, " Those 
are the best who make the fewest 
bliinders. " Clay sometimes de- 
clared that he won more by his ad- 
versaries' mistakes than by his 
own skill. 

Not carrying out original plans is one 
of the most fatal errors in whist. Having 
determined to play a certain suit, play it 
to the end. Having determined to get 
out the trumps to defend it, get them out. 
Having established a cross-rufF, keep it 
going. Having decided to weaken an ad- 
versary by forcing him, keep at it until 
he is harmless. * * * Don't let the 
adversaries frighten you out of your 
game, either by false cards or false sig- 
nals.—/?. F. Foster [5. 0.\ ''Whist Tac- 
tics.'''' 

Establish. — To establish a suit 
is to exhaust the best cards in it 
which are against you, thereby ob- 
taining complete command of it. 

Established Suit. — A suit in 
which you are prepared to take all 
the tricks, bar trumping. Your 
adversaries' and partner's hands 
having been cleared of all com- 
manding cards in them, you hold 
the best, or all the rest, and as soon 
as trumps are out of the way, and 
you have the lead, you are in a 
position to bring it in; i. e., to make 
tricks with all the cards. This is 
the essence of the long-suit game 
{q. v.). A suit may also be said to 
be established, so far as results are 



ETIQUETTE OF WHIST 165 ETIQUETTE OF WHIST 



concerned, when you and your 
partner are able to take all the 
tricks in it. 

With an established suit, and a card of 
re-entry in the adversary's suit, a four- 
trump lead is almost invariably justifi- 
able— ATz/tore C. Work\L.A.H.\ ''Whist 
of To-day." 

A suit may be established without ever 
having been led; as, when you hold the 
five highest cards of it; or it may become 
established in one or two rounds. — R. F. 
Foster \_S. C], ''Whist Strategy." 

A suit is established when the holder of 
the strength in the suit has the best card 
or cards, with the certainty of drawing 
those intervening between it or them and 
lower ones.— ^. A. Proctor \L. O.], "How 
to Play Whist." 

Etiquette of Whist- — Rules of 
conduct at whist observed by all 
courteous and reputable players, 
although no definite penalties are 
provided for their infraction, as in 
the laws of whist proper. The eti- 
quette of whist was promulgated 
in connection with the English 
code at an early date. The Ameri- 
can etiquette of whist was adopted 
by the third American whist con- 
gress, in 1893. 

Etiquette of Whist, American. — 
The following rules belong to the 
established code of whist etiquette. 
They are formulated with a view to 
discourage and repress certain im- 
proprieties of conduct, therein 
pointed out, which are not reached 
by the laws. The courtesy which 
marks the intercourse of gentlemen 
will regulate other more obvious 
cases: 

1. No conversation should be in- 
dulged in during the play, except 
such as is allowed by the laws of 
the game. 

2. No player should in any man- 
ner whatsoever give any intimation 
as to the state of his hand or of the 
game, or of approval or disapproval 
of a play. 

3. No player should lead until the 
preceding trick is turned and quitted. 



4. No player should, after having 
led a winning card, draw a card 
from his hand for another lead 
until his partner has played to the 
current trick. 

5. No player should pla}' a card 
in any manner so as to call particu- 
lar attention to it, nor should he 
demand that the cards be placed in 
order to attract the attention of his 
partner. 

6. No player should purposely 
incur a penalty because he is will- 
ing to pay it, nor should he make 
a second revoke in order to conceal 
one previously made. 

7. No player should take advan- 
tage of information imparted by 
his partner through a breach of 
etiquette. 

8. No player should object to re- 
ferring a disputed question of fact 
to a bystander, who professes him- 
self uninterested in the result of 
the game, and able to decide the 
question . 

9. Bystanders should not, in any 
manner, call attention to or give 
any intimation concerning the play 
or the state of the game, during 
the play of a hand. They should 
not look over the hand of a player 
without his permission, nor should 
they walk around the table to look 
at the different hands. 

Etiquette of Whist, English. — 
The following rules belong to the 
established etiquette of whist. They 
are not called laws, as it is difficult 
— in some cases impossible — to ap- 
ply any penalty to their infraction, 
and the only remedy is to cease 
playing with players who habitually 
disregard them. 

Two packs of cards are invariably 
used at clubs; if possible, this 
should be adhered to. 

Any one, having the lead and 
several winning cards to play, 
should not draw a second card out 
of his hand until his partner has 



ETIQUETTE OF WHIST 1 66 EVOLUTION OF WHIST 



plaj'ed to the first trick, such act 
being a distinct intimation that the 
former has played a winning card. 

No intimation whatever, by word 
or gesture, should be given by a 
player as to the state of his hand, 
or of the game.^ 

A player who desires the cards 
to be placed, or who demands to 
see the last trick, ^ should do it for 
his own information only, and not 
in order to invite the attention of 
his partner. 

No player should object to refer 
to a bystander who professes him- 
self uninterested in the game, 
and able to decide any disputed 
question of facts, as to who played 
any particular card, whether hon- 
ors were claimed though not scored, 
or vice versa, etc. , etc. 

It is unfair to revoke purposely; 
having made a revoke, a player is 
not justified in making a second in 
order to conceal the first. 

Until players have made such 
bets as they wish, bets should not 
be made with bystanders. 

Bystanders should make no re- 
mark; neither should they by word 
or gesture give any intimation of 
the state of the game until con- 
cluded and scored, nor should they 
walk around the table to look at 
the different hands. 

No one should look over the 
hand of a player against whom he 
is betting. 

Courtesy is nowhere more requisite, or 
its absence more remarkable, than at the 
whist-table. — ^'- Lieutenant- Colonel £." [L. 
O.l 

It is not etiquette or honest to claim the 
game when you have it not, or a trick 
more than you have, or to dispute the 
score of your adversaries who have prop- 
erly scored. It is not etiquette, either 



iThe question " Who dealt?" is irreg- 
ular, and if asked should not be an- 
swered. 

2 Or, who asks what the trump suit is. 
— " Cavendish''^ [L. A,}. 



by looks, smiles, frowns, or gestures, to 
intimate any knowledge, good or bad. of 
yoiir hand. It is not etiquette to ask what 
are trumps, to induce your partner to lead 
them. It is not etiquette to hesitate in 
the play of your cards, to show that you 
could have played diflferently. It is not 
etiquette to frown or look savage when 
your partner plays a suit you do not want. 
— lVestmi7ister Papers [Z,+ (9.]. 

The " E;tiquette of Whist" by the Amer- 
ican Code differs, as far as I can see, in 
no respect from the IJnglish; they are 
both framed to repress improprieties oP 
conduct not reached by the laws, and for 
which no penalties could be well en- 
forced. * * * Pages might be written on 
the breaches of etiquette committed 
by persons who join a rubber of whist, 
and who consequently tend to prevent 
this rubber from being the intellectual 
and social enjoyment that it ought to be. 
In the Field, March 30, and April 5, 1889, 
I wrote two articles on "The Etiquette of 
Whist." Unfoi-tunately those who com- 
mit the most serious breaches of etiquette 
seem to be those who never read and 
never learn; as I have found, even quite 
recently, many persons who invariably 
commit day after day those very 
breaches of etiquette to which I directed 
attention in those articles. — A. W. Dray- 
son [L+A+], "IVkist Laws and Whist 
Decisions.''' 

Evolution of Whist.— The de- 
velopment of whist from its lowest, 
or primitive, form to its present 
scientific stage, and its still more 
perfect future condition. Pole was 
the first to philosophically trace 
this progress, and to point out the 
underlying principles or lines upon 
which it has been, and is still being, 
made. In his opinion, not only 
the game, but the plaj^ers have 
been subject to this evolution. 
(See, also, "Pole, William," and 
" Whist, History of") 

Any proficient who has made himself 
master of an improved style of game is 
accustomed to despise, as useless and un- 
interesting, the earlier forms. Charles 
Lamb, for example, playing the Hoyle 
game of Mrs. Battle, characterized the 
more primitive practice as "sick whist," 
and a little later we find the " modern 
scientific" experts despising the an- 
tiquated game of Charles Lamb. And 
sxich has been the progress of whist evo- 
lution in the last two decades that a mem- 
ber of the present American League 



EXPERIMENTS, WHIST 167 EXPERIMENTS, WHIST 



would look down, even on the fine play- 
ing of Deschapelles or Clay. — William 
Pole \_L.A+]. 

Experiments, Whist. — President 
Barney, in his annual address be- 
fore the seventh congress of the 
American Whist League, advised 
that organization to take such con- 
certed action as would tend to 
bring practical results out of the 
enormous number of whist experi- 
ments which are daily made at the 
various clubs. These experiments 
in play are too valuable to be lost, 
and they would, if preserved, tend 
to solve many disputed points in 
whist tactics. " It seems," said he, 
" that the League should go further 
in the work of assisting its members 
and the many thousand students 
of the game. We ought to use our 
great organization for a more sys- 
tematic study of the game. Our 
eflforts should be combined; there- 
suits of those efforts should be 
classified. Thousands and tens of 
thousands of experiments are tried 
almost daily in clubs of the League, 
and the results are kept in a most 
limited circle. Still more would 
be tried, if the results of those ex- 
periments could be made more gen- 
erally useful." Later in the ses- 
sion a resolution was adopted, ' ' that 
the recommendation of ex-Presi- 
dent Barney, with regard to the es- 
tablishment of a bureau of experi- 
ment be referred to the executive 
committee, to report thereon at the 
next congress." 

R. F. Foster made a similar sug- 
gestion in the Suti of June 6, 1897. 
He urged that the whist-players of 
this country should be organized 
upon an investigating basis, so that 
the independent experiments of 
many scattered players could be 
gathered, classified, analyzed, and 
the results submitted to other play- 
ers for verification. His idea was 
that a good deal of time and energy- 



is wasted in analyzing and experi- 
menting with exceptional, or 
"freak," hands. What is more 
important is to study the every -day 
hands, those occurring most fre- 
quently, just as in learning a lan- 
guage the beginner is first taught 
the words that occur oftenest. The 
first step, therefore, in the process 
of a practical analj'sis of whist 
strategy would be to find out what 
are the most common hands, and 
then to ascertain the best mode of 
treating them in actual play. In 
order to do this he asked two hun- 
dred readers of the Sun to assist him 
in noting down, at least, 10,000 
hands at whist, actually dealt. 
These hands were received in due 
time, and classified and arranged 
in two gradually ascending scales: 
the first according to their trump 
strength, and the second according 
to the plain suits. 

The committee on experimental play 
•will not, as some seem to imagine, con- 
cern itself officially with any comparisons 
of systems; nor is it likely to declare in 
favor of any particular teacher or text- 
book. * * * The game is still in a 
transitive stage. Hence, innumerable 
new ideas and suggestions are contin- 
ually being brought forward. That these 
may often seem to run counter to the 
present practice is not a reason for incon- 
tinently rejecting them; yet it is not safe 
to adopt them, however plausible, without 
testing them. Here is where the work 
of the committee will come in. To them 
can be referred all proposed innovations, 
and it will be their work to purge the 
pure metal from the dross by passing it 
through the crucible of practicable expe- 
rience. — Whist [L. A.], September, iSgj. 

What are grammalogues of whist? 
What are the common, every-day hands? 
It may safely be asserted that there is not 
a whist-player to-daj', who could so for- 
mulate the most common hand at whist 
that everyone would agree with him. As 
already stated in these articles, the prob- 
lem does not admit of mathematical 
demonstration. The probabilities of 
holding a given hand can be calculated, 
but whether or not it would be more com- 
mon than any other, is a very intricate 
question. It is not a difficult matter to 
find the odds against a player's holding 



EXPOSED CARD 



i68 



EXPOSED HAND 



six trumps and seven cards of an estab- 
lished suit, but it would take a man sev- 
eral years to calculate the exact propor- 
tion of all the various hands that a 
whist-player could possibly hold. Some 
idea of this proportion is necessary in the 
solution of the problem before us, because 
accompanying the most common hands 
for the leader must be the most usual 
distribution of the cards in the other 
hands. * * * 

When the entire 10,000 deals have been 
received, the results of their analysis will 
be published in these articles, and when 
the most frequent conditions have been 
ascertained in this manner, it is proposed 
to take up the typical hands, one by one, 
beginning with those that are found to 
be the most common, and by a series of 
experiments, which will be explained at 
the proper time, to ascertain the best 
opening lead from all such hands. After 
the more common hands have been dis- 
posed of those next in order will be taken 
up, and it is hoped that, by following out 
this plan until all the familiar varieties 
have been investigated, we shall be able 
to arrive at some general principles of 
whist strategy which shall be based on 
facts, before which all theories will have 
to give way. — R. P. Foster \S. C], New 
York Sun, Aug. i, iSgy. 

Exposed Card. — Any card drop- 
ped, or in any other way exposed, 
on or above the table, except in 
the regular course of play. Such 
cards are liable to be called, but if 
not called they may be played 
when opportunity offers. A card 
led or played out of turn is not an 
exposed card, in the above sense, 
but subject to other penalties. 
(See, " Cards Liable to be Called," 
and "I/eadingOut of Turn.") 

Exposed cards [are] cards played in 
error, or dropped face upward on the 
table, or held so that the partner can see 
them.—/?. F. Foster [S. O.], "Complete 
Hoyle:' 

This law [law sixty-six of the English 
code] incase ninety-six [Drayson's "De- 
cisions"] has been construed to mean 
that, if a suit has been called or attempted 
to be called, that the whole penalty for 
leading out of turn has been paid, and 
that the offender can then replace the ex- 
posed card in his hand. This construc- 
tion is certainly more equitable than our 
own, as it does" not make the penally for 
leading out of turn a double one, in case 
a suit is called before calling the exposed 
card.— JV/iist [L. A.], May, 1896. 



The law of the game is very strict with 
regard to shown cards, but nevertheless 
cases occur every day which do not ap- 
pear to us to be punished with sufBcient 
severity. A card is shown either inten- 
tionally or through awkwardness; it may 
either serve to discover the weakness of 
a hand, or it may not be of any material 
consequence. It appears unjust to apply 
undue correction to this fault, but, on the 
other hand, too great lenity will encour- 
age speculation, which it is of the greatest 
importance to repress by every possible 
means. — Deschapelles [C], "Laws,'" Sec- 
tion 6. 

Oue of the players, after the cards are 
dealt, but before the play has commenced, 
gets into a discussion with another, say 
one of his adversaries, and, in a moment 
of thoughtlessness, lays his hand (cards) 
upon the table, face upward. Only the 
top card can be seen, but the adversaries 
demand that his hand be all spread out, 
and called as they please, ffe objects on 
the ground that only the top card can be 
called. Who is right ? This point arose 
many years ago, before these Papers were 
in existence. Bell's Life decided that all 
the cards were exposed. We protested 
agaiust the decision at the time, but with- 
out effect; and, although we think the 
decision harsh, we have never found any 
satisfactory milder puni.shment, and have 
been obliged to follow the decision. — 
Charles Mossop [Z. + O.J, Westminster Papers, 
October i, 1878. 

Exposed Hand.— In the course 
of a game of whist which was being 
played at the Washington Club, 
Paris, one of the players made the 
statement that he could expose his 
entire hand and none of his cards 
were liable to be called, and that 
he would leave it to " Cavendish," 
thewhisteditor of the London Field. 
Onawager, the case was submitted in 
the following form: " A in playing 
whist exhibits his hand to the other 
three players so that every card 
may be seen, but without separating 
them or laying them on the table. 
Can these cards be considered as 
exj)osed, and called as such ?" To 
which " Cavendish" answered as 
follows in the Field of March 8, 
1879: "A player may expose his 
entire hand, so that all the others 
can see it, without a card penalty; 
if done intentionally, no one wovild 



FACE CARDS 



169 



FADS 



play with him again." James Clay 
and other eminent players coin- 
cided with this view, but the editor 
of the Westmhtster Papers pro- 
nounced it "monstrous," and 
"Mogul" and "A. Trump, Jr.," 
were equally emphatic in their dis- 
approval, holding that the cards 
were exposed and liable to be called. 
The entire controversy is given in 
" Laws and Regulations of Short 
Whist," by "A. Trump, Jr." It 
led the Washington Club to drop 
the English rules and to adopt 
others, based upon Deschapelles. 
Among these is one to the effect 
that ' ' all exposed cards can be 
called, no matter in what manner 
they are exposed — if dropped on 
the table, thrown on the table, or 
held above the table, detached, or 
not detached." 

Face Cards. — The king, queen, 
and jack; the three cards in each 
suit bearing a representation of the 
human face. Some authorities in- 
clude the ace among the face cards, 
but this is clearly incorrect. 

Fads.. — There are fads in whist 
as in other things. The difference 
between a fad and an improvement 
in whist is that the fad eventually 
dies out, while the improvement 
compels recognition and general 
acceptance in time. ' ' Cavendish, " 
in Whist for July, 1896, in com- 
paring what he saw in this country 
in 1893 with what he saw on the 
occasion of his second visit in 
1896, says: "I will take the play 
first. There can be no reasonable 
doubt that there has been a vast 
improvement all around. I do not 
propose to enter into details, but 
will merely say I have formed this 
opinion partly from looking over 
players and partly from assisting 
at matches. The introduction of 
various fads does not seem to have 



damaged play as much as I ex- 
pected. This may be partly ac- 
counted for by the fact, which I 
have not been able to verify for 
myself, and of which I have been 
informed, that many players hav- 
ing experimented with fads, and 
having found them trick-losers, 
have abandoned them. I do not 
include among fads the views of 
certain experts, such as Hamilton 
leads and ace leads from a numeri- 
cally long" suit, as these are worthy 
of serious consideration; I may 
state, however, that up to date I 
have not found myself in a position 
to approve them." 

In a paper entitled "Whist 
Fads," in Scribner's Magazine for 
July, 1897, he returns to the sub- 
ject. Among other observations, 
he says that the practice of leading 
nine instead of fourth best, from 
king, jack, nine, and one or more 
small cards (an invention of the 
late G. W. Pettes), " has been tried 
and is now generall}' given up." 
He is opposed to the fad of discard- 
ing an eight, or higher, second 
hand, as a discard trump signal. 
He thinks it should be treated only 
as a suggestion and not a com- 
mand to lead trumps. He finds 
several grave objections to the four- 
signal, although he recognizes the 
fact also that it has the approval of 
a number of distinguished players. 
He dismisses the various signals to 
show two, three, or four trumps, 
with the remark that exhibition of 
weakness in trumps is more likely 
to be of advantage to the adver- 
saries than to the exhibitor. He 
also condemns the fad of an irreg- 
ular original lead in plain suits, 
when an honor is turned up to the 
leader's right hand, as a signal for 
partner to lead a trump through the 
honor. The practice of leading 
originally from a short suit in pre- 
ference to a long one is also un- 



FAI^IvACY 



170 



FALSE CARD 



favorably commented upon, while 
the " rotary discard and like fads" 
are pronounced beneath notice, 
lu regard to the Hamilton leads he 
is still in doubt, but observes: 
" When bands of experts differ on 
a given proposition, the probability 
is that there is not much to it either 
way. ' ' This in allusion to the ques- 
tion whether these leads bring with 
them the risk of losing tricks by 
leading small from king, jack, ten, 
etc. 

It is well to remember that during the 
last three years many new-fangled no- 
tions have come to the front, had ardent 
support for a time, and then have faded 
out. It is not unlikely that many, if not 
most, of to-day's fads will in turn disap- 
pear into " innocuous desuetude." It is 
not well to be too sure of the permanency 
of modern improvements. — Fisher Ames 
[i. ^.], Whist, Oct. -Nov. i8g6. 

Fallacy. — An idea in whist play 
or practice which is entertained and 
believed and acted upon by certain 
players despite all evidence to the 
contrary. Sometimes so-called im- 
provements, or new modes of play, 
are also found to be fallacies, or 
fads. 

Three-fourths of the card-players of 
England believe, or play as if they be- 
lieved, that a trick in trumps counts more 
at the end of the hand than a trick in 
plain suits. Who taught them this fal- 
lacy, and why does it continue to live? — 
Westminster Papers [Z,-t-0.]. 

Fall of the Cards.— The order 
in which the cards are played. The 
cards fall upon the table as they are 
played, and to observe and remem- 
ber those which are out, is to watch 
the fall of the cards. 

To remember the cards that have been 
played is a comparatively small matter, 
but' to be able to read the cards as they 
fall, and carry the information afforded to 
the end of the hand, is a matter of the 
greatest importance. — C. D. P. Hamilton 
\l. a.], "Modern Scientific Whist." 

False Card. — A card played con- 
trary to conventional rule, for the 



purpose of deceiving the adversary, 
but which is liable also to deceive 
partner. This play is condemned 
by nearly all authorities on whist, 
while those who countenance it do 
so only upon exceptional grounds 
and under exceptional circum- 
stances; as when, for instance, 
there is no danger of deceiving 
partner; or, when playing a coup; 
or, when playing with a hopelessly 
bad partner. Players of the first 
rank who frequently play regard- 
less of rule, sometimes make effec- 
tive use of false cards, but even in 
the hands of experts they may 
prove boomerangs. 

Don't play false cards with a good part- 
ner.— .fi^. F. Morgan [O.]. 

The second hand will find more oppor- 
tunity for false-card play than any other 
position. — R. F. Foster \S. O.]. 

The play of false cards, without very 
good reason, is characteristic only of hope- 
lessly bad players. — William Pole [L. A+], 
" Theory of Whist.'''' 

It requires more than ordinary skill to 
judge when a false card will do less harm 
to the partner than to the adversaries. — 
R. F. Foster [5. 0\ "Complete Hoy le." 

I must caution you never to play a false 
card until you have advanced beyond the 
condition of a moderate plaj'er. — A. W. 
Drayson \L-\-A-\-'\, "The Art of Pi'actical 
Whist." 

Avoid playing false cards, and be very 
careful in playing even the smallest 
cards, lest you may deceive your partner. 
— William Pole [L. A-Vl, "Philosophy of 
Whist." 

The playing of false cards * * * is 
but little more commendable in whist 
than is the like in the ordinary affairs of 
daily life. — Emery Boardman \L-\-A!\, 
"Winning Whist.''' 

To impose upon your adversaries is 
perfectly fair and justifiable, but at whist 
we can only occasionally .so impose with- 
out detriment to our partner, and, there- 
fore, to ourselves — Charles Mossop [Z+ 
O.], Westminster Papers. December i, i8y8. 

It is not in harmony with modern sci- 
entific whist to play a false card under 
any circumstances, not even when it de- 
ceives the adversaries only. — C. D. P. 
Hamilton \L. A.], "Modern Scientific 
Whist." 

The third hand may * * * frequently 
play with advantage a false card in a suit 
in which his partner is making a forced 
lead, and in which he knows the strength 



FALSE CARD 



171 



FALSE CARD 



is with the adversaries. — Milton C. Work 
[L.A. H.], '•Whist of To-day." 

Do not play false cards. You will de- 
ceive your partner in niue cases out of 
ten, and generally to his and your injury. 
There may, perhaps, be times when it can 
do no harm, but they are few, and must 
be chosen, if at all, with great skill and 
care. — Fisher A nies [L. A .] . 

Nothing is more tempting to some 
players than the play of a false card; that 
IS, when two or more cards of equal con- 
secutive value are held, and the highest 
is played second, third, or fourth in baud. 
* * * It loses more tricks than it 
makes. — W. M. Deane [L. A+]. 

It must not be confounded with one 
that is merely irregular in lead or follow. 
A discard that tnay be made, instead of 
one that could have been made, is not ne- 
cessarily false play. Coups are always 
irregular, but they are not false, but bril- 
liant variations from routine. — G. W. 
Pettes \L. A. P.], "American Whist Illus- 
trated." 

There are numberless instances where 
you may play a false card which cannot 
injure your partner, and if it misleads 
him it will do no harm, w^hilst it will mis- 
lead the adversaries, and may probably 
give you an advantage. Again, a false 
card played may not be a false card as 
regards your partner, and cannot mislead 
him, but it maybe a false card for the ad- 
versaries. — A. W. Drayson lL-\-A-\-], "Art 
of FH-actical Whist." 

Never play false cards. The habit, to 
which there are many temptations, of 
trying to deceive your adversaries as to 
the stale of your hand, deceives your part- 
ner as well, and destroys his confidence 
in you. A golden maxim for whist is, 
that it is of more importance to inform 
your partner than to deceive your adver- 
sary. The best whist-player is he who 
plays the game in the simplest and most 
intelligible way .—James Clay [L. 0+'\ . 

In the scientific game of whist you give 
your partner (alwaj's at the beginning, 
and almost always throughout the play 
of the hand) all the information in your 
power within the rules of the game. Cases 
may arise towards the end of a hand 
where it becomes clear that your partner 
can do nothing, and nothing can be lost 
by misleading him; then, and then only, 
false cards (deceiving him, but deceiving 
the adversaries also) may be usefully 
played.— ie. A. Proctor [L. O.]. 

There are three kinds of false cards: 
(i) Those that deceive everybody; (2) 
those that deceive your opponents only; 
(3) those that deceive your partner only; 
and a sparing use of the first two — espe- 
cially toward the end of a hand — is often 
advantageous; but in playing cards that 



deceive everybody you must be prepared 
to take entire charge of the game your- 
self, or you will probably have your con- 
duct referred to afterward. The third is 
sacred to bumblepuppy. — "Pembridge" 

L^+o.]. 

False cards are dangerous weapons, and 
should be used with great care. They are 
commonly employed by expert players, 
and frequently give an opportunity for 
the exercise of rare whist judgment. We 
believe that a player has a perfect right 
to give or withhold information. Ke cer- 
tainly is under no obligation to make the 
game easy for his adversaries. While we 
agree with Mr. Cofiin in his general re- 
marks, that the indiscriminate and con- 
tinual use of false cards and deceptive 
leads is neither desirable nor bright, we 
hardly think that he is justified in placing 
well-directed false cards in the same class 
with low trickery and private convention- 
alities.— W^/zwi! \_L. A.], 1897. 

On the whole, it seldom happens that a 
balance of gain results from the adoption 
of deceptive play. Occasionallj', how- 
ever, a false card may be played with a 
special object. For instance, ace is 
turned up to your right, and when the 
dealer gets in, he leads a small trump. 
If you, second hand, have king, queen 
only, you would be justified in playing 
the king in hopes of inducing the trump 
leader to finesse on the return of the 
suit. * * * If your partner has exhib- 
ited weakness in one or more suits, j'ou 
would frequently be justified in playing a 
false card. You are driven to rely solely 
on yourself, and are entitled to adopt 
every artifice your ingenuity can suggest 
in order to perplex the other side. — "Cav- 
endish" \L. A^, "Laws aiid Principles of 
Whist." 

If the play of one false card is sanc- 
tioned, so may the play of two be; or you 
may play one card conventionally and 
the other not, and the integrity of the 
game is gone. * * * if the right to 
play false is recognized, there is then no 
limit to its pernicious and disintegrating 
practice. Besides, there is nothing to be 
gained by playing false cards. If A wins 
the first game by a cheap deception prac- 
ticed upon D, he (D) in turn is at liberty 
to win the second by a similar chicane. 
* * * ]?ut above all other objections 
against the play of false cards stand.s the 
fact that the play may deceive partner, 
and there is nothing to be gained by the 
play that will begin to compensate for 
the loss of confidence such a plav is sure 
to create.— C. D. P. Hamilton '[L. A.], 
"JWoder?i Scientific Whist." 

False cards in adverse suits are some- 
times very effective, as the following 
hand, played in 1871, will show. Z dealt 



FALSE CARDING 



172 FAMOUS WHIST-PLAYERS 



and turned the heart seven. The score 
was love-all, English five-point whist, 
counting honors. 





A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1 1 
12 
13 


7 
♦ Q 


5 
4k 6 

^ 2 

^ 3 
4 « 
8 

cr; 5 
(3? 8 

4k 9 

6 « 
10 4» 


QO 
4k 2 

1;:? A 


AO 


4k 5 
^ 7 
(^ K 


^ 4 

^ 9 
7 4» 
J 


(;? 6 

A « 


K 4k 

2 

(;?io 
100 

4k 10 
Q4k 

5 # 
4k 8 

4k J 


3 

2 4k 

3 4k 

4 
6 

4k 3 
4k 7 
4k A 


<^ Q 


^ J 


KO 


9 


9 « 
* 4 
4k K 


J * 


8 « 





At the ninth trick it is very clear to Z 
that A and B will win the game unless he 
does something to throw them ofi" the 
track. They are already two by honors, 
and must have both ace and king of clubs, 
which will make them three by cards and 
game. The discard of the club ten is to 
lead A to believe that Z originally led 
from ace, jack, ten, five; because it is 
very probable that A has the club king, 
and played in from king, queen, small, at 
trick two, and if Z can deceive him, he 
will avoid leading up to the supposed 
major tenace in clubs. The discard of the 
spade queen is simply carrying out the 
same plan. If Z discards another club 
he betrays himself. If he keeps the un- 
guarded spade queen, he will be forced 
into the lead, and cannot .save the game. 
His only chance is that A will be coaxed 
by these false cards to lead spades, and 
that Y will be able to save the game in 
that suit. The ending is one of the finest 
examples of good false-card play in exist- 
ence, and well worthy of careful study. — 
J?. F. Foster [S. 0.\ Monthly Illustrator, 
1897. 

False Carding. — The practice of 
leading or playing false cards. 

False Lead. — See, "Irregular 
Lead." 

False Scoring at Duplicate. — 

See, "Scoring." 



Famous Whist - Players. — We 

have already said something about 
"Celebrated People Who Played 
Whist" {q. v.). Great whist-play- 
ers are more rare. In fact, it has 
been asserted that not more than 
two or three men ever completely 
mastered the game. The great 
players, who were universally ad- 
mitted to have been such, can 
almost be counted on one's fingers. 
To begin with the beginning of the 
game, Ho3'le, its father, was a great 
teacher, but not a great player. A 
writer in the Westmt7ister Papers 
says: "To man)' it may seem late 
in the day to refer to the writings 
of Mathews. That gentleman was 
the finest player of his day, whereas 
his predecessor, Hoyle, was not." 
Thomas Mathews knew this, too, 
for he takes pains in his book to 
cast a reflection upon the play of 
Hoyle. Greater than Mathews, 
however, was Deschapelles. Says 
"Cavendish:" "It is remarkable 
that the ' finest whist-player ' who 
ever lived should have been, ac- 
cording to Clay, a Frenchman, M. 
Deschapelles. ' ' This praise is now 
universally admitted to have been 
justly bestowed. James Clay him- 
self, however, was an extraordinary 
player, the finest in all England in 
his day, although his fame as an 
authority on the game perhaps 
overshadowed his fame as a player. 
Charles Hervey, in "The Whist 
Table," tells us that "a master of 
the art (Lord Henry Bentinck), 
who had survived a generation, 
was asked who were the best whist- 
players he ever knew. He instantly 
named three: the late Earl Gran- 
ville, the Hon. George Anson, and 
Henry Lord de Ros. On being 
asked for the fourth, he paused, but 
there was no need of hesitation. 
* * * The palm was popularly con- 
sidered to lie between Lord Henry 
Bentinck and Mr. Clay, whose 



FAMOUS WHIST-PLAYERS 1 73 FAMOUS WHIST-PL AYBRS 



styles were so essentially different 
that an instructive parallel might 
be drawn between them after the 
manner of Plutarch." 

"Since Deschapelles," says a 
writer in Blackwood's Magazine, 
" there has been no such player in 
Europe, except perhaps a Greek — 
a M. Kalergi, the brother of the 
minister of that name." Charles 
Mossop, in the Westminster Papers 
for April, 1879, speaks of another 
foreigner, "Belaieff," as, "in our 
judgment, the best whist-player 
that ever lived." 

In our own day "Cavendish" is 
looked upon as England's repre- 
sentative player and exponent of] 
the game. But ' ' Pembridge, ' ' in 
a letter to Whist, declared that 
"there is no finer player in all 
England" than J. C." Davis. Mr. 
Davis plays a game which is as 
different from "Cavendish's" as 
James Clay's was from Lord Ben- 
tmck's. " Cavendish" dedicated 
his "Card Essays" to Edward Tav- 
ener Foster, whom (on page 178) he 
mentions as ' 'the finest whist-player 
I have ever met." 

It has been remarked by com- 
petent judges like "Cavendish," 
that the average of skill is much 
higher in this country than in 
Europe, and that Deschapelles him- 
self might have looked to his 
laurels in contests with members of 
the American Whist League. 

The late John Rheinart, of the 
Milwaukee Whist Club (who years 
ago played frequently with Des- 
chapelles), was considered one of 
the very best players in this 
country. N. B. Trist placed J. 
M. Kennedy, of New Orleans, 
in the very first rank of whist 
adepts; and R. F. Foster, in his 
' ' Whist Strategy, ' ' speaks of Ru- 
fus Allen, of Milwaukee, as " prob- 
ably one of the strongest whist- 
players living, if we may judge by 



his record extending over many 
years." 

It would be a most serious task 
to attempt, without an exhaustive 
competition, the classification of 
the leading players of the United 
States. There are so many really 
fine players that opinions must 
vary as to which are the very best. 
Bearing this in mind, yet anxious 
to throw some light on the sub- 
ject, if possible, we invited a 
confidential expression of opinion 
from twenty-five experts in various 
parts of the country — those thor- 
oughly conversant with the subject 
through personal knowledge and 
experience — and the result is given 
below. The question was: "Who, 
in your opinion, are the twenty 
foremost whist- players of this coun- 
try ? " Not more than twenty were 
named by each, and in no case was 
any one allowed to vote for himself. 
The result was as follows: 

Gro-Hp No. I. — Receiving from ten to 
twenty-four votes. 

Votes. 

1. Geo. I,. Bunn, St. Paul, Minn. ... 24 

2. Jolin H. Briggs, Minneapolis, Minn. 22 

3. Lander M. Bouv^, Boston, Mass. . . 20 

4. Thos. A. Whelan, Baltimore, Md. . 20 

5. Milton C. Work, Philadelphia, ... 20 

6. E. A. Ballard, Phildaelphia 19 

7. Gustavus Remak, Jr., Philadelphia, ig 

8. W. G. Bronson, Stillwater, Minn. . 17 
g. Frank P. Mogridge, Philadelphia. . 17 

10. C. A. Henriques, New York .... 16 

11. W. J. Walker, Chicago 16 

12. W. E. P. Duvall, Baltimore, Md. . . 15 

13. C. D. P. Hamilton, Easton, Pa. . . 15 

14. John T. Mitchell, Chicago 15 

15. David Muhlfelder, Albany, N. Y. . 15 
l5. A. E- Taylor, Brooklyn, N. Y. . . . 15 

17. G. W. Keehn, Chicago 12 

18. J. B. Elwell, Brooklyn, N. Y. ... 11 

19. C. P. Snow, Albany, N. Y 11 

20. Joseph S. Neflf, Philadelphia .... 10 

21. Jules P.Wooten, Washington, D. C. 10 

Group No. 2. — Receiving nine votes or less, 

Allen, Rufus, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Ames, Fisher, Newton, Mass. 

Aymar, H. F., Newark, N. J. 

Baker, E. T., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Baldwin, John H., Chicago. 

Becker, Charton L., Boston, Mass. (9) 

Bi§;elow, I. H., Boston, Mass. 

Briggs, O. H., Minneapolis, Minn. 



FANCY WHIST 



174 FENOLI.OSA, WIIvLIAM S. 



Bristol, W. T. G., Chicago. 

Clay, Charles M., Roxbury, Mass. 

Curtis, C. L-, Toledo, O. 

Fenollosa, William S., Salem, Mass. 

Foster, R F., New York. 

Gleason, John B., New York. 

George, J. A., Providence, R. I. 

Gordon, Charles, St. Paul, Minn. 

Hart, E. Stanley, Philadelphia. 

Hawkins, W. E., New York. 

Hill, Chester W., Philadelphia. 

Howell, E. C., Boston, Mass. 

Hudson, William, Buffalo, N. Y. 

Keiley, Charles R., New York. 

Low, H. N., Washington, D. C. 

Manson, Thomas, New York. 

McCay, A. Harvey, Baltimore, Md. 

McKay, Theodore, New York. 

Montgomery, E. A., Minneapolis, Minn. 

Morse, George W., Boston, Mass. 

Paine, Cassius M., Milwaukee, Wis. 

Parry, N. H., Chicago. 

Parsons, R. i,.. Chicago. 

Richter, Otto, Tacoma, Washington. 

Rogers, G. T., Plainfield, N. J. 

Rogers, R. M., Chicago. 

Smith, Beverley W., Baltimore, Md. (9) 

Smith, E. LeRoy, Albany, N. Y. 

Smith, Wilbur F., Baltimore, Md. 

Steele, J. N., Baltimore, Md. 

Stevens, Harry S., Chicago. 

Street, W. J., New York. 

Talmadge, Henry P., New York. 

Tormey, P. J., San Francisco. 

Townsend, Samuel, Plainfield, N. J. 

Trainor, William, Chicago. 

Trist, N. B., New Orleans. 

Walls, George, Washington, D. C. 

Ward, H. H., Boston, Mass. 

Watson, W. H., Philadelphia. 

Weems, R. H., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Wood, J. H., Chicago. 

Fancy Whist. — Whist ititrodiic- 
itig strange or unauthorized plays. 

Father of the Game. — A name 
bestowed upon Edmond Hoyle, the 
author of the first published trea- 
tise on whist, (See, " Hoyle.") 

In 1742 whist was adopted by Edmond 
Hoj'le, who is to this day called the father 
of the game.— "Cavettdtsk." [Z,. A.}, in 
"The Whist Table:' 

Fa u its. — Whist - players have 
their faults — even the best of them 
have their failings. Let us, there- 
fore, be charitable to one another, 
slow to anger, and constantly on 
the alert to correct ourselves before 
we attempt the correction of others. 



The worst two faults that can be com- 
mitted at whist are: (i) To force your 
partner after he has led trumps. (2) To 
play a card of which neither of your ad- 
versaries have one, so as to enable the 
•weak hand to trump and the strong to get 
a discard. — Westminster Papers [Z,+0.]. 

I have frequently sat opposite a partner 
■who, at the end of a hand in which he 
has lost two or three tricks, would him- 
self commence the conversation by such 
remarks as these: " Now, partner, you 
must not find fault with me; if you find 
fault it makes me play far worse than I 
otherwise should plaj'. I do my best, and 
that is all I can do, so it's no use scolding 
me." Now, if you found fault with a 
man's stature, or the shape of his nose, 
or the color of his eyes, or anything else 
belonging to him which he could not 
alter, the above remarks might possess 
some reason. When, however, any indi- 
vidual asserts that he not only does not 
wish to know by what means he loses 
tricks, nor does he want to know how he 
might play a better game than he does 
play, and that supplying him with this 
information actually makes him play 
worse, it exhibits a peculiarity of mind 
which, in any business habits of life, 
would almost qualify a man for a lunatic 
asylum. — A. W. Drajyson[L+A+2. 

" Favorite Whist." — One of the 

many variations introduced into 
the game of whist. It is ordinary 
whist, with or without honors, its 
distinguishing characteristic being 
the additional value which is given 
to the first trump suit every time it 
is turned up again during the rub- 
ber. This suit is called the favor- 
ite, and tricks and honors in it 
count double after the first time it 
is played. The game has several 
variations. 

Favorite whist simply changes the 
value of tricks in scoring, according to 
the trump suit.— >?. T: Foster \S. O.]. 

Fenolllosa, William S. — A suc- 
cessful teacher of whist and whist 
expert. He was born in Salem, 
Mass., December 3, 1854; was 
graduated from Harvard College 
in 1875; followed music as a pro- 
fession for some years, appearing in 
public occasionally as a pianist of 
fine ability. About the year 1889, 



FENOIvLOSA, WILLIAM S. 1 75 



FIELD, THE" 



■whist-teaching supplanted music 
with him, however, and since that 
time he has devoted all his time to 
giving instructions in the game. 

Mr. Fenollosa was very fond of 
card games as a child, but did not 
like whist, against which he had 
formed a prejudice. He disliked 
the sound of "second hand low" 
and "third hand high," and fan- 
cied it a sort of old fogy's game. 
An aunt of his persisted in saying, 
however, that it was just the kind 
of game that he would enjoy most, 
if he would only give it a trial. 
When he was seventeen years of 
age she presented him with a copy 
of Pole, and upon reading it his 
interest was at once aroused. He 
practicall}' learned the book by 
heart before playing a single game. 
From that time on he was a self- 
taught player, thinking things out 
for himself, and, in addition, study- 
ing all new works on whist as they 
appeared. He informs us, in a 
letter, that " Cavendish's" has ever 
seemed to him the standard work 
on whist. "I am," he continues, 
" a firm believer in the long- suit 
system, but with a touch of bold 
trump-leading added to it. I think 
most players are too conservative 
on this point. I always lead tramps 
from four with three of each plain 
suit. Moreover, I believe it to be 
better to lead from four trumps than 
from a four-card plain suit of indif- 
ferent strength; e. g., from ace, 
jack, and tv/o small (trumps); ten, 
three small; king, two small; king, 
one small, I lead a small trump. I 
should almost never open a hand 
with a four-card plain suit, all below 
the ten; but I also very seldom open 
with a short plain suit. I prefer the 
short-trump opening, or the four- 
card trump. I almost invariably 
lead trumps from five; am rarely 
deterred by an honor cut. From 
eight, seven, six (trump); nine, 



three small; king, two small; ace, 
two small, I lead the eight of 
trumps. From queen, one small 
(trump); king, three small; four 
small; queen, two small, I lead 
queen of trumps. I believe strongly 
in American leads, unblocking, and 
the four-trump signal. I am in- 
clined to the four-trump echo, or, 
perhaps, some combination of the 
four and three. I suspect that the 
Boston echo for exactly three trumps 
is a trick-loser, but am in some 
doubt. As a member of the Amer- 
ican team, I have had much practice 
with this echo, and am inclined to 
think it helps the clever adversary 
even more than the partner" — au 
opinion which accords with what 
" Cavendish" says in the article on 
" Fads" {q. v.). 

"I am," continues Mr. Fenol- 
losa, ' ' a firm believer in the lead 
of queen from queen, jack, ten, 
and others, and not the ten. ^^ His 
arguments on this subject were 
published in Whist for March and 
May, 1896, and are quoted from in 
our article on "American Leads, 
Changes in" {q. vS). 

Mr. Fenollosa played on the 
team from the American Club, of 
Boston, which defeated the Hamil- 
tons in December, 1896, at Phila- 
delphia, in one of the very few 
matches which the latter lost in the 
contest for the Challenge Trophy. 
He also played on the teams which 
represented Boston at the fourth 
and sixth congresses of the Ameri- 
can Whist League. He has taught 
whist professionally for eight 3'ears 
past, mostly in Boston, Salem, Na- 
hant, and Mt. Deseret Island. Be- 
sides numerous contributions in 
Whist, he has also written articles 
for the London Field. 

"Field, The."— A London 
weekly journal, devoted to sports 
and pastimes. It was established 



FIELD, THE '■ 



176 FIELDING AND WHIST 



about forty-five years ago, and is 
celebrated among whist-players by 
reason of its card department, 
which was begun by " Cavendish," 
December 6, 1862, and has been in 
his charge ever since. At first 
there was no idea of making it a 
regular department. The publica- 
tion of his ' ' Principles of Whist' ' 
had drawn public attention to the 
author, and he was invited to write 
some articles on the game. He was 
paid the same as any other contrib- 
utor, at so much per column. A 
number of letters were received 
which he answered, and eventually 
he was paid a regular salary, and 
became, in fact, the editor of a card 
department. It was at first headed 
"Whist, "but other games being 
mentioned and commented upon, 
the title was changed to " Cards." 
The permanent engagement of 
"Cavendish" was brought about 
without any formal agreement, nor 
has there ever been any. He in- 
forms us that it has worked well, 
as he has never had an unpleasant 
word with the Field people all 
these years. 

The character of the Field is of 
the highest grade. " Cavendish" 
says: "We do not like to hear it 
called a sporting paper, but a 
sportsman'' s paper. I don't know 
whether you draw the same dis- 
tinction in America. Everything 
that your sisters, or your (female) 
cousins, or your aunts, cannot read, 
is carefully kept out. One of the 
sub-editors amused me the other 
day. Turning over some proof, he 
said, 'Jones, this is not a news- 
paper!' 'Oh,' I answered, 'then 
what is it ?' He replied, ' It is an 
institution.'' " 

The Field is the only paper in 
England which has a regular de- 
partment devoted to whist and 
other card games, and it is the ac- 
knowledged authoritj'. 



Fieldimg and Whist. — The ear- 
liest references to whist which 
occur in standard literature are 
those contained in Fielding's cele- 
brated novel of "Tom Jones," 
which was published seven years 
after Hoyle's treatise. Four of 
the characters — Lady Bellaston, 
Lord Fellantar, Tom Edivards, 
and the lovable Sophia herself —are 
" engaged at whist and in the last 
game of their rubber," when, at 
the instigation of Lady Bellaston, 
Totn rattles off the fiction of the 
death of Tom Jones in a duel. 
Amid the agitation produced by 
this piece of alleged news, poor 
Sophia resumes the deal, which she 
had momentarily interrupted, "and 
having dealt three cards to one, 
seven to another, and ten to a 
third," now drops the rest of the 
pack on the table, and falls back in 
a swoon. 

The other reference to whist 
occurs when Nightingale explains 
to Tom Jones the reason for dis- 
missing his man-servant. He justi- 
fies his conduct by the heinousness 
of the offense which the footman 
had committed. It was not the 
first of his faults, for many of his 
"provoking" acts had been over- 
looked by his master; but the last 
offense, Nightingale pleaded, was 
inexcusable. He had come home 
to his lodgings in Bond street that 
night several hours before his usual 
time — an act which is always im- 
prudent on the part of a lodger — 
and had found "four gentlemen of 
the cloth" comfortably seated by 
his fireside, in all the pleasures of 
a game of whist. This piece of in- 
discretion he would have passed by 
in silence, or, at the best, with a 
word of warning that it must not 
be repeated. There was worse to 
come, and that constituted the 
gravamen of the off'ense. ' ' My 
Hoyle, sir," he cries aloud in his 







.C. c;ije'5'JJ 







AND WHIST 

'hist.— The ear 
whist whic; 



fi- 





"'.. The puLl' 
ciples of Will 

• attentior ' . 
s invited 


paid Llie san; 
utor, at so • 
numbtr of 




which !.if» ;n. 
he- 
be 

dC; F 


^residents nf 



the title was changed to'**tfam 
The permanent eiigagenient. ol 
"Cavendish" was brought about 

fonns ns that it has \' 

^"^^ ' ' ■"" ■ ' Eugene S. Elliott 

th- . 
Thv/a'tt©rM' 'Barney. 



ev 



;i a. duet, 

■fiuced b\ 

'..ws, poo\ 

which sh'. 

ipved, "ana 

Is to one, 

and ten to a 



c ; 'ipVi 
cards 



iui I," now drops the rest of th • 
L-- •, k on the table, and falls back ii 
a swoon. 

'teoaof'e^Sifito9^ ^^ T^^^^ 

• gniingale explains 
'he reason for dis 



H. A. Mandell. 



is caiefuiiy y,.- 

sub-editors ^ 

day. Tumin 

said, ' Jones, 

paper!' * Oh, j ausweix-M. 

what is it?' He replied, 'Ji 

institution."* 

The Fiifid is the only pni 
England which has a rcenl 
partment devoted to 
other card games, an<l 
knowledged author its'. 



u>me 

ucei that 

his usual 

.. ^.livays im- 

' ol a lodger — 

; gentlemen of 

ibly seated by 

e pleasures of 

f in- 

dby 

fh a 

not 



••vu iu hii 



FIFTH-BBST LBAD 



177 



FINESSE 



agony, "my best Hoyle, whicli 
cost me a guinea, lying open on 
the table, with a quantity of porter 
spilt on one of the most material 
leaves of the whole book!" Even 
this, provoking as it was, might 
have been overlooked, but the ser- 
vant answered with the pertness 
of his class, that ' ' several of his 
acquaintances had bought the same 
for a shilling," and that his master 
might stop that much in his wages, 
"if he pleased!" This, and the 
subsequent proceedings, rendered 
their parting a matter of necessity. 
Nightingale lost his servant and 
remained in the possession of a 
damaged Hoyle. 

Fifth- Best Lead. — The second 
maxim of the American leads pro- 
vides that when a player opens a 
strong suit with a high card, and 
next leads a low card, he should 
lead the original fourth best, ignor- 
ing in the count any card marked 
in his hand. " Cavendish" subse- 
quently adopted Lhe rule of leading, 
on second round, the fourth best 
remaining in the hand, or in 
other words, the fifth best origi- 
nally. 

N. B. Trist, while adhering to the 
maxim as originally promulgated, 
made an exception in the case of 
the lead of the queen, which is com- 
mented upon in Hamilton's " Mod- 
ern Scientific Whist' ' ( 1896) . When 
the queen is led and wins, Mr. Trist 
decided to next lead the fourth 
best, counting from and including 
the card first led. As, from king, 
queen, ten, eight, seven, lead queen, 
and (the queen winning) then 
seven, thereby showing two cards 
of intermediate rank between the 
queen and the seven-spot. The 
second lead is, in effect, a fifth-best 
lead. 

Hamilton says: "There are ad- 
vantages in favor of this mode of 



opening this combination as com- 
pared with queen, then original 
fourth best. It will be found upon 
analysis that the lead of the origi- 
nal fifth best, after queen winning, 
will often yield information that 
the lead of the fourth best will 
withhold, and no disadvantages at- 
tend the play. " The same author 
is, however, opposed to the lead of 
the fifth best as a second lead after 
the original lead of an ace. He 
says, in Whist for March, 1895: 
" It appears clear that the balance 
of advantage is overwhelmingly in 
favor of the lead of the original 
fourth best, after ace, as against the 
second lead of the original fifth 
best, or any lower card. ' ' 

" Fifth Honor, The."— In Eng- 
land the ten of trumps is frequently 
spoken of as "the fifth honor," 
from the fact that it is the card 
next in rank to the true honors — 
ace, king, queen, and jack. "A 
century ago," says Courtney, "it 
was dubbed ' the Welsh honor,' an 
expression which may be taken, 
according to the desire of the 
reader, as a compliment or an 
insult to that ' gallant little ' princi- 
pality." 

Finesse. — An artifice or strata- 
gem in whist which adds greatly to 
the interest and scientific value of 
the game. To finesse is to try to 
take a trick with a card which is 
not the best that you could have 
played. As, for instance, holding 
ace, queen, and others, you play 
the queen upon the lead of a low 
card, in the hope that the king lies 
to your right. If you are correct 
in your inference, you have gained 
a trick. Finesses are made second, 
third, or fourth hand, and upon 
cards led by opponents as well as 
those led by partner. Finesse 
deeply in your own or opponents' 



FINESSE 



178 



FINESSE 



suits, at the same time taking care, 
if possible, to leave your hand in 
good condition, in case the finesse 
should fail. As a rule, do not 
finesse in your partner's suit; you 
do not wish to save the high cards 
in it, but rather to get rid of them, 
so as not to block his game. Fi- 
nesses in your own and partner's 
weak suit is advisable when trump 
strength is against you, and you 
have poor prospects of winning. It 
is also advisable to finesse more 
deeply in trumps than in plain 
suits. The finesse has been used as 
a formidable weapon by good play- 
ers since the days of Hoyle. Des- 
chapelles devoted much attention 
to it in his play, and describes 
several different kinds of finesses in 
his treatise on the game. 

Failure to finesse at the right time is a 
more common error than injudicious 
finessing.—/?. F. Foster [S. O.], ''Whist 
Tactics.'" 

The law of finesse, the strength and 
beauty of whist, has never changed, will 
never change. — G. W. Pettes [L. A. /*.], 
"American IVhist Illustrated.''' 

Finesses are generally right in trumps, 
or, if strong in trumps, in other suits; 
otherwise they are not to be risked but 
■with caution.-^ 7%(;»2aj Mathews [L. O.], 
"Advice to the Young Whist-Player," 1804. 

With ordinary hands, finesse may be 
deep at their commencement, should 
contract as they go on, until the last four 
or five cards there is scarcely any oppor- 
tunity left for finesse, properly so called. 
—James Clay [L. 0+]. 

The player must be taking a chance 
when he finesses. If the location of the 
card is known either from being turned 
or marked by the development, it requires 
no artifice or stratagem to play the lower 
card. — Whist [L. A.] , December, 18%. 

You are said to finesse against the in- 
termediate card, and sometimes also 
against the person who holds it; but as, 
by the nature of the case, it should be 
-unknown where the card lies, the latter 
meaning is apt to create confusion. The 
person against whom you act is more cor- 
rectly the fourth player. — William Pole 
\;L.A-V\, "Theory of Whist." 

The best players do not advocate very 
great finessing by a third-hand player in 
his partner's suit. When the original 



lead is a conventional one, practically 
the only finesse justifiable in a plain suit 
on a small card led is the queen, with ace, 
queen. Any face card led, however, is 
finessed with any other face card in hand. 
—Milton C. Work [L. A. I/.], "Whist of 
To-day." 

The word is sometimes applied to cases 
where it is certain the inferior card will an- 
swer the purpose intended; as, for exam- 
ple, where the left hand has already shown 
weakness. But this is clearly a misuse of 
the term, for unless there is a risk of the 
card being beaten it is only ordinary 
play, and can involve no finessing, prop- 
erly so called. — William Pole [L. A-\r\, 
"Theory of Whist." 

This term is applicable to any form of 
strategy, underplay, or artifice. * « * 
Many players imagine that finesse is an 
artifice to be practiced only by third hand; 
it belongs, however, to every seat at the 
table. Fourth hand may refuse to take a 
trick; leader and second hand may un- 
derplay. You cannot lay down specific 
rules governing finesse. Rob whist of 
finesse and you take from the game its 
greatest charm. — C. D. P. Hamilton \L. 
A.], ^'Modern Scientific Whist." 

The finesse obligatory most commonly 
occurs on the second round of a suit led 
originally by the player who, on the 
second round, is the third hand. In this 
situation, with the best card marked in 
the fourth hand, and the second and 
fourth-best cards in the third hand, or the 
fourth best led and the second best in the 
third hand, the finesse should be made, 
as if the third best is also in the fourth 
hand, no harm is done; if it is in the 
second hand, a gain is made. — Milton C. 
Work [L. A. II.], " Whist of To-day." 

If, when a suit is played, each party 
were to hasten to force it with their best 
card, the most skillful player would be he 
who is best furnished with that suit; the 
strongest card would, iu all cases, deter- 
mine the fortune of the players; all sci- 
ence and skill would entirely disappear 
from the game, and the empire of brute 
force, operating in all cases with the same 
power, would be firmly establi.shed. 
Ennui would soon give rise to new inno- 
vations, the usele.'^s trouble of dealing the 
cards would be discontinued, and thus 
that beautiful problem, whist, would be 
degraded into the common and ignoble 
game of rouge ou noir. All this is, how- 
ever, prevented by the finesse. The prin- 
ciple of this practice, which forms an es- 
sential part in all the various combina- 
tions we are here investigating,and which 
is based upon acute discernment and a 
w^ell-calculated doctrine of chance, is dia- 
metrically opposed to mere chance. It 
deprives the latter, one by one, of the 



FINESSING 



179 



FIVE-SPOT 



advantages it possesses, and eventually 
completes the triumph of mind over 
matter. — Deschapelles [O.]. 

The common-sense finesse is when you 
have discovered that the highest card but 
one in a suit has been played third in 
hand by j'our left-hand adversary, and 
you hold the best and third-best card in 
the suit. The finesse speculative is this: 
You hold the best and the third-best card 
in a suit — say ace and queen; j'our part- 
ner leads this suit, and third in hand you 
finesse your queen. * * The principles 
of this finesse are that you play against 
an even chance that the king of the suit 
is to your right, and that your partner, 
from leading the suit, will probably him- 
self hold knave or king. The arbitrary 
finesse is the following: You hold queen, 
ten, and three of spades; you lead the 
three, partner wins with the king, and re- 
turns you a small spade. You know that 
the ace is now to your left, but you do not 
know where the knave is. It may be to 
you right: your queen if played will be 
taken \>y the ace. If both ace and knave 
be to the left, both will win. If, however, 
the knave be to your right, your ten will 
draw the ace, and your queen remain the 
best card. Consequently, you are bound to 
play the ten. — A. W. Drayson [Z.-t-^-|-], 
' ' The Art of Practical Whist." 

Finessing Against Yourself. — 

One of the most common errors 
which beginners make is to cover a 
jack led with queen, second hand, 
when holding ace, queen, and 
others. The proper play is the 
ace. The play of the queen, under 
these circumstances, is what is ex- 
pressively termed finessing against 
yourself. 

Don't finesse against yourself. If you 
have led from ace, knave, etc., and 3'our 
partner has made the queen, the king is 
certainly not on your right. If, on the 
other hand, you have led from king, and 
vour partner again has made the queen, 
it can be no use to put on the king; the 
ace must be over you. — "Pembridge" [/,-|- 
O.]. 

Finessing by the Eleven Rule. 

— ^This is explained by R. F. Foster, 
the originator of the eleven rule 
(q. v.), as follows: " It is based on 
the principle that you have a right 
to finesse against one card on the 
first round of a suit, whether you 



have strength in trumps or not, 
just as with ace, queen [with or 
without small cards] , on your part- 
ner's lead. You should have 
pretty strong trumps to justify a 
finesse in the second round of a 
suit, as it is unlikely that it will go 
round a third time. Suppose you 
hold king, ten, three. Your part- 
ner leads eight; four second. You 
deduct eight from eleven and find 
that there is only one card out 
against your partner, but you know 
neither the card nor where it is. 
Pass the eight led. Remembering • 
that your partner cannot have ace, 
queen, jack, you can demonstrate 
that out of six possible positions in 
which all the cards above an eight 
can be placed, there are only two 
in which your finesse will fail. In 
other words, it is two to one that 
the trick is won by the eight led. 
* * * One of the chief advantages 
of this mode of finessing is that 
the original leader, if he knows 
that his partner uses it, can often 
assume that his suit is established, 
although it has been led only 



First Hand. — The player to the 
left of the dealer; the eldest hand; 
the player who makes the opening 
lead. 

*' Five of Clubs." — Apseudonym 
under which Professor Richard A. 
Proctor wrote many articles, and 
several books, on whist. (See, 
"Proctor, R. A.") 

Five-Point Whist. — Short whist 

without counting honors; much 
played in this country before the 
American seven-point game came 
into vogue. 

Five-Spot. — A low card,the tenth 
in rank in the pack. It is led only 
as a fourth best in the American 



FOLKESTONE, LORD 



1 80 



FOLLOW 



leads, and a penultimate or ante- 
penultimate in the old leads. It is 
one of the desirable cards with 
which to start a trump signal. In 
the Howell (short-suit) system the 
lead of the five, four, three, or two 
indicates the long-suit game, with 
trump strength and probably a good 
suit, and commands partner to 
lead trumps. 

Folkestone, Lord. — One of the 

first players in England to take up 
and make a systematic study of the 
game of whist. He was originally 
Sir Jacob de Bouverie, and, after 
serving in Parliament, was elevated 
to the peerage June 29, 1747, by 
the titles of Lord Longford, Baron 
of Longford, and Viscount Folke- 
stone. He died in 1761. 

Lord Folkestone should ever be 
held in high esteem by whist-play- 
ers for his services in taking up and 
developing the game, which at that 
time was just emerging from ob- 
scurity and from its very humble 
surroundings. He formed one of a 
select circle at the Crown Coffee- 
House (^. v.), in Bedford Row, 
Loudon, and here is where scien- 
tific whist had its first beginning in 
1728; for these gentlemen, under 
his leadership, devised a code of 
regulations and otherwise greatly 
improved the game. The deuces 
were restored to the pack, and the 
whole fifty-two cards brought into 
play. The odd trick became a 
permanent feature of the game, 
and ten points instead of nine were 
made the rule. The original lead 
from the strongest suit was recom- 
mended, and partner's hand was also 
to some extent considered. Thus 
the game was made ready for Hoyle 
to take it up and bring it into great 
popularity. And, by the way, 
Folkestone is held by some author- 
ities to have been an altogether 
dififerent player from Hoyle. 



George W. Pettes quotes Dr. Dakin 
as saying of him: " He was a 
startling contrast to Cotton and 
Curll, and Seymour and Irnay, 
and, I may add, to Hoyle, who was 
one of the gamesters; for not one 
of these cared for the quality of a 
game, but only for the mone}' that 
any game caused to leap from the 
pockets of the unwary." What- 
ever we may think of this severe 
arraignment of Hoyle, it is cer- 
tain that Lord Folkestone was a 
credit and honor to whist, and sin- 
cerely devoted to its improvement. 
The portrait published in this 
volume is from a photograph of a 
painting by Hudson, kindly fur- 
nished by the Countess of Radnor, 
of Longford Castle, Salisbury, Eng- 
land. In a letter she calls attention 
to the fact that her illustrious kins- 
man was also a great patron of art, 
having been the first president of 
the Royal Society for the Encour- 
agement of Arts and Sciences. 

It was about this time (1728) that the 
first Lord Folkestone and his party used 
to play whist scienttz causa at the Crown 
Coflfee-House, in Bedford Row. This is 
the first mention we have of whist being 
played scientifically. — "Cavendish''' \L. 
A.\ ''The Whist Table." 

It seems a pity that the g-ood example 
set by Folkestone did not become a per- 
petuity. I cannot find that money was at 
any time used as an incentive to the play. 
At any rate, as there were plenty of short 
games for the gamesters, this noble one 
should not have been debased. — Dela- 
roche. 

It happened that a party of gentlemen 
who frequented the Crown Coffee-House, 
in Bedford Row, and of whom the first 
lyOrd Folkestone was one, had become 
acquainted with the game, and in defi- 
ance of its bad reputation, tried it at 
their meetings. Thev soon found out it 
had merits. They studied it carefully, 
and arrived, for the first time, at some 
principles of play.— William Pole \L. A +], 
''The Evolution of Whist." 

Follow. — The play of second, 
third, or fourth hand constitutes 
the follow, the play of the first 
hand being the lead. An expres- 



FOIvLOW SUIT 



I8l 



FORCE 



sion frequently used by G. W. 
Pettes in his "American Whist," 

Follow Suit. — To play a card of 
the same suit as the one led. Failure 
to do so when you have the suit 
constitutes a revoke. 

Farce. — To force is to lead a card 
which an opponent must trump in 
order to take it, or to play a losing 
card purposely for partner to trump. 
The object is to extract trumps and 
thereby weaken the adversary, or 
to enable your partner to make 
tricks with trumps which would 
otherwise be lost. The rule is to 
force the opponent who is shown to 
be strong in trumps, but not his 
partner, who must not be allowed 
to take tricks with his trumps, if 
possible. You force the adversary 
when you are weak in trumps and 
he is strong. You force partner 
when you are strong in trumps and 
he is weak. But there are cases 
when you must force partner, even 
though you are weak yourself; for 
instance, if he has shown a desire 
to be forced; when you can estab- 
lish a cross-ruff thereby; when over- 
whelming strength in trumps has 
been shown by the adversaries, or 
when you need but a single trick 
to save the game. 

There is another somewhat allied 
mode of forcing which does not 
involve the use of trumps. It con- 
sists of leading a strengthening 
card to your partner, by means of 
which you force out a high card 
which may be held by the adversa- 
ries, and help establish his suit. 

Hesitate about trumping- an intentional 
force from your partner, if you are long 
in trumps and hold a good and well es- 
tablished plain suit. — A. J. Mchitosh\L. 
A.], "Modern IVhist," 1888. 

Always force the strong, seldom the 
weak, never the two; otherwise you play 
your adversaries' game, and give the one 
an opportunity to make his small trumps 



while the other throws away his losing 
cards. — Tfiotnas Mathews [L. C], ''^Advice 
to the Young Whist-Player." 

At best, the forcing game is a poor one. 
It is a cheap way of making tricks. There 
are comparatively few hands where the 
best play— the play which will make the 
most tricks — renders it necessary to delib- 
erately force your partner. — C. D. P. Ham- 
ilton \L. A^, "Modern Scientific IVhist." 

With a weak hand, seek every oppor- 
tunity of forcing your adversary. It is a 
comrnon and fatal mistake to abandon 
your strong suit because you see that 
your adversary will trump it. Above all, 
if he refuses to trump, make him, if you 
can; and remember that when you are 
not strong enough to lead a trump, you 
are weak enough to force your adversary. 
—James Clay [L. 0+]. 

It does not mean never force your part- 
ner if weak in trumps yourself; but it 
means if you see a good chance of mak- 
ing more tricks by not forcing j'our part- 
ner than you could make by forcing him, 
then refrain from the force; but you should 
always remember that it does not follow 
that your partner must take a force, even 
though you offer it him. — A . IV. Drayson. 
IL+A+], " The Art of Practical Whisi." 

It is usually very difficult to convince 
the beginner that the weaker he is him- 
self, the more reason he has for forcing 
the adversaries to trump his good cards. 
He is constantly falling into the error of 
changing from a good suit, which the ad- 
versaries cannot stop without trumping, 
to a weak suit, which allows them to get 



strength. — P. F. Foster 



ly waste 

is. o.]. 



"Completi 



into the lead wjthout anjy waste of trump 

strengtl 

Hoyle." 

When the player forced holds only four 
trumps, he trumps with his fourth best. 
If he then leads a low trump, he goes on 
with his lowest remaining card. * * * 
When the player forced holds five trumps, 
he takes the force with his fourth-best 
card. If he next leads a low trump, he 
continues with his lowest. ■■■ * * The 
rule of taking the force with the fourth 
best, holding five trumps, is subject to a 
rather large exception. When the fourth- 
best trump is of such value that taking 
the force with it may imperil a trick later 
on. it must be reserved. For instance, 
with such cards as king, knave, nine, 
seven, three, a careful player would 
rightly trump with the three and lead the 
seven. For the time, partner is not in- 
formed as to the number of trumps held. 
* * * With more than five trumps, the 
fourth best w^ould frequently be too high 
to trump with for the mere sake of show- 
ing number. * * * The simplest way 
of treating six-card suits is to trump with 
the penultimate, and then to lead the 



FORCED DISCARD 



182 FORMING THE TABLE 



fourth best. When the small trump 
comes down later, the original possession 
of six is shown. 

When, after a force, the player holds 
such high trumps that he has to open the 
suit with a high card, he leads according 
to the number of trumps he now holds, 
not according to the number he held 
originally. 

The foregoing instructions assume that 
the trump lead is of the leader's own 
motion. If for instance, his partner had 
called for trumps, he would follow the 
ordinary book rule, viz., with three 
trumps, trump with lowest and lead 
highest; with four trumps, echo with pe- 
nultimate and lead from highest dovvn- 
wards; with five trumps, echo with 
penultimate and lead lowest except with 
ace, that card being led irrespective of 
number after a call. — "Cavendish'" [/,. 
A.], " Whist Developments," i8gi. 

Forced Discard. — A discard 
from your best protected suit be- 
cause the adversaries have shown 
great strength in trumps. 

Forced Lead. — A lead which is 
undesirable, but which is forced 
upon the player as the lesser evil, 
owing to the condition of his hand. 
Forced leads are original leads 
made from suits of three or less, 
because you have nothing better. 
Your only long suit may consist of 
four cards all below the nine, or of 
four small trumps. In such case it 
is better to lead from a short suit, 
in the hope that it may strengthen 
partner's hand. 

Players who play what is called 
the short-suit game, do not regard 
a lead from three cards or less as 
forced, but give it the preference, 
unless they have overwhelming 
reasons for trying to establish and 
bring in a long suit. (See, "Long- 
Suit Game," and "Short-Suit 
Game. ' ' ) 

The original lead from a suit of three 
or less is regarded by long-suit players as 
forced.— Fa/. W. Starnes [5. O.]. 

If you can place all the cards from the 
one led to the ten inclusive, the lead is 
forced. If you can place all the cards 
from the one led to the nine inclusive, 
and can also locate the ace, the lead is 



forced. If you can place all the cards but 
one, from the one led to the ten inclusive, 
and can also locate the queen and jack, 
the lead is forced. — Dr. Bond Stow \L. 
A.-]. 

You are sometimes forced to open a 
numerically weak suit; that is, a suit of 
less than four cards. * * You may get in 
the lead after a round or two, and the 
character of your hand may force you to 
open a three-card suit. When you are 
forced to do this, and your three cards are 
in sequence, open with the highest, no 
matter what the cards are. — C. D. P. 
Hamilton \L. A.}, "Modern Scientific 
Whist." 

It will sometimes happen that the only 
four-card suit in the leader's hand will be 
trumps, which it is not desirable to lead. 
In such cases, if there is no high-card 
combination in any of the short suits, it 
is usual to lead the "highest card, unless it 
is an ace or king. Many good players 
will not lead the queen from a three-card 
suit, unless it is accompaniedby the jack. 
All such leads are called forced, and are 
intended to assist the partner, by playing 
cards which may strengthen him, al- 
though of no use to the leader.—/?. F. 
Foster \S. C], "Complete Hoyle," 1897. 

When your only long suit is very weak, 
you may resort to a three-card-suit lead. 
The highest is usually lead from three, 
except as shown below : 

FROM LEAD THEN 

A K Q, K Q 

A K J, K A 

A K and i low, K A 

A Q J, A Q 

A Q and i low, lowest 
A and 2 low, " 

K Q J, K Q 

K Q and i low, K Q 

K J 10 10 K 

K and 2 low, lowest 
Q J 10, Q J 

Q and 2 low, lowest 
From any other three cards, lead the 
highest. If you know the suit is your 
partner's, by his discard of it on oppo- 
nents' lead of trumps, or their lead of 
other suits, lead the highest of any three. 
— Fisher A mes \L. A .] . 

Forming the Tab!e. — Getting 
the requisite number of players to- 
gether at a table to play whist, es- 
pecially in regular clubs; if more 
than the required number be pres- 
ent, the selection of four players in 
a manner fair to all concerned. 

If there are more than four candidates, 
the players are selected by cutting, those 



FOSTER, R. P. 



183 



FOSTER, R. F. 



first in the room having the preference. 
The four who cut the lowest cards play 
first, and again cut to decide on partners; 
the two lowest play against the two 
highest; the lowest is the dealer, who has 
choice of cards and seats, and having 
once made his selection must abide by it. 

When there are more than six candi- 
dates, those who cut the two next lowest 
cards belong to the table, which is com- 
plete with six players; on the retirement 
of one of these six players the candidate 
who cut the next lowest card has a prior 
right to any after-comer to enter the 
taXile.-' Zm-ws of Whist {English Code), 
Sections 16 and 17. 

Those first in the room have the prefer- 
ence. If, by reason of two or more arriv- 
ing at the same time, more than four 
assemble, the preference among the last 
comers is determined by cutting, a lower 
cut giving the preference over all cutting 
higher. A complete table consists of six; 
the four having the preference play. 
Partners are determined by cutting; the 
highest two play against the lowest two; 
the lowest deals, and has the choice of 
seats and cards. 

If two players cut intermediate cards 
of equal value, they cut again; the lower 
of the new cut plays with the original 
lowest. 

If three players cut cards of equal 
value, they cut again. If the fourth has 
cut the highest card, the lowest two of the 
new cut are partners, and the lowest 
deals. If the fourth has cut the lowest 
card, he deals, and the highest two of the 
new cut are partners. 

At the end of a game, if there are more 
than four belonging to the table, a suffi- 
cient number of the players retire to 
admit those awaiting their turn to play. 
In determining which players remain in, 
those who have played a less number of 
consecutive games have the preference 
over all who have played a greater num- 
ber. Between two or more who have 
played an equal number, the preference 
is determined by cutting, a lower cut giv- 
ing the preference over all cutting higher. 

To entitle one to enter a table, he mu.st 
declare his intention to do so before any 
one of the players has cut for the purpose 
of commencing a new game or of cutting 
out. — Laws of Whist [American Code), 
Sections 2-6. 

Foster, R. F. — A noted whist au- 
thor, teacher, and expert player; 
the chief opponent in this country 
of " Cavendish" and the American 
leads; an aggressive advocate of the 
old leads and the so-called short- 
suit game. He was born in Edin- 



burgh, Scotland, May 31, 1853, and 
came to America in 1872. He was 
educated for the profession of archi- 
tect and civil engineer (like Dr. 
Pole, another leading whist author- 
ity), but in 1888 began to devote all 
his time to the teaching of whist, 
in response to the many demands 
for his services. In 1889 his " Whist 
Manual" was published, following 
closely upon his invention of the 
" self-playing whist cards" {q. v.). 
In the "Manual" he tells us his 
object was simply to arrange the 
matter common to all books on 
whist in such a manner as to rendet 
it easy for the student. "The 
recognized authorities were pretty 
closely followed, and little or no 
discussion was entered into as to 
the merits of their various teach- 
ings." On the other hand, how- 
ever, systematic exercises with the 
cards were given for the first time; 
the play of the second hand was 
simplified, and his discovery of the 
"eleven rule" {q. z'. ) announced. 
A second series of self-playing cards 
and a "Pocket Guide to Modem 
Whist" followed, and in 1894 " Du- 
plicate Whist and Whist Strategy" 
was published. In the latter the 
author made a wide departure from 
the course pursued by him in the 
"Manual." He announced his 
rejection of "the invariability of 
the lead from the longest suit, 
whatever the score; the reckless 
giving of information, whatever 
the hand; the useless and confusing 
system of leads, erroneously called 
American; the assumption that the 
discard is always directive; the 
total disregard of finesse and ten- 
ace; and the refusal to acknowledge 
the merits of the short-suit game." 
In 1895 Mr. Foster published a 
highly original work, entitled 
" Whist Tactics," in which he em- 
bodied the results of a notable whist 
match by correspondence {q. v.) 



FOSTER, R. F. 



184 



FOURCHETTE 



whicli had been previously insti- 
tuted by him. The 112 hands 
played in that contest were taken 
by him and analyzed, with a view 
' ' to ascertaining, not what should 
be done, so much as what is done 
by the best players, under the most 
favorable conditions. ' ' The results 
were both interesting and instruc- 
tive. In his latest work, ' ' Foster's 
Complete Hoyle" (1897), which 
will probably remain his chef- 
d'ceuvre, Mr. Foster has given a 
brief statement of the methods 
adopted by all the various schools 
of modern whist-players, and has 
added to the description of the 
standard game that of some twenty 
varieties of whist, such as "bridge," 
"boston," "cayenne," and " solo 
whist." In the series of sixteen 
books which he began preparing 
for Brentano's Pocket Library in 
1897, there is no work on whist, 
but all the other important card 
and table games are dealt with. 

Mr. Foster resides in New York, 
and is the whist editor of the New 
York Sun. As such his influence 
is widely felt in the whist world, 
perhaps even more so than through 
his books. He is also a frequent 
contributor to other publications, 
his recent series of articles (1896- 
'97) in the Monthly Illustrator, and 
his weekly articles in the Rochester 
(N. Y. ) Post-Express, containing 
much valuable and interesting mat- 
ter, although tinctured with his 
likes and dislikes, which are very 
strong. His position on whist in 
general is thus defined for us by 
one who speaks for him with au- 
thority: "Mr. Foster is opposed to 
all arbitrary conventions, which 
merely complicate an already very 
difficult game. Years of patient 
study and analysis have failed to 
show the slightest advantage in 
American leads, or any of the 
modern conventions. That good 



winning whist can be played with- 
out any such adventitious aids was 
proved by the Manhattan team, 
who never lost a match, although 
they played all comers during the 
winter of i895-'96. Foster was 
captain of this team, and played 
in every game. They led support- 
ing cards from short suits when 
they had hands of only moderate 
strength, finessed freely, and paid 
great attention to tenace positions. 
In the New York Sun of February 
23, 1896, it was shown that in all 
the championship matches played 
in this country, the player who 
opened long suits only took four 
tricks in them, to five won by their 
adversaries, without trumping. 
Foster claims that the only faculty 
used by modern players is atten- 
tion; the reasoning powers are 
never called into play." He pre- 
fers to call his own style of play the 
" Common-Sense Game " (q. v). 

Mr. R. F. Foster is a native of Edin- 
burgh, but he settled in and learnt his 
play at New York. When the firm of 
Mudie & Sons, of 15 Coventry street, 
passed through the press, in 1890, his 
"Whist Manual," there appeared on the 
title-page the notification that it was 
written " by R. F. Foster, New York." — 
IV. P. Courtney [L+O.], ^"English JVhist." 

Mr. Foster's fame chiefly rests on his 
invention of the eleven rule, and his op- 
position to American leads and long 
suits. Neither ridicule nor abuse has been 
able to move him from his position; and, 
as pointed out by Bond Stow, the well- 
known analyst, his arguments remain 
unanswered to-day. Both iti theory and 
practice, his philosophy of whist has 
proved to be the best. — Rochester {N. Y.) 
Post-Express, October 10, i8g6. 

Fourchette. — Two cards of a 
suit, one of which is next higher 
and one next lower in value to the 
card led; as, jack and nine are a 
fourchette when the ten is lead. 

The fourchette is one of the most 
common defenses of the second hand. 
It consists in playing the higher card 
when holding the one immediately 



FOUR SIGNAI^ 



185 



FOUR SIGNAL 



above and below the one led. Its most 
frequent use is in covering strengthen- 
ing cards.— ^. i^ Foster \S. 0.], ''Whist 
Tactics." 

Four Signal. — A signal by which 
the plaj'er shows the possession of 
four trumps, but does not ask to 
have them led, his hand not being 
strong enough to warrant this. It 
is made in a plain suit led origi- 
nally by the adversary, and is 
played with three small cards in 
the following order: The second 
best first; the highest (not above an 
eight), next, and the lowest last. It 
may also be made on partner's lead 
in any suit except his long suit, in 
■which it is the duty of the third 
hand to unblock. It may be turned 
into a trump signal on the second 
round, should it be deemed wise by 
that time to ask to have trumps led. 
The four signal is objected to by 
many because it conflicts to a cer- 
tain extent with the plain-suit echo. 
"Cavendish" does not approve of 
it, terming it a fad, and Foster also 
is on record against it. 

The four signal seems to have 
had several independent births, 
being one of those cases where the 
same idea has suggested itself to 
several minds. Milton C. Work, 
in his " Whist of To-day " (1896), 
says: " The four signal is a device 
first suggested by the writer in 
1880, and since that time used in 
every match in which he has 
played." But R. A. Gurley, of 
Denver, Col., gives a circumstan- 
tial account, in Boutcher's "Whist 
Sketches" (1892), of his first sug- 
gesting the play in 1876. Mr. Gur- 
ley says: 

' ' The four- trump signal and its 
history, in so far as I am concerned, 
is in brief: During 1876 there was 
considerable rivalry manifested 
among a few of us players in this 
city [Denver]. Particularly was 
this true of E). P. Jacobson and 



self, on one side, and my brother 
(C. D. Gurley) and John D. Jerome, 
on the other. We had played a 
sort of neck-and-neck race for over 
two years, neither deriving much 
vantage ground. We were playing 
the seven-point game. On the 
evening of the Hayes-Tilden elec- 
tion, in November, 1876, Jacobson 
and myself were to meet my brother 
and Jerome at Jerome's house, to 
have a sitting. On the way up I 
asked Jacobson if it did not often 
happen that he held four tinimps, 
and would greatly desire to play 
out a trump if he could feel certain 
that his partner had four, or would 
be able to echo if only three strong 
ones — ace, king, and small, or king, 
queen, jack. He answered that was 
often the case, and cited many in- 
stances where the odd trick was 
lost by adversaries trumping in on 
our long and strong suit; whereas, 
if he kncM' I held four trumps, he 
would lead them earlier. I then 
asked him how it would do to make 
the four-trump signal in the follow- 
ing manner, viz. : To play, in plain 
suits led by others, or partner first, 
next to the lowest, then next 
higher, and afterwards the lowest. 
We agreed on this method. In 
1883, being a guest at the old Buf- 
falo (N. Y.) Club, I introduced it 
there, and I understand that some 
of their strongest players adopted 
it. It is possible that the signal 
was played in the East before we 
adopted it, but I had never heard 
of it, and in all my whist life, at 
other places, I never heard of it 
until Trist called my attention to 
an article in the London Field, in 
February, 1889, when I was in New 
Orleans." 

Mr. Work, when his attention 
was called to Mr. Gurley's state- 
ment, did not question it in any 
way, but simply said it was a case 
where each undoubtedly had inde- 



FOUR SIGNAI, 



1 86 FOURTEEN RULE, THE 



pendently arrived at the same con- 
clusions. He had never heard of 
any employment of the signal be- 
fore he suggested and introduced it 
in the play of the Hamilton team. 
Whist of September, 1892, stated 
that the Hamilton team were at 
that time making use of the four 
signal, " which the}' claim to have 
invented. ' ' 

The four signal is sometimes used in 
the trump suit as a sub-echo, to show 
three trumps exactly. — R. F. Foster 

IS. o.\ 

It is not often that it is completed in 
time to be of use, but is frequently turned 
to good account t)y changing it into a call 
on the second round. Some players are 
very confident that it is a powerful aid to 
strategy, while others reject it as useless. 
I do not approve of it, because it conflicts 
with the much more useful plain-suit 
echo, and because it often misleads your 
partner to believe you can ruff. * * * 
Probably the four signal will always be 
part of the game, and every player should 
know it when he sees it.— ^. F. Foster \S. 
0.'\ , " Whist Strategy^'''' 181)4. 

The four signal is a device first sug- 
gested by the writer in 1880, and since 
that time used in every match in which 
he has played. He has found it to be a 
decided trick-winner, even against the 
strongest opponents. * * * One of the 
advantages of the play is that it can, on 
the second trick, be turned into either a 
signal or echo, as the exigencies of the 
case may demand — the former, should 
the situation change so as to render a 
trump lead advantageous; the latter, 
should the partner lead or call for trumps 
prior to that W\a.it.—Miiton C. Work \L. 
A. H.], ''Whist of To-day.-' 

Grave objections may be urged against 
the four signal. The concealment of a 
small card from partner during two 
rounds of a suit may cause him to mis- 
place all the remaining cards of it, and 
may result in his playing the remainder 
of the hand on erroneous assumptions, 
until he is set right by the lead of a third 
round of his suit, or by some other means, 
such as a discard. The more observant 
and skillful the partner, the more likely 
is he to be misled by such play, or, at 
least, to be put to guessing by it. A more 
formidable objection, and one more read- 
ily comprehended, is probably to be found 
in the fact that when the four signal is 
developed, later in the game, it tells the 
adversaries just what it is to their advan- 
tage to know, viz., that the possessor of 
four trumps is not strong enough to lead 



them, unless he finds some assistance 
from his partner. The opponents, acting 
on this information, will shape their 
course accordingly, by endeavoring to 
force the four signaler, and then to draw^ 
his residual teeth, or to weaken him in 
other ways patent to whist-players. It 
cannot, however, be denied that the four- 
signal fad has the approval of a number 
of distinguished players. Therefore it 
must not be hastily disparaged; perhaps 
the Scotch verdict of not proven may 
meet the case as it at present stands. — 
"Cavendish" {L.A.I, Scribner's Magazine, 
July, iSgy. 

Four-Spot. — A low card, the 
eleventh in rank in the pack. It 
is led only as a fourth best in the 
American leads, or as a penultimate 
or antepenultimate in the old leads. 
In the Howell (short-suit) system, 
the lead of five, four, three, or two 
indicates the long-suit game (which 
is occasionally played by short- 
suiters), with probably a good suit 
and certainly trump strength; it is 
a command to partner to lead 
trumps, if he gets in early. 

Fourteen Rule, The. — P.J. Tor- 
mey, of San Francisco, has elabo- 
rated Foster's eleven rule into a 
formula which makes it much 
easier of explanation to beginners, 
because the reasoning is so appar- 
ent. 

The ace being counted high in 
whist, makes the denominations 
of the cards run from two to 
fourteen. When a player leads 
fourth best he remains with three 
higher cards in his hand, and add- 
ing to the denomination and sub- 
tracting the sum from fourteen, 
gives the number of high cards orig- 
inally held by the other players. 
For example: A player leads an 
eight; he holds three higher cards, 
which makes the sum eleven, and 
this taken from fourteen gives 
three, which is the number of high 
cards in the suit held by the other 
players. 



FOURTH-BEST LEAD 



187 



FOURTH-BEST IvEAD 



Fourth- Best Lead.— The lead of 

the fourth-best card in a suit, count- 
ing from the highest held. This 
lead is au important factor in the 
system known as American leads 
{g. v.), and was almost simultane- 
ously suggested by N. B. Trist and 
" Cavendish, ' ' their letters crossing 
each other on the ocean. Prior to 
this, leads somewhat akin to the 
fourth best had been introduced — 
the ' ' penultimate ' ' lead from five 
by " Cavendish, " and the "ante- 
penultimate ' ' from six by A. W. 
Drayson. These were indicated 
and counted f roua the bottom of the 
suit; but the fourth best was an im- 
provement, inasmuch as it pro- 
vided a broad general rule, em- 
bracing leads from all sizes of suits, 
from four cards up, which did not 
contain a high-card combination to 
lead from. The counting was done 
from the top instead of from the 
bottom, and always showed, not 
only number, but the possession of 
exactly three cards higher than the 
one led. The idea was nearly 
stumbled upon in England as early 
as 1875, as will be seen from the 
following extract from the West- 
minster Papers of January, 1875, 
in which occurs the first mention 
of counting from the top: "We 
have the opinion, never published, 
of a personal friend, that while you 
ought to lead the lowest card in 
four-suits {i. e., in suits of four), 
you should lead the third from the 
top in five-suits." 

The first maxim of the American 
leads says: " "When you open a suit 
with a low card, lead your fourth 
best." The second maxim is to 
this effect: "On quitting the head of 
your suit, lead your original fourth 
best." Trist and "Cavendish" 
were both agreed upon this until 
1892, when "Cavendish's" doubts 
were aroused by a communication 
from W. S. Fenollosa, published in 



the Field of August 13. Mr. 
Fenollosa pointed out that the 
principal advantage obtained by the 
selection of a small card is that it 
enables partner to count number. 
He therefore proposed that on 
leading a high card, and then a low 
one of the same suit, the selection 
should be the fourth best of the 
small cards remaining in hand. 
The lead of the original fourth best, 
it was pointed out, gave the second 
hand an opportunity of a sure 
finesse, without any corresponding 
advantage to the leader or his part- 
ner; but the lead of the fourth best 
remaining in hand, except in very 
rare cases, did not give the second 
hand this advantage. ' ' Cavendish, ' ' 
in Whist for September, 1892, says 
he thinks Mr. Fenollosa's proposed 
play "is sound in principle," al- 
though he has not yet had an op- 
portunity of testing it in actual 
play, and he also wished to consult 
with Mr. Trist before giving it his 
adherence. This he subsequently 
did, but Mr. Trist preferred the 
lead as first formulated. (See, 
"American Leads, History of.") 

The fourth best is led from all suits of 
four or more that' do not Cv^ntain one of 
the five high-card leads. — C. E. Coffin 
\L. A.}, "Gist of Whist." 

The lead of the fourth best stands ujpon 
unoccupied ground, and pushes nothing 
else or better out of the way. — R. F. Fos- 
ter \S. 0.\ Whist, June, i8<)4. 

A good deal of valuable space is wasted 
on the question of leading fourth or fifth 
best after ace, when holding ace and four 
small. The common-sense game has set- 
tled that question long ago by leading the 
ace when a player is " running," and the 
small card, not the fourth best, when he 
is playing the invitation game. — R. F. 
Foster \S. C], New York Sun, July 11, 1S97, 

When there is no high-card combina- 
tion in the suit selected for the lead, it is 
usual to lead the penultimate of five, or 
the antepenultimate of six, now com- 
monly known as the fourth best, counting 
from the top of the suit. This is of no 
advantage to the leader, but is considered 
by most good players as of great use to 
his partner, because it shows him just 



FOURTH-BEST LEAD 



i88 



FOURTH HAND 



^ 



how far from established his good suit is. 
—R. F. Foster [S. O.], "Whist Tactics,'" 
z8g6. 

Then came the principle of the fourth 
best from Mr. Nicholas Browse Trist, of 
New Orleans. * * * Mr. Trist modestly 
disclaims having made any discovery 
here. He persists in handing over to me 
the credit, such as it may be, of starting 
the notion of leading any other than the 
lowest card when opening a strong suit 
with a low one. I persist in handing over 
to him the credit of havi^ig erected into a 
principle what was previously a rule of 
play. — "Cavendish" {L.A.I, Whist, Janu- 
ary, 1894, 

The first edition of this book was pub- 
lished in 1879. Up to that date it had 
been the practice to lead the penultimate 
card from any suit consisting of five or 
more. * * * Having during many years 
adopted a different lead, I called atten- 
tion, in the first edition of this book, to 
the system I had practiced, which was to 
lead the penultimate with five in a suit, 
the antepenultimate with six. I devoted 
four pages of the book to demonstrating 
the advantages of this lead, which may 
be called the penultimate and antepenul- 
timate, or the fourth-best card, according 
to taste.— ^. IV. Drayson {^L^A+'l, "The 
Art of Practical WhisV {Appendix to the 
fourth edition). 

The eight, seven, six, five, four, three, 
two are led, as original leads, only as 
fourth-best cards, and, as in the case of a 
high card being led, represent the best 
suit in hand. The leader has exactly 
three cards in the suit higher in rank 
than the card led, and an inference is that 
these three cards are not high cards in 
sequence. When a low card (plain suit) 
is led originally, the leader cannot hold 
of the suit led ace and king; king and 
queen; queen, knave, and ten; or king, 
knave, ten; the ace is also denied if the 
fall shows that the leader has any card of 
the suit lower than the card led, as with 
more than four the ace is usually led. — 
C. D. P. Hamilton [L. A.], "Moder?i Scien- 
tific Whist." 

Should the original fourth best, or 
fourth best of those remaining in the 
hand, be led after an original lead of an 
ace, from ace and four or more small 
ones ? Of course, if the leader is one who 
does not lead ace originally, cadit qucEStio. 
Ifhe lead ace, and continues the suit, 
there is a division of opinion as to the 
best card with which to proceed. From 
a carellil analysis, made by the present 
writer, it seems to be a case of six of one 
and half a dozen of the other, or nearly 
so, with a very slight advantage (as it ap- 

gears to him) to the lead of the fourth 
est remaining in the hand. The differ- 



ence, however, if anj', is so trifling, and its 
determination depends upon so many 
factors, that no one can be said to be 
wrong in adopting either method. — 
"Cavendish" [Z,. ^ij, Scribner's Maga- 
zine, July, i8gy. 

The question next arises. Which card 
of the strong suit should be led original- 
ly? The key to this problem is furnished 
by the remark that it conduces to the ulti- 
mate establishment of a suit to keep the 
high or commanding cards of it in the 
hand that has numerical .strength. * * * 
From four cards, then, you lead your 
lowest, or fourth best. From more than 
four cards you still lead your fourth best, 
as a card of protection and information. 
* * * There are two exceptions to the 
rule of originally leading the fourth best 
of a strong suit: (i) When you lead from 
ace, with four or more small ones, in plain 
suits. In this case it is considered best to 
begin with the ace, lest the suit should be 
trumped on the second round. (2) When 
your suit contains certain combinations 
of high cards it is advisable to lead a high 
card, in order to make sure of preventing 
the adversary frotn winning the first 
trick with a very low card. — "Cavendish " 
[L. A.], "Laws and Principles of WhisV 

Fourth Hand. — The player to the 
right of the leader; the last one to 
play to a round or trick. On the 
opening round of a hand, the dealer 
is the fourth hand, and is desig- 
nated as Z in published schedules 
of play, being partner with Y 
against A-B. In duplicate whist, 
he is designated as west. 

The old general rule to guide a 
player in this position is to take the 
trick, if not already his partner's, 
and to take it as cheaply as pos- 
sible; but there are numerous ex- 
ceptions to this in modern scientific 
play; as, for instance, when it is 
advisable to place the lead, or not 
to take it; to avoid blocking part- 
ner's suit, or to retain a card of re- 
entry. The fourth hand also finds 
many opportunities to play false 
cards, although these are to be dep- 
recated, except in desperate situ- 
ations; even then it takes an expert 
to use them effectively. 

win the trick and endeavor, if possible, 
to do so without playing a false card. 



FOURTH HAND 



189 



FRBAK HANDS 



Like all things that are difficult at first, 
you will find it becomes comparatively 
easy by practice. — '^Pembridge" [Z,+ 0.]. 

Of the fourth player there is little to be 
said here except that it is his business to 
take the trick if he can, unless it is al- 
ready his partner's, and if he cannot do 
so, to throw away his lowest card.— James 
aay [L. 0+]. 

Fourth-hand player is not merely a 
dummy, having but to trump a trick or 
win it, if he can do so by overplay. He 
must know when to take a trick, and 
when not to do so, though in his power. 
—G. W. Pettes [L. A. P.}, "American 
WTiist Illustrated." 

There is little for the fourth hand to 
decide upon, except between his play 
and his conscience. If he believes in the 
open game, let him win the tricks as 
cheaply as he can. If his object is to de- 
ceive, "he will have abundant opportu- 
nity.—/?. F. Foster [S. O.I," Whist Tac- 
tics." 

It is the duty of the fourth hand to win 
the trick if he can, and with the lowest 
available card, unless this trick be his 
partner's, or unless he wishes, for good 
reasons, to leave or place the lead in the 
hand of that plaj'er whose trick it may 
happen to be. — A. IV. Dray son \L-\-A-\-'\, 
"The Art of Practical Whist." 

In this you have in most cases little to 
do but to win the trick as cheaply as you 
can. * * * Cases sometimes arise in which 
it is advisable to win a trick already j'our 
partner's; as, for example, to get high 
obstructing cards out of his way, or to 
enable you to lead up to a weak hand, or 
otherwise to alter the position of the lead. 
— William Pole [L. A+]. 

The play of fourth hand is usually com- 
paratively simple, except when the posi- 
tion of the cards calls for some special 
play; as, refusing to take the trick against 
you, so as to place the lead to your or 
partner's advantage, or throwing a high 
card to get rid of taking a subsequent 
trick for the same reason, or to avoid 
blocking partner's suit. — Fisher Ames \L. 
A.]. 

The fourth-hand player who thinks he 
must take every trick that comes to him, 
simply because he can take it, has much 
to learn, and much to unlearn. * * * A 
great game is sometimes made by taking 
a trick his partner has already won, or 
passing the opportunity to take a trick, 
although in his power to do so. — C. D. P. 
Hamilton \L. A.], "■Modern Scientific 
Whist." 

(i) Do not win the adverse trick when, 
by passing, you can throw the lead to 
your own or partner's advantage, or can 
hold up a card of re-entry that may be 



used more efiectively on next round. (2) 
Win the trick already your partner'.s, 
when it is desirable to get high cards out 
of his way, or when, for any reason it is 
to your advantage to have the lead. — C. 
E. Coffin [L. A.], "Gist of Whist." 

The general rule for fourth-hand play is 
to take all the tricks against you that you 
can, and as cheaply as possible. It is 
sometimes an advantage, however, not to 
take the trick; as, when it is desirable to 
throw the lead in one of your opponents' 
hands, or where it is seen to be possible 
to take two tricks in place of one. Such 
exceptional cases, however, are rare, and 
it requires a player of long experience to 
detect them. — "Cavendish" \L. A.'l, 
"Laws and Principles of Whist." 

The plaj'er, fourth in hand, may be 
unable to win a trick except by ruffing, 
and rufling may mean giving up all 
chance of commanding the run of trumps 
and bringing in a long suit; in that case, 
he would pass the trick. Or it may hap- 
pen that the card of the suit with which 
he could alone take the trick would obvi- 
ously be likely to serve as a re-entering 
card, after trumps were exhausted; in 
such case, if the chances were clearly in 
favor of that power of re-entry being ob- 
tainable in no other way, fourth hand 
should pass the trick. * * * in all such 
cases, a good general rule to bear in mind 
is that a certain trick ought not to be 
passed, unless there is a probability of 
making two by so doing. — R. A. Proctor 
\_L. a], "How to Play Whist." 

A case in which the fourth hand should 
not take the trick is when the trumps 
are established in one adverse hand, 
and the length in the suit led declared 
by the other. In such case, if the 
fourth hand has the master card of the 
suit led, and smaller ones, he should refuse 
to part with the master until he is satis- 
fied that all the cards in the suit are ex- 
hausted in the hand still retaining the 
trumps, as otherwise, by winning the 
suit, he will merely clear it for the adver- 
sary. * * * There are cases in which 
it is not always well for the fourth hand 
to take with the lowest of a sequence. 
For example, holding the king, queen, 
and one small, and the play of one of the 
face cards being necessary to win the 
trick, it is often wise to take with the 
king, as the play of a false card may in- 
duce the original leader not to finesse if 
the suit is returned by his partner. — 
Milton C. Work [L. A.H], "Whist of To- 
day." 

Freak Hands. — Hands in wliicli 
unusual or highly remarkable com- 
binations of cards occur, and to 



"FRENCH BOSTON' 



190 



GAMBIT OPENING 



which the ordinary rules of the 
game cannot well be applied. (See, 
"Phenomenal Hands.") 

•♦French Boston." — This, like 
"Russian boston," is simply a va- 
riety of " boston." Among the dif- 
ferences are the following: Forty 
deals constitute a game, the first 
thirty-two being " singles," and the 
last eight "doubles. " The rank of 
the suits is permanent, as follows: 
hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. 
The diamond jack always ranks as 
the best trump, unless diamonds 
are turned up, when the jack of 
hearts becomes the best trump, and 
the jack of diamonds takes his 
proper place, ranking below the 
queen. A player may take a part- 
ner, as at " solo whist. ' ' 

French Game, The. — The na- 
tional characteristics of the various 
nations are reflected in their whist. 
Thus, French whist has always 
been considered more brilliant and 
dashing than the careful, steady 
play of the Briton. Deschapelles 
was the great exponent and ex- 
ample whose play largely influ- 
enced that of his countrymen. 

Inasmuch as whi^t was intro- 
duced into France from England, 
the game, in its early history, was 
much alike in the two countries, 
long whist, ten points, with honors 
counting, being followed by short 
whist, five points, with honors 
counting. Of late j'ears, however, 
French players have taken kindly 
to the American idea of dispensing 
with the count of honors, and 
above everj'thing else they have 
cultivated the dummy game — /. <?., 
whist with an expoccd hand — which 
they call '■'■ niorV [q. v.). Their 
fondness for this style of game has 
given rise to the criticism of " Cav- 
endish" and other authorities, who 
claim that whist, properly speak- 



ing, is not played in France, as they ; 
do not regard dummy as whist. j 

Nor is the dashing character of the I 

French game so hazardous as men deem . 

it generally. The frank lead of trumps is ( 
just as often security as rashness; and 

particularly in this case, when the player, | 

perceiving that his own share in the ( 

combat must be that of a subordinate, at ■ 
once devotes his whole strength to the 

support of his stronger partner. Ixi this ' 

quick, almost instinctive, appreciation i 

of the part assigned to him by fortune, * 
the French player is vastly superior to 
the Knglish. — Blackwood 's Magazine. 

*' French Whist." — A variety of ' 
"Scotch whist," differing from the ■ 
latter in regard to the ten, whose 
capture is the great object of the \ 
game. In ' ' Scotch whist, ' ' the ten \ 
of trumps is sought after, and \ 
counts ten for those taking it; in ; 
" French whist," it is the ten of dia- ''^ 
monds, and it counts ten for those ■■ 
winning it, whether it is trump or * 
not. I 

"French whist, "so called, isavarietyof ,■ 

"catch-the-ten," and is played the same | 

as English whist, with the following ex- i 

ceptions: (i) The game is forty points. |i 

(2) The honors count for those who win 1, 
them, not for those who hold them, rj 

(3) The ten of diamonds counts ten for ;| 
those who win it. It is not a trump un- 'j 
less diamonds are trump. — '■'■American % 
Hoyle," 1S85. 

Fresh Cards. — If for any reason \ 
a player is dissatisfied with the 
cards which are being used, it is .J 
customary for him (at the clubs) to j 
call for two new packs, at his own ,] 
expense. He must call for them ;| 
before the pack has been cut for the | 
next deal, and give the dealer his | 
choice of the two new packs. 

Gambit Opening. — The lead of 
a supporting card from a weak hand 1 
at whist; a sacrifice lead, largely '■ 
made use of by short-suit players. ; 
The idea is taken from the gambit ' 
opening at chess, where a player * 
sacrifices a pawn at the beginning [ 



GAMBLING 



191 



GAMBLING 



of a game, and, after freeing his 
hand, plays for position and attack 
upon the exposed Hnes of his ad- 
versary. 

There is this difference between the 
long--suit and the short-suit opening-, that 
in the former the original leader and his 
partner try to win the first trick, whereas 
in the latter they only try to make the 
winning of the trick as expensive as pos- 
sible for the adversary. This is the gam- 
bit idea in its integrity. — E. C. Howell [S. 
Hi\, '■^ Whist Openings.'''' 

This chapter [the play of the eldest 
hand, in Emery Boardman's "Winning 
Whist"] is by far the most interesting re- 
cent contribution to whist mathematics, 
as he comes to the conclusion from Pole's 
own figures that the gambit opening is a 
sound original lead from hands of ordi- 
nary or less than ordinary strength. — D. 
R. tV., in IVkist, A^igust, iS<)7. 

The original lead of a short suit may 
be a sacrifice. It is the gambit opening. 
It is the same as pawn to queen's bishop 
fourth, which is a free gift of a pawn that 
none but the most skillful chess-players 
will accept. This giving the adversary an 
apparent advantage at the start, the rnore 
successfully to trip him up, is a character- 
istic of many intellectual games, and 
whist is no exception to the rule.—/?. F. 
Foster \S. 0.], New York Sun, March 22. 
i8g6. 

It appears that the distinctive feature 
of the so-called short-suit game is in the 
opening lead, the afterplay of the hand 
being guided entirely by the fall of the 
cards. Openings in other scientific games, 
such as chess, are known by the names 
of their inventors — the Evans gambit, the 
Petroff, the Philador, the Ruy L,opez, 
the Steiuitz, the Allgaier, the Cunning- 
ham, etc. As the short-suit opening is 
distinctively a gambit, and was originally 
suggested by Foster, and [has been] con- 
tended for by him for the past five years, 
call it the " Foster gambit." This would 
exactly define the game, restricting it to 
the opening lead, recognizing it as a sac- 
rifice or gambit, and placing the praise 
or blame that the future may have in 
store for it where it belongs, on the 
shoulders of the father of short-suit 
whist. — E. B. Z,., in New York Sun, July 
12, 18^6. 

Gambling. — Broadly speaking, 
gambling means to play for money 
in games of chance. Some people 
claim that playing for money only 
becomes gamlaling when more is 



risked than one can well afford to 
lose. According to this standard, 
it would not be gambling for a 
Rothschild to risk a million on a 
rubber of whist, or for an Astor to 
put up a similar amount on a game 
of poker. Where it is obviously 
so hard to draw a proper distinction, 
the safest rule is not to play for 
money at all; then the player is sure 
he is not gambling. 

Although modern scientific whist 
is a game in which skill plays a 
more important part than chance, 
and betting on the result of play is 
almost unknown in America, the 
old style of whist, and particularly 
short whist as still played in Eng- 
land, has always been a game in 
which stakes figured to a large ex- 
tent, especially at the clubs. At 
its very origin, whist fell into the 
hands of gamesters and sharpers, 
whose tricks were subsequently 
exposed by Cotton, Seymour, and 
Hoyle, although these played for 
money themselves, and stakes con- 
tinued to be the rule of the game. In 
fact, after whist had been advanced 
toa state of respectability and taken 
up by fashionable and royal circles, 
we hear marvelous tales of reckless- 
ness in connection with it. It 
would be impossible to give them 
in detail in this volume. They 
form part of the history of gam- 
bling. Among the more familiar 
examples we may mention a few; 
as, for instance, that of Lord 
Granville, ambassador to France, 
who delayed a journey to Paris and 
played whist eighteen hours, while 
his horses were kept waiting for 
him; and when he finally tore him- 
self away he was poorer by from 
eight to ten thousand pounds. Lord 
Sefton was one of a set at Brooks' 
Coffee-House that played hundred- 
guinea points, besides bets, as a 
regular amusement. Henry Lord 
de Ros at one time lost a rubber, on 



GAMBLING 



192 



GAMBLING 



which three thousand pounds was 
staked, by miscounting a trump. 
The accusation of cheating made 
against him on another occasion, 
and the public exposures which 
followed, were said to have given a 
severe check to gambling in Eng- 
land. It was well, in the face of 
cases like that of G. H. Drum- 
mond, of the famous Charing 
Cross Banking House, who lost 
;^25,ooo to Beau Brummel at one 
sitting, as well as his connection 
with the firm, who forced him to 
retire. The Duke of Cumberland 
is said to have made a wager of 
;^20,ooo on a single hand at whist, 
in which he held three aces, four 
kings, two queens, and two jacks, 
and 3'et did not take a single trick, 
nor did his partner take one. The 
change from the old ten-point 
game to the five-point game (or 
short whist), about the year iSio, 
is said to have originated in a gam- 
bling incident. Lord Peterborough 
having one night lost heavily, his 
friends proposed to give him the 
revanche at five points instead of 
ten, in order to afford him a quick- 
er chance of recovering his losses. 
The plan was found so lively that 
those who played whist for money 
took the new style of game up, and 
long whist was practically a thing 
of the past. Betting at whist was 
also carried to excess in France 
and elsewhere on the continent. 
It is related that Field Marshal 
Blucher gambled heavily at whist 
during his stay in Paris, after the 
victorious entry of the allies in 
1814. He usually lost all his money 
and all that his servant, who waited 
in the ante-chamber, could supply. 
He was very much given to curs- 
ing his luck in German. In a mild 
form — " just to lend interest to the 
game " — playing for money con- 
tinues to be a feature of the game 
at English and other clubs, to-day; 



and one of the chief difficulties 
which the modern scientific game 
so strongly advocated by "Caven- 
dish" and his school, encounters in 
England is this old love for table- 
stakes, which is found wherever the 
English game, with honors, is the 
rule. This reminds us of a curious 
little incident which may be found 
in Chatnbers'' Journal for October, 
1882, where it is related that a game 
of whist being proposed in a squat- 
ter's hut in New Zealand (other 
versions locate the occurrence in 
Australia), the stranger, who was 
the guest of the evening, inquired, 
"What points?" The ready an- 
swer came: " The usual game, of 
course — sheep-points, and a bullock 
on the rubber!" 

At the same time it is curious to 
note that even the advocates or 
apologists for stakes frown upon 
what they call gambling, and de- 
clare that whist (even short whist!) 
is unsuited to that form of amuse- 
ment. The American Whist League 
took a correct stand, and voiced the 
sentiments of the best whist -play- 
ers in this country, when that pow- 
erful organization, at its very first 
congress, declared against all play 
for money, and took the ground 
that whist is worth playing for its 
own sake, and for the sake of the 
healthful mental training and rec- 
reation which it affords when right- 
ly played. 

At this writing (1897) another 
gambling wave seems to be sweep- 
ing over the English clubs, espe- 
cially in London, where the whist 
tables are deserted for " bridge" 
{q. v.). The opponents of '• Cav- 
endish" are trying to hold his in- 
novations responsible for this 
revolt, as if freemen could not play 
old-fashioned whist, or any kind 
the}' wished, in spite of his teach- 
ings. Rather let us call a spade a 
spade, and point to the habits en- 



GAMBLING 



193 



GAME 



gendered by table-stakes as respon- 
sible for the temporary aberratiou. 
The gambling spirit which, in 1810, 
cut the old game in two, to make 
money circulate faster, has, in 
1896- '97, taken up ' ' bridge' ' in order 
to still further accelerate its travels. 

Men thoroughly opposed to gambling 
have held whist in high esteem, as the 
game is entirely unsuited for gambling 
purposes.—^. Trump, Jr. [L O.]. 

The members of the club respect the 
unwritten law that the dignity of their 
game permits no wager. — G. IV. Pettes [L. 
A. P.] {Desc/iapelles Club Rules), ''Ameri- 
can IVhisi Illustrated." 

There is no denying that the inborn 
propensities of the genus homo as a gam- 
bling animal appeared in the game of 
whist, as well as in many other gentle- 
manly amusements. The long game [of 
Hoyle] was found too slow to allow the 
free circulation of money, and it was cut 
in two, producing short whist. Many 
whist enthusiasts protested against the 
undue preponderance of luck caused by 
the full retention of the value of all the 
honors with a score of only five (allow- 
ing more than double the winning score 
to be made in one fine hand), but in 
vain; the excitement of the turns of for- 
tune was preferred to the milder stimu- 
lant of skill in the play, and short whist 
has been found unassailable in the public 
whist circles in England. — William Pole 
Z. vl +], ''Evolution of Whist.''' 

Women are natural gamblers, although 
many would be filled with horror and in- 
dignation at being so classed; let them 
look at facts squarely and own the truth 
of the statement. All clubs to which 
women belong play for prizes. Some- 
times at every meeting a prize is given, 
sometimes after a series of games; but 
always the end and aim is a prize of 
greater or less value, according to circum- 
stances. I think I may safely say that 
ninety per cent, of these same women 
would be .scandalized were the prize 
money of any amount instead of the 
equivalent. This same question of prizes 
brings out a sorry state of feeling among 
women, that of very bitter jealousy. 
Should one woman be fortunate enough 
to win several prizes in succession, there 
are hints of unfair play, and so on, that 
seriously mar the harmony of the meet- 
ings.— i/ar>-ze< Allen Anderson \L. A.], 
Home Magazine, July, 18%. 

But whist is not gambling; it is a game 
which calls forth some of the best facul- 
ties of the brain, and causes chance to 
succumb before science. * * * it is to 

13 



be regretted that at most of the [English] 
clubs so fine a game should be placed out 
of the reach of many on account of the 
high points that are played. Whist is a 
study so pleasurable in itself that it can 
entirely dispense with the pernicious ex- 
citement of the gambler; to play for points, 
which may involve a heavy pecuniary 
los.s, is utterly destructive of the beauty of 
the game; instead of a pleasant, intellect- 
ual excitement, it then degenerates into 
anxiety, and is the fruitful parent of ill- 
temper, worry, and a feverish state of 
things utterly at variance with the spirit 
of the game. * * * Half-crown points 
are quite sufiicient to create excitement, 
* * * but when it comes to crowns and 
pounds, or ten-shilling points, and a fiver 
on the rub, or pounds and fives, a few 
nights of misfortune signify the loss of a 
small income. Whist should be played 
for the love of the game, and not for the 
money it may be the means of obtaining. 
— A. C. Ewald, in "The Wliist Table." 

Game. — A game of whist is a 
contest between four players, two 
on each side, to see which can first 
score a certain number of points. 
The number of points necessary to 
make in order to win is called the 
game. The English, or short-whist, 
game consists of five points, count- 
ing honors. The American game 
consists of seven points, not count- 
ing honors. The word is some- 
times used to denote correct play; 
as, for example, ' ' It was the game 
to cover the honor led." (See, 
also, "Open Game.") 

A game consists of five points. Each 
trick above six counts one point. — Laws 
of Whist {English Code), Section 2. 

Try and forget the little vexations, and 
make the game what it should be, an 
aimisemeni for gentletnen. — Fisher Ames 
[L.A.]. 

The game is finished when, one side 
having gained it without dispute, the 
cards are reunited in one mass. — Descha- 
pelles [O.], "Laws," Section i^o. 

To plaj' a strong game you must play 
so as to make your own hand as clear as 
possible to your partner. — A . W. Drayson 
[£+^+], " Art of Practical Whist." 

A game consists of seven points, each 
trick above six counting one. The value 
of the game is determined by deducting 
the losers' score from seven. — Laws of 
Whist {Araerican Code), Section i. 



GAME 



194 GRAHAM'S COFEEK-HOUSB 



When the adversaries are four to your 
love [in the English game] , you must plaj' 
quite a different game from that which 
you would play at love-all. Again, if you 
are four and the adversaries love, it would 
be absurd to play a game which might 
win you three or even two by cards, but 
might lose you the trick. — A. IV. Dravson 
[L+A +], "The Art of Practical Whist:' 

Game, Each Playing His Own. — 

An amusing story is told in Whist 
of July, 1896, concerning J. P. 
Wooten and C. D. P. Hamilton, 
two advocates of diametrically op- 
posed systems of play, who hap- 
pened to be partners in the contest 
for pairs at the congress of the 
American Whist League. Before 
commencing play Wooten begged 
Hamilton to try short suits for 
once; but Hamilton, true to his 
principles,declined; so hestaunchly 
demonstrated his belief in Ameri- 
can leads, long suits, echoes, sub- 
echoes, four signals, etc., in spite 
of Wooten 's attempts to coax him 
by leading singletons and support- 
ing cards. When the play was 
over, each shook hands with the 
other and hoped he had not thrown 
him down. Imagine their surprise 
when they found that they had 
nearly won the prize, only one pair 
having a higher score than theirs. 
" If you had shown me five," said 
Hamilton. ' ' No, sir; if you had 
led me a sub-sneak," said Wooten, 
"we would have won in a walk." 

"German Whist."— One of the 

numerotts and least objectionable 
variations of whist. It is played by 
two persons. Thirteen cards are 
dealt to each player, and the 
twenty-seventh card is placed face 
upwards upon the remainder of 
the pack. The dealer's vis-a-vis 
plays first \yy leading a card, and 
the dealer follows suit, as in whist, 
or if he cannot, either trumps or 
throws away a useless card. The 
Avinner of the trick takes the trump 



card into his hand, and his oppo- 
nent takes the next card, without, 
however, showing its face. The 
third card on the pack is now 
turned up and goes to the winner 
of the second trick, the loser again 
drawing the one underneath; and 
so on, until the rest of the pack is 
exhausted. Thus each player re- 
ceives and plays twenty-six cards 
in all. Each game is complete in 
one deal. The player who takes 
the most tricks wins. There is also 
a two-handed variety of "Chinese 
whist' ' which somewhat resembles 
the above. 

" German whist" is played by twoplay- 
ers, and introduces the element of replen- 
ishing the hand alter each trick bydraw^- 
ing cards from the remainder of the pack 
until the stock is exhausted. * * * When 
the talon [or stock] is exhausted the thir- 
teen cards in each hand should be known 
to both players, if they have been obser- 
vant, and the end game becomes a prob- 
lem in double dummy. — R. F. Foster \S. 
0.] , "Complete Hoyle. ' ' 

Going On With a Suit. — To go 

on with a suit is to continue to lead 
it, after having opened it. It may 
be trumped by an adversarj', but, 
having established it, you draw all 
the trumps and then go on with it 
again. 

Graham's Coffee-House. — A 

famous headquarters for whist, sit- 
uated at 87 St. James street, Lon- 
don. Here, for many years, the 
most scientific whist-players were 
wont to congregate, and many nota- 
ble contests took place; and here it 
was where Lord Henry Bentiuck 
devised the " trump signal" {g. v. ). 
The frequenters of the place formed 
what was known as Graham's Club, 
the name being taken from the 
proprietors of the house, father 
and son, who kept it successively. 
On December 31, 1836, the club 
was temporarily dissolved for the 



GRAND COUP 



195 



GUARDED 



purpose of excluding a dozen un- 
desirable members who had crept 
in, and who were kept out upon its 
reorganization, which occurred im- 
mediately. The club was perma- 
nently dissolved a few years later. 
Its quarters are now occupied by 
what is known as the St. James 
Club. 

There is a well-authenticated story of 
the late Lord Granville's de»'otion to 
•whist. Intending to set out in the course 
of the afternoon for Paris, he ordered his 
carriage and four posters to be at Gra- 
ham's [Coffee-House, London] at four. 
They were kept waiting until ten, when 
he sent out to say that he should not be 
ready for another hour or two, and the 
horses had better be changed. They were 
changed three times in all, at intervals 
of six hours, before he started. — A. Hay- 
ward [C], " Whtsi and Whist-Players." ' 

Grand Coup. — The grand coup 
consists in throwing away a super- 
fluous trump to avoid the lead; or, 
in taking partner's trick by trump- 
ing, in order to be able to throw 
the lead back to him; or, in under- 
trumping a trick in order to avoid 
a subsequent lead. 

According to my experience, the oppor- 
nity for playing the grand coup occurs 
about once in a thousand rubbers; to an 
individual player, about once in four thou- 
sand rubbers. I can only remember to 
this date [January, 1879] to have played it 
eight times. — '■'■Cavendish'" [L. A.\, '■'Card- 
Table Talk." 

IJvery one who has played whist much 
must have observed the not unfrequent 
occasion when a player has found him- 
self, probably in the last three tricks of 
the hand, with a trump too many. He 
has been obliged to trump his partner's 
trick, to take the lead himself, and to 
lead from his tenace instead of being led 
to, by which a trick is lost. The triumph 
of the great whist-player is to foresee this 
position, and to take an opportunity of 
getting rid of this inconvenient trump. — 
Jatnes Clay [L. 0-\-]. 

Granville, Earl of. — A famous 
English whist-player and diplomat, 
who was named by Lord Henry 
Beutinck (g. v. ) as one of the four 
best whist-players he ever knew. 



Lord Granville was born October 
12, 1773, and was the youngest son 
of the first Marquis of Stafford by 
his third wife. In 1804 he was am- 
bassador extraordinary and pleni- 
potentiary to Russia, and subse- 
quently ambassador to the court of 
France. He was created Viscount 
Granville, of Stone Park, August 
12, 1815, and advanced to an earl- 
dom May 10, 1833. He died Janu- 
ary 8, 1846. 

When Henry Bentinck was asked for 
the names of the best whist-players that 
he knew. Lord Granville's name was first 
on his list; and across the "silver streak" 
an even greater authority, Deschapelles, 
the finest performer at the game that the 
world has ever produced, was repeatedly 
known to assert, that with Lord Gran- 
ville as his partner, he would play dum- 
my against an archangel. — IV. P. Court- 
ney \L-\-0.1, "English Whist." 

Great Game, Playing a. — Playing 
with the object of making as many 
tricks as possible out of the hand, 
as distinguished from the more cau- 
tious procedure of ' ' playing for the 
odd trick" (^. v.). 

There are, generally speaking, two 
methods by which tricks may be made 
by cards, to which their intrinsic value 
might not necessarily entitle them. One 
is by the establishment of a long suit, the 
holder being left with the lead after the 
adverse trumps have been exhausted. * 
* * This course, as contradistinguished 
from " playing for the odd trick," was 
styled by the early writers as " playing a 
great game." — Emeiy Boardmayi [L+A.], 
"Winning Whist." 

Great Suit. — A suit of more 
than four cards, all of them very 
strong; a strong suit. 

Guarded. — A high card is said 
to be guarded when one or more 
smaller cards of the same suit are 
held with it, to be played upon 
higher cards that may be led by the 
adversary. 

The second card of a suit is said to be 
guarded if you hold a .small one to play 
against the best card. Two "guards" 



gubriIyIvA tactics 



196 



HAMII^TON, C. D. P. 



are generally required for a third-best 
card.— 'TA^ IVhist Table." 

This combination is an important one, 
having an advantage analogous to that 
of the tenace; namely, that if the suit is 
led by your left-hand adversary, you are 
certain (bar trumping) to make your 
second-best card. — Wiiliant Pole \L. A +] , 
" Theory of Whist.'''' 

GueriKa Tactics. — The tactics 
employed by players who employ 
short-suit leads in preference to 
leads from long suits. So named 
by long-suit extremists who hold 
that method of play in contempt. 

««G. W. P."— See, "Pettes, G. 
W." 

"t^^ Hamilton, C. D. P.— One of the 

most thorough and masterly expo- 
nents of the modern scientific 
game, was born at Cochranville, 
Chester county, Pa,, on December 
10, 1851. His parents were strict 
Quakers, and he was educated in 
Quaker private schools. From 
early childhood he displayed a 
fondness for games, and at twelve 
years of age he was the champion 
checker-player of the village. He 
became infatuated with chess at the 
age of fourteen, and made his first 
set of chessmen from spools which 
came from his mother's sewing- 
basket. Later he became famous 
as a composer and solver of chess 
problems, and his compositions in 
this line have been published by 
chess editors the world over. 

He made his first pack of cards 
from cardboard bought at the vil- 
lage store, and learned about every 
game of cards from all-fours to 
whist, and was deemed an expert, 
especially at cribbage and sixty-six. 
His attention was called to book 
whist early in the seventies, and 
this opened up a new and delight- 
ful vista to him. In 1880 he began 
to read and study the game, in com- 
pany with three other players, at 



Easton, Pa., where he still resides. 
They were known as the Baston 
Quartette, and met at each other's 
homes twice every week. For four 
years they did little else in their 
leisure moments "but play, talk, 
read, study, dream, and discuss 
whist," to use Mr. Hamilton's own 
expression. All this time he made 
notes of every new theme and play 
that came up in practice, and soon 
he had several hundred sheets filled 
with valuable observations. He 
read every work on whist which he 
could buy or borrow, and became 
convinced that existing text-books 
were not as thorough and exhaust- 
ive as they should be to meet the 
wants of students, who might be as 
eager to learn as he himself was. 
So he resolved to write a book on 
the game, and for four years more 
he devoted his spare moments to 
this congenial task, and ' ' Modern 
Scientific "Whist" was the result. 
It was all written at night, mostly 
after the rest of the family had re- 
tired. A large share of the time 
was taken up in analyzing and 
proving that his position was sound, 
and he often spent weeks on a 
single phase or maxim. Starting 
without prejudice or bias, he con- 
tinued with a determination to 
reject anything he found, by de- 
monstration, to be unsound, no 
matter how it might run counter to 
his previous views. 

This thoroughness of method, 
and honesty of purpose, was at 
once recognized in ' ' Modern Scien- 
tific Whist, ' ' and its publication, in 
1894, placed him at one bound 
among the foremost whist-authors 
of the day. It was pronounced the 
most complete work that had yet 
been published on the game, an d the 
chapters on second and third-hand 
play, as well as those on discarding 
and critical endings, were found to 
be a revelation. A second edition 



HAMILTON, C. D. P. 



197 



HAMII^TON LEADS 



was published in 1896, -with an ap- 
pendix, in which the author gave 
his views upon several whist ques- 
tions of the day. While a staunch 
and able supporter of " Cavendish, '* 
the long-suit game, and American 
leads in the main, he nevertheless 
differs from "Cavendish," and 
agrees with Mr. Trist, in leading 
the original fourth best on second 
round from ace and four or more, 
instead of the fourth best remain- 
ing, as practiced by the great Eng- 
lish advocate of American leads. 
He also devotes a chapter to the 
Hamilton modifications of Ameri- 
can leads, as originated and prac- 
ticed by the famous team from the 
Hamilton Club, of Philadelphia, 
and fully endorses the improve- 
ments. (See, "Hamilton Leads.") 
He also gives Mr. Green's three 
signal an extended analysis, and 
suggests that it be given a practical 
test. ( See, ' ' Three Signal. ' ' ) 

Dr. Pole, in "The Evolution of 
Whist," praises Mr. Hamilton's 
book very highly as "the great 
American work which must be 
hereafter regarded as the ixeya 
Pl^Vlov of whist. He adopts, of 
course," continues Dr. Pole, "all 
the new latter-day modes of com- 
munication between the partners, 
but he largely extends the system; 
he follows up the influence this has 
on the general play of all the 
hands, and shows how great this 
influence has been. * * * It is 
a sign of the uncertainty and want 
of finality that still prevails in the 
latter-day game, that although Mr. 
Hamilton's book is founded on the 
same system that is explained in 
the latest editions of ' Cavendish,' 
yet there are many points on which 
the two authorities do not agree, as 
may be seen by the review of the 
book in the Field of May 26, 1894. 
However, the book is very interest- 
ing, as showing not only the aston- 



ishing change which the new 
improvements have wrought in the 
game, but the remarkable earnest- 
ness with which they appear to be 
studied in the New World." 

Mr. Hamilton is one of the leading 
whist experts of America, and as an anal- 
yst probably has no superior in this 
country. — Whist \L. A.'], September, i8gj. 

Mr. Hamilton's aptitude for investiga- 
tion and analysis, coupled with his expe- 
rience, has made him extremely acute as 
well as sound in reaching the pith of any 
knotty problem, or question of difference 
in whist system or whist play. As a 
whist-player he is flexible, adaptable, im- 
perturbable, and deliberate. He is a mas- 
ter of whist strategy and resource in 
difficult situations. — Whist [L. A.I, Feb- 
ruary, i8ps- 

H a m i Ito n Lea ds. — American 
leads, with certain modifications, 
made by Milton C. Work and his 
fellow-players of the Hamilton 
Club team, of Philadelphia, and 
practiced by them in their play. 
These modifications consist in (i) 
leading ten (instead of queen) from 
queen, jack, ten; and (2) in leading 
fourth best (instead of ten) from 
king, jack, ten. The result is the 
simplification of the queen lead, 
which by the American leads is led 
from three combinations, and 
leaves partner in doubt as to 
whether king or jack is also held. 
By the Hamilton arrangement this 
doubt is removed. 

The Hamilton modifications have 
found so much favor with leading 
players and authorities that by 
many it is thought their incorpora- 
tion into the system of American 
leads will eventually be universal, 
although "Cavendish" at present 
still holds out mildly against them, 
because he is afraid the fourth-best 
lead from king, jack, ten is a trick- 
losing one. (See, also, "American 
Leads, Changes in.") 

Another innovation, which is being 
used by many good players, is the lead 
of fourth best from king, knave, ten, and 



y- 



HAMILTON LEADS 



198 



HAMILTON LEADS 



others, in order to simplify the queen 
lead.— Kate Wheelock [L. A.], " IVkist 
Rules," i8()6. 

A recent examination of the king, 
knave, ten combination convinces the 
writer that the fourth best, and not the 
ten, should be led from this holding. If 
the lead of the ten from this combination 
is abandoned, it is then self-evident to all 
whist-players that the system of Ameri- 
can leads will be improved by adopting 
the lead of the ten from queen, knave, 
ten, etc., as this eliminates all uncer- 
tainty, and renders all the high-card 
leads free, practically, from duality of 
inference. — C. D, P. Hamilton \L. A.], 
"Afodem Scientific IVhist.'" 

With other plaj-ers I analyzed 840 hands 
containing this combination [king, jack, 
ten], and obtained the following result: 
In 528 hands, it made no differeuce 
whether the ten or the fourth best was 
led; in 203 hands, the lead of the fourth 
best won 217 tricks over the lead of the 
ten; and in 109 hands, the lead of the ten 
won 126 tricks more than the lead of the 
fourth best. The results were conclu- 
sive, that the change to the fourth best 
from king, jack, ten, etc., with the 
change to the ten, from queen, jack, ten, 
etc., was * * * a trick-winner. — T. E. 
Otis [L. A.'], Whist, January, i8g6. 

That the Hamilton idea simplifies the 
leads, and would be, in the long run, ad- 
vantageous to the leader and his partner, 
goes without saying, were it not that the 
risk is run of losing tricks by leading 
small from king, knave, ten, etc., which 
is its necessary complement. The argu- 
ment then is narrowed to this: Is it better 
to run the stated risk for the sake of giv- 
ing valuable information at once? This 
question is not susceptible of decision by 
calculation; it can only be determined by 
a long series of experiments. Those who 
adopt the Hamilton scheme are of opinion 
that the occasional failure to obtain com- 
mand in king, knave, ten suits is of less 
importance than the certainty of giving 
definite information by the first card led; 
those who reject the Hamilton lead, of 
course, hold the contrary. And, as before 
observed, when bands of experts differ on 
a given proposition, the probability is 
there is not much to it either way. — '^Cav- 
endish'" [L. A.], Scribner's Monthly, July, 
1897. 

It is merely a modification of the sys- 
tem of American leads, which, it is 
thought, removes from them their great- 
est objection, to wit, uncertainty as to the 
combination of high cards from which 
the queen is led. * * * xhe only ob- 
jection that can be urged to the lead of 
the ten rather than the queen from the 
queen, jack, ten combination is that it 
conflicts with the lead of the ten from 
king, jack, ten. This system proposes to 



do away with the latter lead altogether, 
making the king, jack, ten a combina- 
tion from which the fourth best is led. 
* * * The argument in favor of the 
fourth-best lead from this combination 
seems to be a strong one It iSj that the 
lead of the ten, irom king, jack, ten, 
gives too great information to the second- 
hand adversarj-, as it enables him, with 
ace, {jueeii, and one or ,more small cards, 
or with queen and one small one, to most 
advantageously cover the ten with the 
queen. The information that the lead of 
the ten conveys to the third hand does 
not, in any measurable degree, offset this, 
and the only argument that can be used 
in favor of its retention, is that it is neces- 
sary for the purpose of forcing a high 
card to take the trick in the case where 
the partner has not either the ace, queen, 
or nine. It is hard to understand, how- 
ever, why it is more necessary, for the 
purpose of forcing a high card, to lead ten 
from king, jack, ten than from ace, jack, 
ten, as the latter is the stronger suit; and 
yet a high-card lead from ace, jack, ten 
has never been advocated. 

The players of the Hamilton team, who 
have given the subject a thoughtful and 
careful test, in a long series of important 
matches, state as their unanimous 
opinion, as the result of that test, that in 
practical play the cases in which tricks 
are lost by the fourth-best lead from king, 
jack, ten are nearly offset by cases in 
which the retaining of the ten in the 
original leader's hand gives him the 
strength necessary to eventually estab- 
lish his suit. If this opinion is sound, 
there can be no question that the doing 
away of the ten lead from king, jack, ten 
is an advantage, as it will be admitted 
that all the information it gives is far 
more valuable to the opponent than to the 
partner. Should this lead be abandoned, 
there can be no possible objection to the 
substitution of the ten for the queen from 
queen, jack, ten, and the strongest objec- 
tion ever urged against the system of 
American leads is thereby removed. 

The queen, if this modification is 
adopted, becomes a five-card-suit lead 
without exception, and always shows the 
presence of the king. The ten is led 
only from queen, jack, ten, and while it 
does not, on the first trick, show the 
number of the suit, the second trick gen- 
erally gives that information, as the jack 
is played or led, as the case may be, with 
five or more, the queen with exactly four. 

With this system adopted, the third 
hand, of course, beats a ten led by his 
partner, as he formerly did a queen, and 
Jinesses with the ace; but with king 
and one small, or ace, king, and one 
small, plays the king in order to un- 
block.— 7I/z7/on C. Work \_L. A. H.\, 
" Whist of To-day," 1896. 



HAMILTON TROPHY 



199 



HAMILTON TROPHY 



Hamilton Trophy. — The cham- 
pionship trophy of the American 
Whist League for teams of four rep- 
resenting League clubs. The trophy 
was tendered to the League, at its 
first congress in Milwaukee, 1891, 
by Dr. M. H. Forrest, a prominent 
member of the Hamilton Whist 
Club, of Philadelphia, and a man 
of wide culture, who had traveled 
extensively. Dr. Forrest's esteem 
for the game found expression in 
the gift, which he tendered in a let- 
ter which was read at the congress. 
He imposed no conditions upon the 
trophy, except that it should be 
contended for at duplicate whist by 
teams of four representing League 
clubs. Dr. Forrest was made an 
honorary member of the League. 
He died in 1894. The trophy was 
at first also frequently spoken of as 
the Forrest trophy. 

At the sixth congress of the 
League, in 1896, it was decided 
"that the Hamilton Club Trophy 
be kept as a perpetual trophy, to be 
played for at each annual congress, 
and to be held by the club win- 
ning it until the next succeeding 
congress. ' ' 

The trophy is in the form of a 
silver bowl, about fourteen inches 
in height. The shank is square in 
form, and ornamented with the fig- 
ures of the four kings chased in 
relief. The bowl is ornamented 
with chased figures, and the base 
with four aces in relief. It has 
been successively won by teams 
of four from the following clubs: 

1892 — Capital Bicycle Club, 
Washington, D. C. (Messrs. H. N. 
Low, W. T. Bingham, J. P. Wooten, 
and L. G. Eakin). 

1893 — Minneapolis Chess, Check- 
ers, and Whist Club (Messrs. J. H. 
Briggs, J. F.Whallon, O. H. Briggs, 
and George L. Bunn). 

1894 — University Whist Club, 
Chicago, 111. (Messrs. J. L. Waller, 



W. Waller, J. H. Baldwin, and H. 
Trumbull). 

1895— Hyde Park Whist Club, 
Chicage, 111. ( Messrs. R. M. Rogers, 
J. T. Mitchell, W. J. Walker, and 
R. L. Parsons). 

1896 — Hamilton Whist Club, 
Philadelphia (Messrs. Milton C. 
Work, Gustavus Remak, Jr., E. A. 
Ballard, and Frank P. Mogridge). 

1897— Philadelphia Whist Club 
(Dr. Joseph S. NeflF, E. Stanley 
Hart, Leoni Melick, and W. T. G. 
Bristol, with T. A. Whelan as sub- 
stitute for Mr. Melick, during the 
latter's illness). 

The oue criticism that Whisfs New 
England correspondent feels constrained 
to make upon the seventh congress is 
concerning the plan of the championship 
or Hamilton Trophy contest. It was too 
long and arduous, just as it has always 
been, and still the individual matches 
played were not long enough to satisfy 
the old war horses. An endeavor to 
shorten it was made this year. What did 
the attempt amount to? The winner of 
the contest had to play 204 deals in five 
days, an average of forty-one per diem, 
which is inconsiderably less than the 
forty-eight that used to be required, and is 
too much when the inconclusive charac- 
ter of each match is considered. As a 
consequence, the finals of the champion- 
ship contest were, as usual, a trial of en- 
durance, in which several men were 
wrecked. One of the New England mem- 
bers of the 1897 tournament committee 
wanted to have the preliminaries of the 
championship contest fought out before 
the congress, but the plan received scant 
notice. The idea was to divide the coun- 
try into not more than six or seven sec- 
tions, have a series of club matches in 
each section during the winter and 
spring, and admit to the congress contest 
only the winners in the several sections. 
This plan is now being discussed. — New 
England Corr., Whist, August, 1897. 

The chief interest, of course, centres in 
the play for the Hamilton Trophy, which 
carries with it the championship for 
teams of four. A different method has 
been tried at every congress, and none 
of them has been entirely satisfactory. 
Most of the plans proposed have been 
based on some scheme for limiting the 
entries or dividing them into sections, 
the winner of each to meet in the finals. 
* * * No scheme of play for the cham- 
pionship can ever be satisfactory in 
which the winner has not actually de- 



HAND 



200 HANDS, DIFFICULT 



feated every other contestant, either in 
the trial heats or in the final. 

The tournament committee evidently 
agree with this view, for they propose 
that the preliminary rounds shall be 
played on Tuesday afternoon and even- 
ing, under the Howell system for fours, 
every team entered actuallj' meeting and 
playing against every other. For the 
benefit of those not familiar with this 
method it may be explained that each 
team of four sits at its own table and 
plays one deal, or as many as the individ- 
ual matches will consist of. The N and 
S pair remain at that table and in that 
position during the entire play of the 
tournament, but the E and W pair move 
round the room from table to table. In 
doing so they of course meet and play 
against the N and S pair on every other 
team. The scheme of moving the trays is 
such that when the B) and W pair of team 
A play against the N and S pair of team 
D, the deal that they play will be same 
that will be played by the E and W pair 
of team D when they get round to the 
N and S pair of team A. The play on 
this deal, or on two or three deals, if 
there are so many at each table, forms a 
match between these two clubs, and the 
team winning the most matches makes 
the high score. At the end of these two 
sittings the eight clubs with the highest 
match score will be selected to play the 
finals, all those failing to get as good as 
eighth place being dropped. Each of the 
eight teams will then play a match of 
twenty-four deals against each of the 
seven other survivors, and the winner of 
the most matches will be the champion 
team for iSga-'gg. As the last match will 
be played on Saturday afternoon, the 
evening will be available to settle any 
possible ties.^/?. F. Foster \S. 0.'\, New 
York Sun, November 28, iSgy. 

Hand. — The thirteen cards held 
by a player at whist; also, collec- 
tively, one deal of the cards. The 
second, third, and fourth hands are 
the players who play after the leader 
in each round, in the order indi- 
cated. 

Never play a backward game with a 
strong hand.—./?. F. Foster [S. <?.]," Whist 
Tactics." 

No intimation, by word or gesture, 
should be given by a player as to the state 
of his hand or of the game. — Etiquette of 
Whist {English Code). 

This [635,013,559,600] is the number of 
different hands which any single player 
at whi.st may obtain. — William Pole [L. 
A+], ''Philosophy of Whist.'" 



Never know of good hands, or of poor 
ones. * * * The credit lies in playing 
each hand properly. — G. W. Pettes \L. A. 
P.\, "Ame7-ican Whist Illustrated." 

In all the recorded games of duplicate 
whist, there is not one in which the same 
hand was played twice in the same way. 
—P. F. Foster [5. C], ''Whist Tactics." 

If you have a moderate hand yourself, 
sacrifice it to your partner; he, if he be a 
good player, will act in the same manner. 
— Thomas Mathews [L. O.], "Advice to the 
Young Whist-Player." 

No player should in any manner what- 
soever give any intimation as to the state 
of his hand, or of the game, or of ap- 
proval or disapproval of a play. — Etiquette 
of Whist {American Code). 

A general order belongs to each hand 
held: to the first, play from your master 
suit; to the second, play your lowest card; 
to the third, play your highest card; and 
to the fourth, play whatever will take the 
trick. The rule is positive; the excep- 
tions are powerful. — G. W. Pettes [L. A. 
P.], "American Whist Illustrated." 

The variety of hands that can be held 
are infinite. It is useless to speak of a 
million, because a million is an incom- 
prehensible number; but we know that 
some men can hold trump and court cards 
to such an extent as to be sickening, 
while others appear to get neither trumps 
nor court cards. — Westminster Papers [L-^ 
O.]. 

Hands, Arrangement of. — See, 
" Cards, Arrangement of." 

Hands, Difficult, to Lead from. 

— The question, Which is the most 
difficult hand at whist to lead from ? 
is a fascinating one, considering 
the many billions of combinations 
that are possible with the cards It 
is a fact, also, that what appears to 
be a difficult and dangerous lead, 
may turn out to be fortunate and 
advantageous owing to the combi- 
nation of cards in the other hands; 
and, vice versa, what seems a tol- 
erabl}' safe lead may turn out dis- 
astrously. An approximate idea 
of some of the most difficult hands 
to lead from was recently obtained 
by Milton C. Work in 'the whist 
column of the Philadelphia Press, 
by meaus of a prize competition. 



HANDS, DIFFICULT 



20I 



HANDS, DIFFICULT 



The nine most striking examples 
of such hands were selected and 
submitted to a committee, which 
determined the correct leads, and 
briefly gave the reason in each case, 
in the Press of November 21, 1897. 
We give the hands, the names of 
those proposing them as the most 
difficult, and the decision of the 
committee in each case as to the 
proper lead: 

No. I— From W. 'S,. P. Duvall, of Balti- 
more, Md. 

Trump, King Diamonds. 

Spades 10, 5, 3, 2 

Hearts 8, 6, 5, 4, 2 

Clubs 2 

Diamouds Jack, 3, 2 

Lead ten of spades; the best 
strengthening and least deceptive 
play; any other is more apt to re- 
sult fatally. 

No. 2— From A. Harvey McCay, of Bal- 
timore, Md. 

Trump, Queen Diamonds. 

Spades King, Jack 

Hearts Ace, Queen 

Clubs 6, 4, 3, 2 

Diamonds King, Jack, 9, 8, 2 

Lead six of clubs; it forces a lead 
up to some tenace, and may give 
partner a ruff. 

No. 3— From F. W. Benson, of Philadel- 
phia, Pa. 

Trump, Queen Diamonds. 

Spades 4. 3> 2 

Hearts 4, 3, 2 

Clubs 4, 3i 2 

Diamonds 5. 4, 3, 2 

Lead four of spades, honrts, or 
clubs; less apt to be da;na-uig thau 
a trump lead. 

No. 4 — From Frank P. Mogridge, of 
Philadelphia, Pa. 

Trump, Three Spades. 

Spades Ace, King, 10, 9, 4, 2 

Hearts 10, 9, 7, 3, 2 

Clubs Queen 

Diamonds Jack 

Lead ten of hearts; safest play; 
trumps can be led after a force 
without danger. 



No. 5 — From C. F. Lindsay, of Wash- 
ton, D. C. 

Trump, Queen Hearts. 

Spades Ace, Queen, 4 

Hearts Jack, 3, 2 

Clubs Queen, 6, 5 

Diamonds 7> 6, 5, 2 

Lead seven of diamonds; the 
least apt to result fatally of the four 
choices. 

No. 6 — From James S. Peckham, of 
Newport, R. I. 

Trump, King Spades. 

Spades Ace, Queen, 10,9,7,5,3 

Hearts 5, 4, 3, 2 

Clubs King, 2 

Diamonds None 

Lead ace of spades; about as good 
a chance of catching the king by 
leading the ace as any other way; 
if unsuccessful in this respect, will 
at least force a lead up to the part- 
ner. 

No. 7— From William S. Fenollosa, of 
Salem, Mass. 

Trump, Three Spades. 

Spades King, Jack, 10, 8 

Hearts King, 9, 6, 5 

Clubs Queen, 10, 7, 2 

Diamonds Ace 

Lead any spade, except king; the 
all round strength justifies a trump 
lead. 

No. 8— From Charles W. Dana, of 
Wilkesbarre, Pa. 

Trump, Nine Hearts. 

Spades Ace, King, 10, 7, 5 

Hearts Queen, 10, 8, 2 

Clubs Queen, 6 

Diamonds King, 8 

Lead ace of spades; the most con- 
servative play; the fall on the first 
trick will determine whether to con- 
tinue the suit or shift to a trump. 

No. 9— From Mrs. James M. Reagan, of 
Drifton, Pa. 

Trump, Six Clubs. 

Spades None 

Hearts King, Jack, 7, 2 

Clubs Ace, Jack, 10, g 

Diamonds Ace, Jack, 8, 6, 2 

Lead ace of diamonds, instead of 
fourth best, because the hand is 



HANDS, ILLUSTRATIVE 202 



HEARTS 



blank in one suit; there is, there- 
fore, probably some player who is 
very short of diamonds. 

These examples are very interest- 
ing, not only on account of the 
difficulties presented in the choice 
in each instance, but as showing 
liow professed long-suit advocates 
will frequently make use of short 
suit, or other irregular tactics, in ex- 
treme cases. 

Hands, Illustrative.— See, "Il- 
lustrative Hands." 

Hands, Instead of Points. — A 

writer in Whist for March and 
June, 1892, argues that to fix a cer- 
tain number of points as a game of 
whist is irrational and unnecessary. 
The players, he holds, should enjoy 
absolutely equal privileges; 'i. e., 
they should play four or a multiple 
of four hands. Every trick taken 
should be counted, and the score 
should be the difference in the 
number of tricks taken by the two 
sides. 

We have seen something of this 
kind followed by players at straight 
whist, who made up a party for an 
evening's play. No special number 
of hands was agreed upon, but 
they played as long as they felt in- 
clined. All the tricks taken by 
each side were counted, instead of 
those over a book, and the side 
which scored the largest number 
of tricks during the sitting was the 
victor by that many points. (See, 
also, "Scoring.") 

Hands Played by Correspond- 
ence. — See, "Whist Match by 
Correspondence." 

Hands, Unclean. — Cleanliness 
is next to godliness, and this ap- 
plies with considerable force to the 
hands of the players at the whist 
table. A writer in Eraser'' s Maga- 



zine tells a story to the effect that 
Charles Lamb, noticing Hazlitt's 
soiled hands while playing with 
him, drily observed, "If dirt was 
trumps, what hands you would 
hold!" Courtney, in his " English 
Whist and Whist- Players," alludes 
to the story, but puts Martin Burney 
in place of Hazlitt, and makes a rel- 
ative of the latter declare that Lamb 
never originated the joke, but that 
it ' ' was made by a gentleman who 
never uttered a second witticism in 
the whole course of his life, and 
who thought it a little hard to be 
robbed of this unique achieve- 
ment." 

Harvard-Yale Whist Match.— 

See, "Whist in Colleges and Uni- 
versities. ' ' 

Hayu/ard, Abraham. — A well- 
known contributor to the English 
magazines, who wrote a notable 
article on " Whist and Whist- Play- 
ers" for Fraser''s Magazitie (vol. 
79, page 487), which has often been 
referred to by subsequent writers. 
He was a contributor also to the 
Quarterly Review, and was sup- 
posed by many to have written for 
it the article on ' ' Modern Whist, ' ' 
which appeared January, 1871, al- 
though "Cavendish" informs us 
that this is a mistake, and that Dr. 
Pole was its author. Hayward 
played whist at the Athenaeum 
Club; he was not a player of the 
highest rank, but had great abili- 
ties as a critic. 

Head. — To head is a phrase 
used in England, meaning to cover. 
The head of a suit means the 
highest card or cards in it. 

Hearts. — One of the four suits 
into which a pack of cards is di- 
vided; one of the two red suits. 
In the original Spanish cards, from 



HIGH-CARD ECHO 



203 



HOIvDINGS 



which modern cards are derived, 
hearts were represented by cups 
{copas). The Italians have the 
same {coppe). The Germans 
early adopted hearts {Herzen), and 
the French did the same, naming 
them ccBurs. English cards being 
derived from the French, hearts 
have become the recognized em- 
blem. 

High -Card Echo.— This echo 
consists in playing, third hand, an 
unnecessarily high card upon a 
small card led, when winning or 
attemping to vnn the trick. The 
idea is to show four of the suit led, 
and it is more frequently used in 
trumps than plain suits. 

The high-card echo is a recent innova- 
tion in the tliird-hancj play on small card 
led.— ^. F. Foster \S. 0.], ''Whist Tac- 
tics,^'' i8g6. 

High - Card Game. — Generally 
speaking, the manner of play fre- 
quently adopted by novices, where- 
by they lead, successively, all the 
aces, kings, etc., from their best 
suits for the temporary advantage 
of taking a few tricks. Soon, how- 
ever, the hand is left bare and use- 
less. "Of all the systems of 
whist -play," says Foster, in his 
" Whist Strategy" (1894), "this is 
the most discouraging to a part- 
ner." 

E. C. Howell, however, has made 
the high-card game one of the five 
methods of play, which are used in 
his short-suit system under varying 
conditions of the hand. When a 
player leads high cards (not accord- 
ing to the system of American 
leads, but from the top downward), 
he says to his partner, according to 
Mr. Howell : ' ' Partner, here is a 
very strong suit, the only thing in 
my hand worth considering. Let 
me get what I can out of it. and 
then look out for yourself. ' ' This, 



however, is quite diflferent from the 
bumblepuppy play of jumping 
from suit to suit in search of trick- 
winners, and ruining what, if other- 
wise used, might have proved a 
great hand. 

High-Card Leads. — The leads 
from high-card combinations; the 
leads other than fourth best, in the 
system of American leads {q. v.)\ 
the lead of ace, king, queen, jack, 
or ten. 

The opening of a high card from cer- 
tain combinations is universally adopted 
for the purpose of trick-winning. The 
choice of the particular high card is a 
matter of convention, simply to give in- 
formation. The information given is 
either (i) as to the remaining high cards 
in the hand (old system); or (2) the num- 
ber of small cards in the hand (Ameri- 
can leads). — Ellis Ames Ballard [L. A. 
H.], Whist, April, 1894. 

High Cards. — The five highest 
cards, from ace to ten inclusive. 
Some writers on whist, notably G. 
W. Pettes, include the nine among 
the high cards. 

Try to remember as many as possible of 
the high cards played, particularly those 
of your own and partner's long suits, that 
you may knovy when they are estab- 
lished. — C. E. Coffin \L. A.], ''Gist of 
Whist.'" 

High cards in plain suits are usually 
looked upon as more desirable than small 
trumps, because they are always good for 
tricks as long as the adversaries are able 
to follow suit, and are powerful forcing 
cards when the strength of trumps is 
against you.— ^. F. Foster [5. O^^," Whist 
Strategy,'^ i8g4. 

High cards are led to take the trick and 
escape being trumped, to catch other 
high cards in opponents' hands, or to 
force out higher cards and promote the 
rank of those held by the leader; and 
also to indicate the character of the suit, 
and the number of cards held in it. — 
Fisher A mes [L. A .] . 

History of Whist.— See, "Whist, 
History of." 

Holdings. — The cards held by 
the various players; the hands. 



HOLDING UP 



204 



HONORS 



Holding Up. — To hold up is to 
underplay, in order to retain the 
commanding card of a suit; not 
to take a trick when you can; as, 
for instance, king being led, the 
second hand, having the ace, does 
not put it on. (See, also, "Under- 
play.") 

This is a species of underplay, and con- 
sists in retaining the best card in hand 
for a round or two, in order to play it with 
greater effect later. It is quite effective 
when vised with good judgment, particu- 
larly in the trump suit, or in plain suits 
after the trumps are out. — Emery Board- 
man [^L-\-A.'\, ''^Winning Whisty 

Home Piayer. — One who plays 
whist at home, instead of at the 
club, or in matches; a player of 
domestic whist; a player of limited 
experience. In another sense, the 
home players are the players who 
accept a challenge, and engage the 
visiting or challenging team. 

By home player is meant one who, from 
the comparative seclusion of a small 
place having no club, or from personal 
choice, plays the game mostly at home — 
in his own family circle, or with imme- 
diate neighbors. — Cassius M. Paine \L. 
.<4.], Whist, November, iSgz. 

Honorary Members of the 
League. — The by-laws of the 
American Whist League (article 2, 
section 5) provide that "individual 
whist-plaj'ers, on nomination by 
the executive committee, may be 
made honorary members of the 
League by the unanimous vote of 
any annual meeting. Honorar}'^ 
members shall not be liable for any 
fee, nor shall they be eligible to 
office or privileged to vote at any 
meeting of the League, unless they 
are otherwise qualified." 

The honorary members of the 
League, with the dates of their elec- 
tion, are as follows: Henry Jones 
("Cavendish"), April 17, 1891; N. 
B. Trist, April 17, 1891; Fisher 
Ames, July 22, 1892; M. H. For- 
rest (since deceased), July 22, 1892; 



A. W. Drayson, June 22, 1893; Wil- 
liam Pole, June 22, 1893. 

Honors. — The ace, king, queen, 
and jack of trumps. Also, espe- 
cially in America, the four highest 
cards, beginning with ace, in any 
suit. In the whist offshoots, 
known as "bridge," "cayenne," 
etc. , the ten is also included among 
the honors. 

The exact date when the ace, 
king, queen, and jack were first 
called honors it would be difficult 
to fix. It appears, however, to be 
somewhere in the beginning of the 
seventeenth century, when the 
primitive game of " trump" be- 
came "ruff and honours." The 
attachment of the extra value to 
the four highest cards of the trump 
suit thus marked an important era 
in the development of the game, 
which soon thereafter became 
"whisk," and subsequently 
" whist." Upon the introduction of 
short whist (five points, instead of 
ten as in the old Hoyle game), the 
honors were retained and counted 
at their full value, instead of being 
cut in two, or at least materially re- 
duced, as they should have been. 
Thus it is possible in whist, as now 
played in England, for a player, 
singly, or in conjunction with his 
partner, to hold the four honors 
and count four points, leaving only 
one more point to be made by ac- 
tual play in order to win the game. 
Thus luck becomes a larger element 
than skill. In America, honors are 
not counted in the game, which is 
made seven points, a compromise 
between the old ten-point game and ; 
the too-short game of five points, 
and thus skill becomes the more , 
important factor in the game in this \ 
country. 

It is a noteworthy fact that the 
American mode of scoring has 
caused at least one English author 



HONORS, SCORING 



205 



HOWEIvIv, EDWIN C. 



to revise and issue an edition of his 
chief work to conform to it. ' ' Cav- 
endish," in 1895, published, in New 
York and London, an "American 
edition" of his world-famous " Laws 
and Principles of Whist, ' ' in which 
he says: "In the present edition 
the play has been made to conform 
to the American standard, and the 
examples and hands have been re- 
cast with the same object." Thus 
we have the progressive spectacle 
of an English author writing a text- 
book on whist, and treating it as 
played by single games instead of 
rubbers; omitting all references to 
singles, doubles, trebles, and rub- 
ber points, and abolishing the 
ancient custom of counting honors. 

It is no secret that the committee ap- 

f Jointed in 1863 to revise the laws of whist 
in England] had the question of the re- 
duction of honors brought before them; 
but they feared to make so large an al- 
teration in the game, lest the new laws 
should only meet with partial adoption. — 
"Cavendish" [L. A.], " Card £ssays." 

It has always seemed to me that by our 
English laws honors count too much, and 
thus chance, or luck, has too much influ- 
ence on the result of the game. My part- 
ner and I may be at the score of three, 
and the adversaries also at the score of 
three; by careful play I may win the odd 
trick, but the adversaries hold two by 
honors and score game, and the odd 
trick, which I won, is not of the slightest 
advantage to me. Again, when the score 
is love-all, I hold four by honors, but lose 
the trick; the score is, therefore, four 
to me, one to the adversaries. In the 
next hand the adversaries hold four by 
honors, but I win the trick; and, as tricks 
count before honors, I win a double on 
that game, though I and the adversaries 
held similar cards. Had the order of the 
cards been reversed, and the adversaries 
had first held the four by honors, then 
they would have won a double on the 
game. These chances necessarily reduce 
the chances of good, sound play, and tend 
to make whist more a game of chance 
than of skill. * * * Kliminating honors, 
and making the game seven instead of 
five, are, I consider, great improvements 
in whist — A. W. Drayson \L-^A-\-\ " Whist 
Laws a7id IVhist Decisions." 

Honors, Scoring. — In the Eng- 
lish game, honors must be called or 



audibly announced at the end of 
the hand, before the trump card 
of the following deal has been 
turned, or they cannot be scored. 
Once claimed, they may be scored 
at any time during the game. 

The English code (section 3), 
provides that honors shall be reck- 
oned as follows: If a player or his 
partner, either separately or con- 
jointly, hold the four honors, they 
score four points; any three honors, 
they score two points; only two 
honors, they do not score, being 



Howell, Edwin C. — A leading 
short-suit advocate and player, 
originator of the Howell game. He 
was born April 21, i860, at Nan- 
tucket, Mass. , the son of a clergy- 
man who did not allow cards to be 
played in the family circle. Young 
Howell made their acquaintance at 
college, and to use his own expres- 
sion, it was " poker first, and then 
bumblepuppy. " Chess was his 
favorite game, at which he excelled. 
However, he soon learned to play 
whist, for Foster speaks of him 
( Whist, September, 1893) as fol- 
lows: " He could play whist in 
championship form twelve years 
ago, to my knowledge, and years 
before that he was the best player 
at Harvard. He was an honor man 
at college in mathematics." 

Mr. Howell was graduated from 
Harvard in 1883, and went to Balti- 
more, where he taught school for a 
time. He gave much attention also 
to chess, and became the amateur 
champion of the city. It was there 
that he met Mr. Foster, when the 
latter was first beginning to take an 
interest in whist. 

In 1887 Mr. Howell entered the 
newspaper business, and in 1889 he 
went to Boston, where he became a 
member of the Herald staff. There, 
he modestly tells us, he " began to 



HOWELL, EDWIN C. 



206 



HOYLE, EDMOND 



study whist in earnest." In 1893 
he became a charter member and 
the first secretary of the American 
Whist Club, and in December of 
that year there appeared in Whist 
the first of a series of interesting 
and valuable papers from his pen 
on the probabilities of whist. He 
played as a member of the Amer- 
ican Whist Club team at the Phila- 
delphia, Minneapolis, and Brook- 
lyn congresses of the American 
Whist League. In 1894 his high 
abilities as a player were demon- 
strated in the whist match by cor- 
respondence {q. V.) instituted by 
R. F. Foster. Whist, in reporting 
the result, February, 1895, said: 
"If individual duplicate is any 
test, and the ' Probabilities of 
Whist ' are of any value, their 
champion deserves his victory, for 
E. C. Howell has fought hard for 
both." Out of the sixteen well- 
chosen players who took part in 
this correspondence tourney, Mr. 
Howell won first place, both in his 
eight and in the sixteen. In the 
New England Whist Association 
contests, he subsequently repre- 
sented the Boston Press Club; and, 
in 1897, the Howell Whist Club, of 
which he is president. At Put-in- 
Bay, in 1897, he played on the 
team of the Boston Duplicate Whist 
Club. He has been secretary of the 
New England Whist Association 
since its organization. 

In the early part of 1896 ap- 
peared " Howell's Whist Open- 
ings," a successful volume, setting 
forth his system of play, which 
Foster christened "the Howell 
game." This game, the Howell 
Whist Club and its team, under 
Mr. Howell's captaincy, is pledged 
to play, and its popularity is 
steadily increasing in New Eng- 
land. Foster's influence had much 
to do with Mr. Howell's develop- 
ment as a whist author, and with 



the game advocated in his book, 
" although," says Mr. Howell, "he 
subsequently objected to the color 
of the child's eyes, and is now 
' groping for the true path ' in 
whist." 

During the summer of 1897, Mr. 
Howell published the "Howell 
Method of Duplicate Whist for 
Pairs," consisting of indicating 
cards, with instructions and sample 
score sheets, which adapt to gen- 
eral use the system of playing every 
pair against every other. The 
schedules on which the method is 
based are essentially the same as 
Safford's, but were discovered quite 
independently. (See, " Duplicate 
Whist Schedules. " } Mr. Howell is 
also joint author, with F. K. Young, 
of " Minor Tactics of Chess." 

Howell Game, The. — The system 
of whist-play advocated by Edwin 
C. Howell in his "Whist Open- 
ings" (1896), whereby he attempts 
to provide for the play of five dif- 
ferent styles of games, each suited 
to some peculiarity of the hand. 
Although long-suit strategy (with- 
out American leads) is to some ex- 
tent used, under exceptionally 
favorable circumstances, the system 
in its entirety is a short-suit sys- 
tem. (See, "Short-Suit Leads — 
Howell's.") 

Hoyle, Edmond. — Edmond 
Hoyle, by his ardent admirers 
styled the " Father of Whist," was 
born, according to what seems the 
most trustworthy authority, in 1679, 
although a widely accepted date is 
1672. He is said to have been 
called to the bar, and he styles 
himself " a gentleman" in the first 
edition of his book. Pole says: 
" It is clear he was a man of good 
education, and moved in good 
society." He was possibly one of 
the players who frequented the 
Crown Coffee-House, in Bedford 



HOYLE, EDMOND 



207 



HOYLE, EDMOND 



Row, about the year 1730, when 
whist was taken up by the leading 
spirits of that resort. It had a 
rather unsavory reputation as a 
tavern game, played chiefly by 
gamblers and sharpers, and was in 
a primitive and undeveloped stage, 
so far as its structure, laws, etc., 
were concerned. Hoyle was greatly 
impressed with its merits and possi- 
bilities, and after having studied 
and mastered it, he determined to 
teach it professionally, and to take 
it out of the hands of the gamblers 
by exposing their tricks, although 
some authorities suspect Hoyle of 
having been something of a gam- 
bler himself, and a man who lived 
by his wits. However this may 
be, it is certain that better whist 
prevailed, and that his fame as an 
instructor spread throughout the 
world. It is recorded that in 1741 
he was living in Queen Square, 
London, successfully pursuing his 
vocation as the first teacher of 
whist. It appears that he had 
drawn up manuscript notes of rules 
and directions for his pupils, and 
copies of these having been surrep- 
titiously obtained, and put in circu- 
lation, he determined to publish 
them himself in book form, under 
due protection of the law. Thus, in 
1742, appeared his famous volume, 
with a long title, beginning as fol- 
lows: "A Short Treatise on the 
Game of Whist, Containing the 
Laws of the Game, and also Some 
Rules Whereby a Beginner May, 
with Due Attention to Them, 
Attain to the Playing it Well." 
Several editions were rapidly ex- 
hausted, and thus the game was 
thoroughlj'^ studied by thousands 
who would otherwise have remained 
in ignorance of its true merits. The 
game itself was much improved, 
being precisely the form of long 
whist, with honors, as it has 
come down to the present da)'. 



" The essential difficiilty to be met 
with in the game of whist," saj's 
Dr. Pole, " always has been, and is 
still, the fact of all the cards except 
the player's own (and the turn-up 
when he is not the dealer) being 
concealed from him. In the primi- 
tive game this difficulty was simply 
ignored. The player considered 
his own hand alone, and did the 
best he could with it. Hoyle soon 
saw the influence that the concealed 
cards had on the art of trick- 
making; he taught the policy of 
considering them, though they 
could not be seen; and he showed 
the possibility of inferring, to some 
extent, what any hand contained 
by the cards which fell from that 
hand in the course of play. This 
was the great lesson of attention to 
the ' fall of the cards,' which was 
one of the most salient features of 
his instruction." 

In the early editions the author 
offers for a guinea to disclose the 
secret of his " artificial memory, 
which does not take off your atten- 
tion from your game." The suc- 
cess of his first book encouraged 
Hoyle to bring out similar manuals 
on "Backgammon," "Piquet," 
"Quadrille," and "Brag." An 
amusing skit, "The Humours of 
Whist" ( 1743), satirized the teacher 
and his pupils, and alluded to the 
dismay of sharpers who found their 
secrets made known. The princi- 
pal characters are: Professor Whis- 
ton (Hoyle), who gives lessons in 
the game; Sir Calculation Puzzle, 
an enthusiastic player who mud- 
dles his head with Hoyle's calcu- 
lations and always loses; pupils, 
sharpers, and their dupes. In the 
prologue Hoyle's devotion to the 
game is thus alluded to: 

Who ■will believe that man could e'er 

exist, 
Who .spent near half an age in studying 

whist? 



HOYLE, BDMOND 



208 



HOYIvB, EDMOND 



Grew grey with calculation, labor hard, 

As if life s business centered in a card? 

That such there is, let me to those ap- 
peal, 

Who with such liberal hands reward his 
zeal. 

I/o! Whist becomes a science, and our 
peers 

Deign to turn schoolboys in their riper 
years. 

Other satirists also poked fun at 
Hoyle. In the Rambler for May 
8, 1750, appears an epistle from "A 
Lady that had Lost her Money, ' ' 
who states that she was a pupil of 
Hoyle, who, when he had given 
her not above forty lessons, de- 
clared she was one of his best 
scholars. The World of February, 
1753, comments on the " Offensive 
Manners of Whist-players," and 
suggests the publication of a book, 
to be called " Rules of Behavior for 
the Game of Whist," "in imita- 
tion of the great Mr. Hoyle." The 
same journal, in April, 1754, re- 
marks that while the science of 
whist "has been rendered syste- 
matical by the philosophic pen of 
Mr. Hoyle, the art still requires 
treatment," and that a gentleman, 
now in the Old Bailey prison, at his 
leisure hours, has nearly completed 
a work which will ' ' make the art 
clear to the meanest capacity." In 
1755, Colman and Thornton, in The 
Connoisseur, remarked that Ho3de, 
having "left off teaching," the 
formation of a school was in order, 
" where young ladies of quality 
might be instructed in the various 
branches of lurching, renouncing, 
finessing, winning the tenace, and 
getting the odd trick, in the same 
manner as common misses are 
taught to write, read, and work at 
their needle. ' ' John Carteret Pilk- 
ington, in his memoirs, speaks of 
gratifying the mania of the fine 
ladies of the day for " cards, cards, 
cards, " by "a paraphrase upon 
Hoyle, which, neatly bound in 
turkey, a lady may read at church 



instead of her prayer-book." Ho- 
garth, the caricaturist, introduced 
into the breakfast scene, in " Mar- 
riage a la Mode," a volume lying 
on the carpet in the centre of the 
room, and inscribed "Hoyle on 
Whist." 

Hoyle was frequently mentioned 
in the literature ot the day, as we 
have already seen. In 1752 his 
name is enshrined in a " Hymn to 
Fashion. " His teachings are com- 
mented upon in the Gentleman' s 
Magazine ioxV€ox\yaxy, 1755. Also 
in Fielding's novel, "Tom Jones" 
(book 13, chapter 5); in Alexander 
Thomson's epic entitled, " Whist" 
{1792), and in Byron's "Don Juan" 
(canto 3, verse 90), which first ap- 
peared in 182 1. 

Very little else is known of 
Hoyle, except that he gave up per- 
sonal teaching in 1755, and that iu 
1769 the newspapers contained ac- 
counts of his death, mentioning 
him as a well-known public char- 
acter. A writer shortly afterwards 
quotes from the parish register of 
Marylebone, showing that he was 
buried on August 23, 1769, and 
adds: " He was ninety years of age 
at the time of his demise." In the 
Gentleman's Magazifie, 1769, page 
463, his death is said to have taken 
place August 29, 1769, at Welbeck 
street. Cavendish Square, and his 
age is given as ninety-seven. He 
was buried in Marylebone church- 
yard. His will, dated September 
26, 1 76 1, was proved in London on 
September 6, 1769; the executors 
were his sister, Eleanor, a spinster, 
and Robert Crispin {Notes and 
Queries, 7th ser., vii, 481-2). No 
authentic portrait is known; the 
picture by Hogarth, exhibited at 
the Crystal Palace in 1870, repre- 
sents a Yorkshire Hoyle, and not 
the Hoyle of whom Byron said: 

Troy owes to Homer what whist owes to 
Hoyle. 



HOYIvB, EDMOND 



209 



HOYLE, EDMOND 



This parallel, in the opinion of 
Dr. Pole, hardly does justice to the 
latter, "for he was far more than 
the historian of whist; he may es- 
sentially be considered its founder. " 

Hoyle was the first to write sci- 
entifically on whist, or, indeed, on 
any card game. His "Short Trea- 
tise" soon became popular. He 
was a careless editor, but possessed 
a vigorous style of writing and 
much originality. He seems to 
have profited by the experience of 
the best players of the day, and in- 
troduced many improvements in 
his successive editions. The "Short 
Treatise' ' was entered at Stationer's 
Hall on November 17, 1742, by the 
author, as sole proprietor of the 
copyright. The price, one guinea, 
gave rise to piracies, of which the 
first appeared in 1743. Hoyle's own 
second edition (1743), with addi- 
tions, was sold at two shillings, ' ' in 
a neat pocket size.' ' The third and 
fourth editions were published in 
1743; in the fourth edition the laws 
were reduced to twenty-four, and 
so remained until the twelfth edi- 
tion, when the laws of 1760 were 
given. In the eighth edition ( 1748) 
thirteen new cases are added, to- 
gether with the treatise on quad- 
rille, piquet, and backgammon. 
The ninth edition (1748) appeared 
as " The Accurate Gamester's Com- 
panion." The tenth edition (1750 
and 1755) bears the same title as 
the eighth, with which it is identi- 
cal. For many years every genu- 
ine copy bore the signature of 
Hoyle. In the fifteenth edition 
(1770) it is reproduced from a wood 
block. Hoyle's laws of 1760, re- 
vised by members of White's and 
Saunders', ruled whist until 1864, 
when they were superseded by the 
code drawn up by the Arlington 
(now Turf) and Portland Clubs. 
After Hoyle's death, C. Jones re- 
vised many editions. The book 

14 



has been frequently reprinted down 
to recent times. The word ' 'Hoyle' ' 
came to be used as representative 
of any book on games. An "Amer- 
ican Hoyle" was published about 
i860. "A Handbook of Whist on 
the Text of Hoyle" was published 
by G. F, Pardon in 1861, and 
"Hoyle's Games Modernized," by 
the same editor, in 1863, 1870, and 
1872. "The Standard Hoyle, a 
Complete Guide Upon all Games of 
Chance," appeared in New York, 
1887. A French translation, 
"Traits Abrege de Jeu de Whist," 
was issued in 1764, 1765, and 1776, 
as well as in the "Academie Uni- 
verselle des Jeux," 1786. A Ger- 
man translation, "Anweisung zuni 
Wistspiel," was printed at Gotha, 
1768. An exhaustive list of the 
publications of Hoyle was pub- 
lished in English Notes and Queries 
in 1889, by Julian Marshall. 

Hoyle was more than the chronicler — 
he was practically the inventor of the 
game. To him, in a metaphorical sense, 
might be applied the words used of the 
Roman emperor, "He found it brick, and 
leftit marble."— ?r. P.Courtney [i-+0.], 
' '■English IVh ist. ' ' 

A teacher was urgently needed, and the 
occasion produced the man. The sage 
was Hoyle — the mighty Edmond Hoyle — 
whose name and death are about the only 
solid facts definitely ascertained about 
him. The incidents of his life are almost 
a blank. He was a preceptor in whist, 
giving lessons in the gay science at Bath 
and London, and for a time he conde- 
scended to "wait on ladies of quality, at 
their own houses, to give them lectures" 
in the art; but this was before 1755. — IV. 
P. Courtney [jL+0.], "English Whist.'''' 

The fifth edition of Seymour's " Com- 
pleat Gamester" was printed in 1734, and 
in it he designated whist as a " very an- 
cient game among us." Hoyle has erro- 
neouslj' been styled its father. His trea- 
tise was not printed until 1742, and there 
is no evidence that he devised a lead or 
invented a play. He did but set down in 
pamphlet form the current business of 
the day concerning it. He was a recog- 
nized gambler, who made calculations 
upon chances and arranged tables of 
computations for laying wagers upon all 
manner of games and sports. — G. W. 
Pettes [L. A. P.], ''Whist Universal." 



HOYLE GAME, THE 



2 lO " HUMOURS OF WHIST " 



Hoyle Game, The. — Whist as 

taught and played by Edmond 

•Hoyle and his school; the old. 

English game of long whist, ten 

points, with honors counting. 

This game gives great scope to personal 
skin, which is indeed its main charac- 
teristic and its chief requirement, as it 
depends chiefly on personal skill for 
its successful practice. It embodies no 
enunciation of any general system of 
play, or of any fundamental guiding 
principles; attention is directed to a great 
variety of isolated occurrences that may 
be met with, and advice is given as to 
what should or may be done in each case; 
so that the player, keeping these exam- 
ples in mind, may use his own discretion 
in their application when analogous cases 
arise. And by frequent practice, the 
power becomes matured of dealing suc- 
cessfully, and often brilliantly, with the 
many chance combinations that may pre- 
sent themselves in the course of play. 
For this reason, the Hoyle game has ai- 
rways been peculiarly acceptable to intel- 
ligent and clever players, as giving them 
an opportunity of exercising their powers 
of profiting by them. It may be said to 
have prevailed in the best whist circles 
unchanged for more than a century after 
its introduction. * * it still retains a 
large hold on whist-players. — William 
Pole IL. A+], ^'■Evolution of Whist.'''' 

Hoyle Player. — A whist-player 
who plays the old-fashioned game 
of Hoyle, or after the manner of 
Hoyle and his school, in whose day 
the idea of playing both hands as 
one had not yet been evolved, 
and scientific whist, as played to- 
day, was entirely unknown. There- 
fore, a Hoyle player is, practically, 
an old fogy; one opposed to new 
and improved methods. 

But the Hoyle player will probably 
answer: " It may be so, but I do not like 
nor want your improvement. I decline 
to submit my play to the tyranny of sj's- 
tematic rules and principles, or to the 
fancies oi my partner. I pjrefer the free- 
dom ot acting as my own iudg^mentmay 
direct me; I do not approve your com- 
bined action, I can take care of myself; I 
shall play what I think proper, and my 
partner can do the same. Take your 
philosophy to the women and the tyros 
tor whom you wrote it, and do not bring 
it to me." — William Pole {L, A ■\-\,''' Evo- 
lution of Whist.'" 



*' Humbug Whist." — A variety 
of double-dummy, in which the two 
players sit facing each other. After 
the cards are dealt they examine 
their own hands, but not those of 
the dummies. If a player is dis- 
satisfied with his hand he may take 
up the hand on his right instead. In 
case the dealer exchanges his hand 
thus, the trump remains the same, al- 
though he, of course, loses the turn- 
up card. Only the hands held by the 
living players are played, and each 
deals in turn, there being no deal 
for the dummies. The five-point 
English game, with honors count- 
ing, is generally played. In some 
places the game is played with 
variations; as, for instance, giving 
the dealer the privilege of announc- 
ing trump, after examining his 
hand, instead of turning up the 
last card. 

"Humbug whist" is a variety of double- 
dummy, in which the players may ex- 
change their hands for those dealt to the 
dummies, and the dealer may sometimes 
make the trump to suit himself. — R. F. 
Foster [S. O.I . 

'♦Humours of Whist." — The 

full title of this amusing brochure, 
which followed closely upon the 
publication of Hoyle's "Short 
Treatise," was: "The Humours of 
Whist, a Dramatic Satire; as acted 
every day at White's and other 
coffee-houses and Assemblies." As 
stated in the article on Hoyle, the 
principal characters were Professor 
Whiston, or Hoyle, in other words, 
and Sir Calculation Puzzle. The 
latter gives some amusing explana- 
tions of his bad luck at whist. For 
instance: "That certainly was the 
most out-of-the-way bite ever heard 
of. Upon the pinch of the game, 
when he must infallibly have lost 
it, the dog ate the losing card, by 
which means we dealt again, and, 
faith, he won the game. " Some of 
his elaborate methods of calculating 



" HUMOURS OF WHIST " 2 1 1 



IGNORANT PLAYERS 



chances at play are given in the fol- 
lowing: 

' ' We were nine-all. The adver- 
sary had three and we four tricks. 
All the trumps were out. I had 
queen and two small clubs, with 
lie lead. Let me see: It was about 
two hundred and twenty-two and 
three halves to — 'gad, I forgot how 
many— that my partner had the ace 
and king; ay, that he had not both 
of them, seventeen to two ; and that 
he had not one, or both, or neither, 
some twenty-five to thirty-two. So 
I, according to the judgment of the 
game, led a club; my partner takes 
it with the king. Then it was ex- 
actly four hundred and eighty-one 
for us to two hundred and twenty- 
two to them. He returns the same 
suit, and I win it with my queen, 
and return it again; but the devil 
take that Lurchuni, by passing his 
ace twice, he took the trick, and 
having two more clubs and a thir- 
teenth card, egad, all was over." 

The supporters of Hoyle are full 
of admiration for his book. Chief 
among them is Sir Calculation 
Puzzle, who says: "There never 
was so excellent a book printed. 
I'm quite in raptures with it. I 
will eat with it, sleep with it, go to 
Parliament with it, go to church 
with it. I pronounce it the gospel 
of whist-players." Lord Slim re- 
marks: " I have joined twelve com- 
panies in the Mall, and eleven of 
them were talking about it. It's 
the subject of all conversation, and 
has had the honour to be intro- 
duced into the cabinet. Why, 
thou' It be laughed intolerably un- 
less you can tell how many hun- 
dred and odd it is for or against one 
that your partner has or has not 
such a card or such a card." 

Alderman Jobber is much in- 
censed at his son's taking lessons 
of Professor Whiston instead of 
attending to his business. He 



breaks in upon the two, and asks 
the Professor to ' ' desist his visits 
for the future." 

^Prof — 0, sir, there was no ne- 
cessity for this abruptness. I shall 
certainly obey you. I don't want 
half a word. For know, sir, it is a 
favour that I attend your son. 

"Voung- Jobber — O yes, sir, a 
prodigious favor. 

^'■Ald. — Favour, blockhead! 

'■'■Prof. — Yes, sir, a favour; for at 
this instant, half-a-dozen dukes, 
and as many earls, lords, and 
ladies, are waiting for me. ' ' 

And so he makes his exit, while 
the young man whispers: "Pray 
don't mind the old gentleman, Mr. 
Professor, he's non compos. Please 
accept of these five pieces. ' ' 

The Professor is elsewhere 
handled in this fashion: 

"^<?a«.— Ha! ha! ha! I shall 
dye! Yonder is Lord Finesse and 
Sir George Tenace, two first-rate 
players; they have been most lav- 
ishly beat by a couple of 'prentices. 
Ha! ha! ha! They came slap four 
by honours upon them at almost 
every deal. 

'■'Lord Rally — I find, Professor, 
your book does not teach how to 
beat four by honours! Ha! ha! ha! 

''Prof, (aside) — Curse them; I'd 
rather have given a thousand 
pounds than this should have hap- 
pened. It strikes at the reputation 
of my treatise. 

"Lord Rally — In my opinion, 
there is still something wanting to 
compleat the system of whist; and 
that is, a Dissertation on the Lucky 
Chair! {Company latigh.) 

' 'Prof —Ha ! ha ! ha ! Your Lord- 
ship's hint is excellent, I'm obliged 
to you for it." 

Ignorant Players. — Players who 
have not yet learned the game 
properly, but very often imagine 
they know all about it, thereby 



ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 212 ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 



making themselves great nuisances 
at the whist-table. Ignorant play- 
ers, confirmed in their ignorance, 
often rejoicing in it, and scorning 
the book game, may be set down 
as bumblepuppists. 

There is a stage in the progress of most 
whist-j)layers where they thiuk they 
know it all. It is, however, an early 
stage, and when they have emerged from 
it they begin to know something about 
whist. — Fisher Ames [L. A.^. 

The pretence of ignorance as to eti- 
quette is often as disgusting as the com- 
mission of the oflFense. Repeat day after 
day that such a thing is wrong, and you 
find the offense again committed; and 
again you receive a denial that the offend- 
ing part^ knew that he w^as doing wrong, 
and thus insult is added to injury. — The 
IVestminsier Papers [Z+0.]. 

Illustrative Hands. — The hands 
in a game of whist shown in a dia- 
gram recording the play and pub- 
lished for information, instruction, 
or criticism. Although it is only of 
late years that the full value of this 
mode of instruction has been recog- 
nized, illustrative hands, or at least 
descriptive hands, were published 
as early as the time of Hoyle. In 
1743, shortly after the publication 
of his celebrated ' ' Short Treatise, ' ' 
there was published in London a 
satire, "The Humours of Whist" 
{q. v.), which contained an example 
of the latter portion of a hand in 
which the game is won by a bril- 
liant coup. It has been suggested 
that this may have been devised 
and taught by Hoyle himself. 
' ' Cavendish' ' ingeniously supplied 
the earlier portion of the hand, so 
that we have here the earliest ex- 
ample of illustrative play published. 
Spades are trumps, the six being 
turned by Z {Sir Calculation Puz- 
zle) , who is Y's partner. A ( Shuf- 
fle) and B {Lurchuin) are the other 
partners. The score is nine-all 
(equivalent to four-all at short 
whist, the present English game, 
or six-all in the American game). 



1 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1 1 
12 
13 


60 
3 « 

^ 2 

^ 3 

C 4 

9 « 

10 ♦ 
*IO 
4 J 

70 

<;? 6 
100 

QO 


2 
2 4 

C? 7 
'^ 8 

<5io 

4 * 

5 # 
4 K 


KO 
A # 


AO 


<5 9 
^ J 

6 e^ 
Q« 


^ K 


^ Q 


(5 A 

7 « 

8 # 
*4 

* 6 

♦ A 


J # 


* 2 
4kQ 


* 5 

*3 

30 
8 
90 


« 9 
40 
5 
J 


*> 8 


4 7 


^ 5 









Score: A-B, 7; Y-Z, 6. 

The part described in the " Hu- 
mours of Whist ' ' begins at trick 
eight, where Lurchum''s (B's) play 
is very good. He allows Y to win 
with the king of clubs, that his 
partner may be led up to. " Sir 
Calculation Puzzle's (Z's) play," 
says "Cavendish," "is very bad. 
At trick nine he should finesse the 
nine of clubs. Not having done 
so, he should see that the ace of 
clubs is being held up against him, 
and at trick ten should lead the 
four of diamonds. If Sir Calcula- 
tion finesses the club at trick nine, 
then comes Shuffle'' s turn to play a 
good coup. Having won with the 
knave of clubs at trick nine, he 
should lead the six of hearts at 
trick ten, and next the seven of 
diamonds (not the queen)." 

Twelve years after the above ex- 
ample, still in Hoyle's time, there 
was published in a literary journal 
called The Connoisseur, for March 
20, 1755, a description of a complete 
game; and though the cards are not 
given in detail, enough is said to 



IlylvUSTRATlVB HANDS 213 II^LUSTRATIVB HANDS 



enable a skillful and experienced 
reader to discover how they must 
lie. "Cavendish" has again suc- 
cessfully made out the hand, which 
is a peculiar one in this respect, 
that each player has only three 
suits, and that to no trick do all the 
players follow suit. It is repub- 
lished in Pole's "Evolution of 
Whist," together with a third 
model whist hand, which origi- 
nally appeared in 1791, two years 
after Hoyle's death, in an epic 
poem, "Whist," by Alexander 
Thomson. There is connected with 
this hand the following little love 
story: Pusillo, before demanding 
the hand of Smilinday desires to 
ascertain whether she can keep her 
temper at cards. The opportunity 
presents itself at whist, when Smi- 
linda and he are partners against 
Aunt Rebecca and Squire Booby. 
In order to try his lady love, Pusillo 
purposely omits to trump an oppo- 
nent's winning card, thereby losing 
the game. At this 

She started up, she stamp'd, she raged, 

she swore; 
Proclaimed her wrong-, and threw the 

cards away, 
Nor longer in his presence deign'd to 

stay! 

Of course, the match was off, and 
although Sinilinda subsequently 
repented, and wrote to him "no 
longer to resent her rude mistake," 
Pusillo was inexorable. The play 
of the hand is not of a very high 
order. 

Coming down to more recent 
times, we find the first suggestion 
of the value of illustrative hands, 
or diagrams, as a means of instruc- 
tion in "The Whist-Player," the 
first edition of which was published 
in London, 1856, by " Lieutenant- 
Colonel B." (H. C. Bunbury). 
"The only merit to which this 
treatise can lay claim," says the 
author, "is novelty in the plan 



pursued. It being generally al- 
lowed that no one can learn the 
game of whist, and acquire a facility 
of readily playing the different 
hands, without having the cards 
spread out before him; and being 
aware of the silly objection most 
people entertain against being 
found * learning to play cards, ' 
although they will, without hesita- 
tion, openly sit down to learn to 
play anything else (a distinction 
without a difference) — the idea 
struck me that a book of instruc- 
tion might be so contrived as to do 
away, in a great measure, with the 
necessity of strewing a pack of 
cards on the table, viz. : by annex- 
ing sketches or drawings of the 
different suits or hands which the 
writer's instructions attempt to ex- 
plain, and to which the reader can 
without trouble immediately refer. 
I imagine that the memory will be 
materially assisted by recalling 
these pictured impressions. ' ' 

This was a good beginning, but 
Dr. Pole went still fiorther when, in 
Macmillan's Magazine for Decem- 
ber, 1861, he suggested that "it 
would be a great boon if some good 
authority would publish a set of 
model games at whist, with ex- 
planatory remarks, found so useful 
in chess, for example. ' ' This sug- 
gestion led to the publication of 
"Cavendish's" great work, "The 
Laws and Principles of Whist," 
which was the result of actual play, 
and in which the desired illustra- 
tive hands were freely given. Dr. 
Pole himself, in an appendix to his 
"Theory of Whist," gives five in- 
teresting hands illustrating the 
long-suit theory, and he says in a 
foot-note: " This mode of illustrat- 
ing whist by model games was first 
suggested by the author of the 
present work in Macmillan' s Maga- 
zine for December, 1861." The 
London Fields the Westminster 



ILI^USTRATIVB HANDS 214 ILI.USTRATIVE HANDS 



Papers (Ivondon), and numerous 
books on whist published since 
" Cavendish" first set the example, 
have described whist-play by means 
of illustrated or model hands. In 
this country they have been a regu- 
lar monthly feature of Whist (Mil- 
waukee, Wis.,) ever since its first 
publication. In a recent number 
of that journal (September, 1897), 
John W. Rogers, of Mansfield, 
Mass. , makes the following sugges- 
tion, which is endorsed by the 
editor: " Would not your readers 
be interested in airing their opin- 
ions as to proper leads of hands 
which you might publish? The 
cards to be dealt — one hand pub- 
lished, requesting correspondents to 
give best opening lead of hands, 
and their reasons therefor. The 
replies from short-suiters, middle- 
of-the-road, or intermediate card 
leaders, straight long-suiters, invi- 
tation card leaders, etc., might, it 
seems to me, furnish very interest- 
ing reading. The later publication 
of the hands as dealt,with results of 
different systems suggested, should 
help the game, and would at least 
prove of interest to outsiders. ' ' 

Twenty examples of illustrative 
hands are given by G. W. Pettes in 
his " American Whist Illustrated," 
and C. D. P. Hamilton's " Modern 
Scientific Whist" is largely ex- 
plained by the use of diagrams and 
hands. Foster's "Whist Tactics" 
contains 112 hands taken from 
actual play, and many are also 
found in Howell's "Whist Open- 
ings." In fact, nearly all the recent 
writers on whist use illustrative 
hands with good effect. (See, also, 
" Duke of Cumberland's Hand," 
and "Phenomenal Hands.") 

Hands [taken from actual play] show- 
ing good, bad, and itidifferent play, with 
comments, are considered of more value 
than the illustration of pre-arranged 
hands.— C JD. P. Hamilton \L. A.J. 



The author feels that nothing, in point 
of illustration of principles, can be so in- 
structive as a selection of hands played 
completely through, and accompanied by 
copious explanations. — "Cavendish" [Z. 
A.], " Laws and Pyinciples of Whist.'" 

The publication of even a large number 
of hands to illustrate one side or the other 
should be received with caution so far as 
they are to be regarded as proving any- 
thing. The variety oi combinations is 
immense, and almost any eccentric play 
will sometimes win tricks. Hands can be 
picked out to support almost any theory. 
— Fisher Ames \L. A.], IVhist, Oct.-Nov., 
i8g6. 

You will find in the latter part of " Cav- 
endish," in the Field occasionally, and in 
the Westminster Papers^ what are termed 
"illustrated hands" — that is, the whole 
fifty-two cards arranged in the four hands 
— and the play given by which a certain 
number of tricks were won, on one side 
or the other. To arrange the cards as 
given, and to work out the hands, is an 
excellent method to discover and impress 
on the memory what may be done with 
the cards. — A. IV. Drayson \L-\-A-{-'\, 
''The Art of Practical Whist." 



Illustrative Hands, Recording. 

— Numerous methods of recording 
and illustrating whist-play have 
been devised during the past thirty- 
five years. Illustrative hands, in 
order to be most useful and effec- 
tive, require a simple, clear, and 
attractive system of notation, such 
as the reader will find used through- 
out this volume. Our purpose in 
the present article is to review the 
various stages through which this 
highly-improved and satisfactory 
representation has been arrived at. 
We have already traced the his- 
tory of illustrative hands. The 
idea of publishing hands com- 
pletely plaj^ed through as a means 
of imparting instruction was sug- 
gested by chess, and first employed 
by "Cavendish" in a systematic 
and thorough manner. As origi- 
nally conceived, the system of no- 
tation was very crude, and required 
a constant repetition of explanatory 
notes to make it understood. Min- 
iature cards in type were then un- 



ILI/USTRATIVE HANDS 215 ILLUSTRATIVB HANDS 



known, and the size and suit were 
shown by ordinary type and figures. 
It was necessary to have a separate 
column to show who led in each 
trick, and another column to show 
who won. The cards were given 
in the order in which they fell, 
without any effort to keep the hand 
of each plaj^er in a separate col- 
umn. This made it impossible for 



the reader to pick out the hand of 
any individual to see what he held 
to justify his play, and necessitated 
a separate diagram, giving the dis- 
tribution of the suits among the 
four players. The following dia- 
gram, from the first number of the 
IVestminster Papers, published in 
April, 1 868, will show the system of 
illustrating the play thirtyyears ago: 



Trick I., 
W leads. 


C 6 


3 


10 


A 


Trick I., 
won by Z. 


Trick II., 
Z leads. 


S 2 


Kv 


A 


4 


Trick II., 
won by X. 


Trick III., 
X leads. 


H3 


5 


Kg 


6 


Trick III., 
won by Z. 



A few months later, we find the 
card faces taking the place of the 
initials and figures; but the old 
arrangement of separate columns, 



to indicate the leaders and winners 
in each trick, is retained, as shown 
in the following illustration, which 
is from a hand published in 1S68 : 



Trick I., 
A leads. 



Trick II., 
D leads. 



Trick III., 
D leads. 



<7 ^ 



9 ^ 



4.^^ 4. 4. 4. 4. 
4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 

«!•«{• s^ a^i a^ «^ 



* 




'M 









4, 4. 

4- 


•!• 




^^< 









4. 4. 



Trick I., 
won by D. 



Trick II., 
won by D. 



Trick III., 
won by C. 



In December, 1868, Sydney King 
suggested the foundation of the 
present system, which is to keep 
the hand of each player in the 



same column. He proposed to 
do away with the two side col- 
umns, and to indicate the winning 
cards by placing heavy rules on 



ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 2l6 ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 



each side of them. An explan- 
atory note stated that the card 
under the margined card was the 
next one led. The original leader's 
hand was always placed in the 
first column, the dealer's in the 
last; and the letters A and B were 
used to distinguish the leader and 
his partner from Z and X, who 
were the dealer and his partner. 
The new diagrams presented the 
following appearance: 



tration is from one of the first 
hands shown in this way: 












^ « 

^ 
4 « 




<9 
9? 



This system of notation retained 
its popularity for several years, the 
only change being for a short time 
in 1872, when the winning card 
was entirely enclosed in black rules 
for the sake of greater distinctness. 
This was found to be troublesome 
and expensive to set up in type, 
and soon fell into disuse. Several 
years later the side rules were also 
abandoned, and a single heavy un- 
derline was employed to designate 
the winning card in each trick. 
This method is still in use, wherever 
the old style card-faces are used to 
show the hands, and it has the 
advantage of enabling the reader to 
place the lead, and to count up the 
winning tricks with greater ease; 
but it is still defective, because it 
fails to present a clear picture of 
the distribution of the suits in the 
various hands. Tb e following illus- 




As a variation from the column 
system, some writers were in the 
habit of using what is known as 
the "Catherine wheel" notation, 
in which the four cards of each 
trick were represented as they 
would appear upon the table, a 
pointer of some kind being placed 
between the leader's card and that 
played by second hand, to show 
the order in which the cards fell. 



4- 
4- 


4. 4. 


4.4. 

4.^4. 



This system, while well adapted 
for analyzing hands trick by trick, 
takes up a great deal of space, is 
very expensive in type-setting, and 
has the old defect of requiring a 
separate diagram to show the dis- 
tribution of the suits in each 
player's hand. 



ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 217 ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 



In order to save space and com- 
position, the earlier newspapers 
adopted the initial and figure sys- 
tem, keeping the hand of each 
player in a separate column, and 
indicating the winning card by an 
asterisk or cross, as shown in the 
following example: 

The Play. 

Trick. North. East. South. West. 

1 2H 6H 4DXAH 

2 5S 3S KS 7Dx 

3 3D 6D 2D ADx 

4 5D JD 8D KDx 

5 KCx6C 3C 4C 

This method, while enabling the 
reader to follow the course of play, 
renders it very difl&cult for him to 
pick out the distribution of the 
suits. In order to remedy this de- 
tect, it was suggested by R. F. 
Foster, in 1891, to place the initials 
of the black suits on diflFerent sides 
of the column of figures, and to 
distinguish black from red by using 
upper and lower case. This en- 
abled the reader to pick out the 
number of each suit in the hand 
of any player at a glance, and 
added greatly to the interest in fol- 
lowing the play. The following 
illustration will show the appear- 
ance of the same cards as those in 
the last diagram, when they are 
arranged on this plan: 

1 H2 H6 4D* HA 

2 5s 3s Ks 7D* 

3 3D 6D 2D AD* 

4 5l> JD 8D KD* 

5 c K* c 6 c 3 c 4 

The difference in the upper and 
lower case, and the necessity for 
having each initial alwaj-s on its 
own side, led to many mistakes in 
proof-reading, and the confusion 
which resulted often spoiled an en- 
tire article. But the system was 
acknowledged to be better than any 
before suggested, and needed only 
one addition to make it perfect. 



This was a very simple thing when 
found, but for six years it does not 
seem to have occurred to any one. 
It was to take the ordinary card- 
pips and make those for the red 
suits with outline faces, leaving 
those for the black suits solid, and 
then to arrange them so that only 
one red and one black suit should 
be on the same side of the column 
of figures indicating the size of the 
cards. This is now generally 
known as Foster's notation, and 
was introduced to the whist world 
by the New York Su7i, of which he 
is the whist editor, special matrices 
being cut, from which fonts of self- 
spacing tj-pe were cast. The clear- 
ness of the new diagrams were 
immediately recognized, the reader 
being able to see not only the exact 
distribution of the suits, but the 
cards remaining in each pla5'er's 
hand at any stage of the game. 
Whist, the official organ of the 
American Whist League, adopted 
the new system for the official rec- 
ords and illustrative hands, and it 
is now used by all the leading whist 
writers, both in their text-books 
and in newspaper articles. 

The examples of whist strategy 
that are given in illustrative hands 
are now frequently taken from im- 
portant matches. "When it is de- 
sired to keep a record of the play, 
the cards are left in the exact order 
in which they fall, and are replaced 
in the pockets of the duplicate 
trays without shufiBiing. They are 
then taken to the official scorers, 
who lay them out on the table and 
put down the size of each card on 
a blank prepared for the purpose. 
These blanks have sixteen vertical 
columns ruled on them, four for the 
hand of each player. At the top 
of these columns is an indicator to 
show the four suits, and in record- 
ing the hand the scorer need not 
put down the initial of the suit, but 



IMPERFECT PACK 



2l8 



INATTENTION 



places the size of the card in the 
column headed by the mark of the 
suit to which the card belongs. The 
following illustration will give one 



an idea of these diagrams, the 
hands of three plaj'ers only being 
shown: 



Tricks. 


^ 


f> 





« 


^ 


* 





♦ 


^ 


* 





♦ 


I 


2 








6 












4- 




2 








5 








2 








K 


3 






5 








J 








8 




4 




K 








6 








3 







These blanks are printed on thin 
paper, so that five or six copies can 
be taken at a time by using carbon 
between. One copy is given to the 
captain of each team, and one is 
filed with the recording secretary 
of the League. Any extra copies 
are usually for whist editors, who 
may wish to make a detailed analy- 
sis of the play. 

Imperfect Pack. — A pack of 
cards which is faulty, unfair, or 
unsuitable for play; one containing 
duplicate cards, or from which a 
card or cards are missing, or which 
contains cards which are torn or so 
marked that they can be identified. 

A pack may be imperfect or incorrect 
by having a card short, or from having a 
duplicate card, or from having a card of 
the other pack in it. — Charles Mossop [i^+ 
O.], Westminster Papers, Octoberi, 1878. 

Suppose a pack contains two fours of 
spades, instead of a four and five; this is 
unimportant, and might remain longun- 
detected. At length they are splayed to- 
gether, and immediately perceived; yes, 
and ten to one that it has not been the best 
player who has first made the discovery. 
This affair has often made a subject for a 
joke, and perhaps a bystander would be 
wrong to interfere in such a case. We 
have seen it carried to great lengths; the 
players certainly "were very unskillful;" 
but it was strange that out of four play- 
ers, not one should have discovered the 
defect. * * * For two hours the party 
had been playing with two packs, one of 
which had no aces, and the other no 
kings. It was amusing to hear the dis- 



cussions at every round on the odd trick , 
and the honors; at every moment they 

appeared on the point of discovering the ' 
deficiency, and then again their atten- 
tion was diverted into another channel. — 
Deschapelles [O.J, '■'Laws,^' Article 49. 

In. — Unplayed cards are said to j 

be "in," or " in play." \ 

Inattention. — The first great les- | 
son which Hoyle strove to inculcate, 

in the then limited science of whist, | 

was for the player to watch the fall j 

of the cards; in other words, to pay ' 

strict attention to the play, in order , 

to be able to remember what cards i 

were out, and to draw proper infer- i 

ences. Inattention at the whist- i 

table, on the part of players who ;| 

ought to know better, has lost a 

many games, and led to much un- | 

pleasantness between partners. ' 

No observant player can have failed to 

notice the loss he suffers by momentarily j 

taking his eyes off the table. — IVestmin- \ 

ster Papers [i-+0.]. 1 

Fully twenty per cent of the points lost | 

by any average player may be set down 1 
to sheer inattention. Fortunately for 

him, his adversaries are generally guilty i 

of similar carelessness. — William Cusack- ] 
Smith [L. O.] . 

Alleged forgetfulness at whist, as in :: 

most other things, is far more frequently j 
inattention than forgetfulness. The fall 

of the cards has not been watched, and | 

the proper inferences have not been < 

drawn at the moment. A player cannot i 

be said to have forgotten what he never | 
knew. — Fraser's Magazine. 



INCOME FROM WHIST 2 1 9 



INFERENCES 



Income from Whist. — The 

habit of playing for stakes, in- 
dulged in in England for a century 
and a half, has produced another 
curious effect, which is thus no- 
ticed by "Portland," in "The 
Whist Table:" "There are many 
people that believe a certain in- 
come is to be derived from whist. 
We have on record men that eked 
out their income by this means. 
They succeeded for a series of 
years; but the time came when 
they had their season of adversity, 
and their winnings melted like 
snow before the sun." (See, also, 
"Gambling.") 

Independent Players. — A cer- 
tain amount of independence on the 
part of a whist-player may be evi- 
dence of his mastery of the game, 
and of his knowledge when to obey 
and disobey the rules to advantage. 
But if carried to excess, and espe- 
cially when backed up only by a 
very limited knowledge of the game, 
this so-called independence is al- 
most as bad as downright bumble- 
puppy {q. v.). 

Besides the good players who prefer the 
old-fashioned rules, there are occasionally 
so-called independent players, who ridi- 
cule playing according to rules and con- 
ventions at all. They are generally great 
nuisances. They cannot play a card 
without following some conventional sys- 
tem, some rule which gives, or is intended 
by them to give, information; only they 
invent their own rules and conventions, 
and they are always poor and ineffective 
compared with those which are the re- 
sult of the experience of the best players 
for many generations. They are gener- 
ally worse cranks than the players who 
are too closely bound by the rules. — 
Fisher A vies [Z,. A .] . 

Indicators. — In duplicate whist, 
cards or other devices, placed on 
the tables to show the players 
which seats they are next to oc- 
cup5% when playing a schedule 
containing many changes. 



Indifferent Cards. — Two or more 
cards of a suit which are held in 
sequence, or which become of 
equal value after the intermediate 
cards have been played; cards of 
equal value for trick-making pur- 
poses. 

Mr. Trist had noticed the advantageous 
use that had been made of variations in 
the play of indifferent high cards — i. e., 
cards of equal value for trick-making 
piirposes. — William Pole [L. A+], ^'Evo- 
lution of Whist.'" 

Individual Record. — The record 
of any one player, especially at 
duplicate whist, in playing which 
it is possible to accurately deter- 
mine, not only the relative merits 
of the play of pairs, teams, or clubs, 
but of single players. This is ac- 
complished by means of play con- 
ducted in accordance with individ- 
ual schedules. 

Inferences. — Information drawn 
from the play, or fall of the cards, 
in accordance with the rules. For 
instance, if your partner, having 
taken the trick, does not return 
your trump lead, you infer he has 
no more. The many latter-day re- 
finements in whist signals, echoes, 
etc., make it more difiGcnlt at all 
times to draw the correct inferences, 
and care should be exercised not to 
arrive at too hasty conclusions. 
There are certain conventional 
plays from which inferences may be 
easily and accurately drawn, how- 
ever, especially when players em- 
ploy the same system of play. 
In fact, the chances for drawing in- 
ferences are so frequent that every 
round must be closely watched. 
The finest players are those who 
can most quickly and accurately 
detect the proper inferences, and 
make the best use of them. Here 
are some of the more important in- 
ferences that may be drawn from 
high-card original leads, as laid 
down by Hamilton: 



INFERENCES 



220 



INFERENCES 



I^EAD. 


INFER]eNCE;S. 


First. 


Second. 


Shows. 


Denies. 


Number 
IN Suit. 


Ace 


King 

Queen 

Jack 

Ten 

Nine 

Fourth 

Ace 

Queen 

Queen 

Jack 

Jack 

Ten 

Nine 

Fourth 

Ace 

King 

King 

Jack 

Ten 

Nine 

E;ight 

Small 

Ace 

King 

King 

Queen 

Queen 

King 

Jack 

Fourth 




Queen 

King 

King 

King 

King 

King, queen, and jack 

Queen 

Jack 

Jack 


5 or more 

4 

5 or more 

4 

5 or more 

5 or more 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

5 or more 

6 or more 
5 or more 
4 

5 or more 

4 

5 or more 

5 or more 

i 


Ace 
Ace 
Ace 

Ace 
Ace 
King 


Jack 

Queen 

Queen and jack 

Queen, or jack and ten 

Two higher 


Kingi 
King 2 
Kingi 


Ace 

Two small 

Ace and queen 

Queen 

Queen and jack 

Queen and ten 

Queen 

King 

Ace 


King 2 




King 
King 
King 
Queen 
Queen s 


Ace 

Ace and jack 

Ace and jack 

Jack 

Jack 

Jack 

Ace, king, nine 

Ace, king 

Ace, king 

Ace, jack 

Ace, jack 


Queen 

Queen 

Queen 

Queen 

Queen 

Jack 

Jack 6 

Jacks 

Jack' 

Jacks 

Ten 7 

Ten? 

Tens 


Ten 

Jack 

Jack, ten 

King, ten, nine 

King and two higher 

King, queen 

Ace, queen 

Queen 

Ace, king 

King 

Jack 

King 

King, jack 




Ace 


5 

7 or more 

6 or more 

4 

5 or more 

4 or more 


Ace 

Ace, queen 
Ace, queen 
Ace, queen 



1 King winning. 

2 King losing. 

3 Queen winning. 
* Queen losing. 

If partner leads a trump, the com- 
mon inference is that he is possessed 
of great strength, and wishes trumps 
drawn. If he leads from a plain 
suit, it is obvious that he is not very 
strong in trumps, but that the suit 
led is his strongest, which he de- 
sires to establish (taking for 
granted, of course, that he plays 
the long-suit game). If he leads a 
small card, he says he has no com- 
bination from which a high-card 
lead would be proper. If you led 
originally, and partner is returning 
your suit, you infer that he has not 
the master card if he does not lead 



6 Jack winning, ace not in third hand. 
6 Jack losing, or ace in third hand. 
'Ten forcing queen. 
8 Ten winning. 

it, and that it is against you. If he 
returns your plain suit without 
showing you his own first, you infer 
that he has no good long suit, and 
is ready to play your game. These, 
and many like inferences, are drawn 
from conventional play. Dr. Pole 
treats the subject exhaustively in 
his "Philosophy of Whist" (pp. 
60-64), snd Charles E. Cofiin, in 
' ' The Gist of Whist, ' ' also gives 
concise and minute information, in 
tabular form, showing the proper 
inferences from the various leads. 
All the leading text-books pay care- 
ful attention to the subject* 



JaiHW \o aisHoEsT 



iM 




KNCES 



220 



INFERENCES 



Ace 

ACO 

Ace 
Ace 
Ace 

Ace 

King 

King! 

King* 

Kiiigi 

King» 

King 

King 

King 

Queen 

Queen * 

Queen ♦ 

Queen 

Queen 

Queen 

Tack i Ace 

Jack 6 

Jack* 

Jack* 

Jack* 

Ten' 



• Ring 

'■>j:trea 
, uck 

Yea 

Nine 

Fourth 

Ace 

Queen 
I Queen 

Jack 

Jack 
I Ten 
i Nine 
I Fourth 

Aoe 

King 

King 
I Jack 
I Ten 



I Ni 



me 



Kiag 

King 

Queen 

Queen 

Kin, 



Jack 

Qiieea 

Queen auA jack 

Queen, or jack and t( 

Two higher 



.^ -jack 

Qucirti auu ten 1 ■ 

Queen ! 

.fn^cachers of Whist. 



Ten 
Jack 
Jack, ten 



Ace, king, 
Ace, king 
Ace, king 



B.'-^jetik'r-.rhighe. i^ti^^^ ^- ^^^^H 



Tinr Mre.c£. q «;:sueii 



QutciMiss Kate Wheetock. 

Ace, s.iug 
King 

Miss. Gertrude E. 



Clapp. 



KCMBEJl 



- •riore 

more 



more 
more 



4 
■» 
4 

5 or more 

6 or more 
5 or more 

4 

5 or more 

4 

5 or luore 

5 or more 
.5 

6 
5 

7 or more 

6 or more 

•. :uore 
.' ,i' tiiore 



not in third hand. 
i n third hand. 



led is hid 
sires to 

jjjranted, of co^-riv, 
the long-suit game), 
small card, he says he n 
biuation from which a 
' -- would be proper. J 
illy, and partner is 
suit, you infer that li:- 
the master caid if he does uol itoii 



it, and that it is against you. If he 

.,-„,,,, ,.,,,. ,.,:,- c,^it -withoat 

; st, you infer 

ng suit, and 

,ur game. These, 

en ces, are drawn 

V. Dr. Pole 

austively in 

■ :-;t" (pp. 

Sn, in 

gives 

-ion, in 

proper 

leads. 

•ycare- 

ii.-. io the buojecU 



INFORMATION 



221 



INFORMATION 



Draw an inference from each play made 
by either adversary or partner. — Milton 
C. Work [L. A. H.y IVhist of To-day." 

To play good whist it is necessary to be 
able to draw the important inferences 
with rapidity and accuracy. — C. D. P. 
Hamilton \L. A.}, "Modern Scientific 
Whist:' 

The great strength of the expert lies in 
his ability to draw correct inferences 
from the fall of the cards, and to adapt 
his play to the circumstances. — R. F. Fos- 
ter \S. C], "Complete Hoyle:' 

The chances for drawing inferences be- 
long to every round played. The neces- 
sity for close attention to the business of 
the game is enforced by this considera- 
tion. — G. W. Pettes [L.A.P.], "American 
Whist Illustrated." 

It must not be overlooked that unsound 
players often deceive unintentionally, and 
all players sometimes with intention. It 
is, therefore, necessary to be on your 
guard against drawing inferences too 
rigidly. — "Cavendish" \^L. A.^. 

Information. — Intelligence con- 
veyed by means of the play of the 
cards at whist. lyegitimate infor- 
mation is a necessary part of the 
game, especially so between part- 
ners, in order that they may play 
their combined hands to the best 
advantage. To some extent all 
whist play is informatory, although 
there is a diflFerence of opinion 
among players, and especially the 
experts, as to how much informa- 
tion (especially of an arbitrary 
nature) should be given. All are 
agreed that too much information 
cannot be given to partner, but 
whether information should always 
be given him at the risk of the ad- 
versaries obtaining and making use 
of it also, is the mooted point. As 
a rule, players of the long-suit 
game and American leads are 
ready to give the widest publicity 
to their hands for the sake of in- 
forming partner. Short -suit play- 
ers, and especially the opponents 
of the American leads, pursue the 
opposite course. 

No player should take advantage of 
information imparted by his partner 



through a breach of etiquette. — Etiquette 
of Whist {A?nerican Code). 

The more plainly you demonstrate your 
hand to your partner,the h&it&t.— Thomas 
Mathews [L. C], "Advice to the Young 
Whist-Player," 1804. 

No sooner does the play begin than in- 
formation is at once conveyed as to the 
contents of the various hands, by means 
of what is termed the fall of the cards. — 
William Pole {L. ^+], "Philosophy of 
Whist." 

Instead of the maxim, " It is more use- 
ful to inform your partner than to deceive 
your adversary," I would substitute this: 
'' Your single partner can do more good 
than both your adversaries can do harm, 
by utilizing information you may give by 
your play." — R. A. Proctor [L. 0.~\. 

Play according to the rules and conven- 
tions, so as to give as much information 
to your partner as you can; but do not let 
these stand in the way of making the best 
score pos.sible under the circumstances of 
the hand, as there are exceptions to every 
mle.— Clement Davies IL.A+], "Modern 
Whist." 

I am not an enemy of the information- 
giving game. It is not on account of its 
informatory character that I object to the 
long-suit game. The player must give 
information, or a partnership game is 
out of the question. The only matter of 
choice is, what sort of information is the 
most advantageous. — E. C.Howell [S.H.'\, 
"Howell's Whist Openings." 

:Experience has shown that leads which 
give the most information, are also those 
which lead to the greatest success. When, 
however, to give this information to both 
partner and adversaries, and when to 
withhold it, becomes a question for rea- 
soning. Yet every person who desires to 
become a first-class whist-player, must 
know, and be able to make the best use 
of, American leads. — A. W. Drayson IL+ 
A +], " The Art of Practical Whist" (Ap- 
pendix to the fifth edition). 

The new school adopted the golden 
maxim of Clay: " It is of more impor- 
tance to inform your partner than to de- 
ceive your adversary." The experience 
of twenty-five years' has exploded that 
theory, and it is replaced by the axiom 
that " information is of more use to the 
strong hand than to the weak." In 
"Whist Tactics," p. 136, we find: "The 
modern verdict is that it is not advisable 
to give information to weak partners or to 
strong adversaries." — R. F. Foster \S. O.], 
Monthly Illustrator, iSg^. 

The foundations of modern whist is 
giving information, and the chief pillars 
are the number-showing leads and the 



INFORM ATORY GAME 222 



INSTINCT IN WHIST 



plain-suit echo. It is claimed that these 
give the partners an insight into each 
other's hands, which is of the greatest 
value and importance. But there is nota 
line in any published work on whist 
telling what the partners can do with this 
information when they get it, that can- 
not be offset, and often to much better 
advantage, by the adversaries.—^, i^ 
Foster {S. O.], "■Whist Tactics." 

It is often argued, and with much show 
of reason, that as almost every revelation 
concerning your hand must be given to 
the whole table, and as you have two ad- 
versaries and only one partner, you pub- 
lish information at a disadvantage. No 
doubt this argument would have consid- 
erable force if you were compelled to ex- 
pose the whole of your hand. But you 
possess the power, to a great extent, of 
selecting what facts shall be announced 
and what concealed. Experienced play- 
ers are unanimous in admitting that it is 
an advantage to inform your partner of 
strength in your own suits, although 
some advise concealment of strength in 
suits in which the adversaries have 
shown strength. — ''Cavendish" [Z.. A."], 
"Laws and Principles of IVhist." 

Informatory Game. — The style 
of whist in which information is 
freely exchanged between partners, 
even at the risk of the adversaries 
noting and profiting by it; espe- 
cially the long-suit game and 
American leads, as advocated by 
" Cavendish" and his school, which 
freely uses all manner of conven- 
tional signals; the modern scien- 
tific game, as distinguished from 
the old Hoyle game, and distin- 
guished, also, to a certain extent, 
from the modern short-suit game. 

False cards are the great modern 
weapon against the informatory game of 
modern whist. By their systematic use, 
especially when good judgment is em- 
ployed, the plain-suit echo and all such 
refinements are rendered useless. — R. P, 
Foster \S. O,], "Whist Tactics." 

Innovations. — New things, novel 
modes of play, or departures from 
established usage, introduced into 
whist. Innovations may prove to 
be only fads of the hour, or per- 
manent improvements. 



The call for trumps, the system, known i 

as the American leads, with the resulting ' 

eleven rule, comprise the great innova- '■ 
tions since the days of Hoyle, Payne, and 

MsLth&ws.— Emery Boardtnan [L-\-A.'\, i 

" Winning Whist." \ 

In Play — Un played; said of the j 
cards which are still held by any 
of the players. (See, also, " In.") 

i 

Instinct in Whist. — Many play- \ 
ers who do not attach any import- ■ 
ance to rule or reason, are fond of i 
saying that they play by in- ; 
stinct. " No doubt instinct is a i 
very valuable quality if you have j 
it, ' ' says the editor of the Westmin- \ 
ster Papers, "and some players ? 
certainly think they have this qual- \ 
ity in the same way that a pointer ( 
or setter has it, * * * We prefer to ! 
be guided by what every man has \ 
if he chooses to use his faculties: ( 
the power to observe; the power to ■ 
draw in ferences ; the power to reason . 
from the play of a given card, and 
to make a reasonable deduction '•: 
from the absence of any cards." \ 

Interior Cards. — Cards from the \ 
interior of a suit; intermediate ! 
cards. The phrase is used by E. C. t 
Howell [S. H.] in his "Whist \ 
Openings;" as when, for instance, | 
he says: "As the best card jack is i 
led from not more than three in I 
suit, but as an interior card it is led I 
also from queen, jack, and one or S 
more others, " etc. 

Intermediate Leads. — Leads 
made with cards which are neither 
very high nor very low, such as 
jack, ten, nine; much used in the 
short-suit game. 

The short-suit game contemplates the || 
endowment of the intermediate cards pf | 
all suits, trumps included, with the win- | 
ning properties, by taking advantage of 
their position in teuace, by underplay, 
and by strengthening leads which shall 
be judiciously finessed by partner. — Val. 
W. Starnes \S. O.], "Short-Suit Whist." 



INTERNATlONAIv MATCH 223 



INVITB, THE 



International Match, a Pro- 
posed. — The idea of an interna- 
tional whist match, somewhat after 
international matches at chess, 
cricket, etc. , has been discussed for 
several years past in this country, 
but nothing practical has as yet 
come of it. The organization of 
the Canadian Whist I^eague, it is 
hoped by many, may eventually 
lead to a contest of the kind, and 
perhaps later induce England to 
participate also. 

At the fourth congress of the 
American Whist League (1894), 
Robert H. Weems, of Brooklyn, 
secretary of the I^eague, announced 
that he had formally challenged 
" Cavendish" to play America 
against England, and that he had 
received " Cavendish's" reply, stat- 
ing that the latter did not think 
there was any chance for an inter- 
national match, one of the chief 
difficulties in the way being the dif- 
ference between English and Ameri- 
can play. Another similar challenge 
was sent to "Cavendish" by P. J. 
Tormey, president of the Pacific 
Coast Whist Association, during 
the latter part of 1895, and this 
was commented upon in the 
December number of Whist. 
In the I^ondon Field of April 4, 
1896, appeared a communication 
from Mr. Weems, to the following 
effect: 

" The sixth American whist con- 
gress will convene in this city 
[Brooklyn] on June 22, 1896. There 
is a universal desire on the part of 
the whist-players of America to 
have an international match during 
the time of the congress, and when 
the American players are congre- 
gated from all sections of the coun- 
try. If it is possible to arrange for 
a team of four or more English 
players to visit this country, to 
compete against a team to be se- 
lected here, I should be very glad 



indeed to do what I can to bring it 
about." 

This did not meet with any re- 
sponse either, and on May 7, 1896, 
Mr. Tormey closed the incident, for 
the time being, with a suggestion, 
which also was not acted iipon. He 
proposed that, "if we cannot coax 
or induce a whist-team across the 
Atlantic to meet us at the Brooklyn 
congress, let us send one to Eng- 
land — and beard the lion in his 
den." His firm, he stated, would 
pay the entire expenses of one mem- 
ber of such a team, and suggested 
the idea of sending the team that 
should win the Hamilton Trophy, 

In the Lead. — The player whose 
turn it is to lead the first card in a 
round is in the lead. 

Intimations. — See, "Conversa- 
tion." 

"Invincible Whist." — A modi- 
fication of the game of whist in- 
vented by F. T. EUithorp, of New 
York. It is played by six persons, 
with a full pack of cards, together 
with the joker and the " invincible" 
card. It is played with partners, 
three on each side. The cards rank 
as follows: "Invincible," joker, 
ace, king, etc. All tricks over four 
count towards game, and the latter 
consists of five points, honors not 
counting. 

"Invitation Game, The." — An 

opening play at whist whereby the 
player invites his partner to lead 
trumps, if strong enough to lead 
them. Used in some of the short- 
suit systems. 

Invite, The. — The lead of a card 
in a suit which you desire your 
partner to return; generally, the 
lead of a small card from your long 
or strong suit. 



INVITING A RUFF 



224 



IRREGULAR PLAY 



Inviting a Ruff. — Playing a card 
which your partner or adversary 
can trump. (See, " Force. " ) 

Irregular Lead. — A lead which 
is made contrary to the usual play, 
but made from choice by the player 
for some reason; such as, for in- 
stance, desiring the lead through 
an honor turned, in which case 
some players regard an irregular 
lead as a signal for trumps. " Cav- 
endish" is opposed to this play, 
claiming that if a player is strong 
enough to call for trumps he should 
be strong enough to lead them him- 
self " Having refrained from lead- 
ing them, he can only request, and 
not command, a trump lead from 
his partner. ' ' 

An irregular original lead which 
a player makes because he cannot 
help himself, is also called a forced 
lead {q. v.). 

In the latter part of the hand, 
when no special importance longer 
attaches to them, irregular leads 
are frequent. Whitfeld says: " Ir- 
regular leads usually occur late in 
a hand, when the general scheme 
of play has already been decided 
on, and when judgment, based on 
previous observation of the fall of 
the cards, and on the score, over- 
rides rule." No rule can be laid 
down in such cases. 



Wishing the lead through an honor 
turned at your right, open irregularly 
(that is, lead a knave, not holding king 
and queen, or the ten, not holding queen 
and knave, etc.). It is a command for 
your partner to lead trumps. — A. W. 
Drayson [Z+y4+], "7%iS Art of Practical 
Wh'ist;' 1879. 

Irregular may be another word for 
forced. Irregularity is sometimes another 
term for brilliancy' An irregular lead is 
a finesse upon the lead. An irregular 
lead, unlike the plaj^of a false card, must 
be made only when it can do the partner 
no harm, Lewis, of London, calls a well- 
judged irregular lead one of the triumphs 
of common-sense whist. — G. W. Pettes \L. 
A. P.I, "American IVhist Illustrated." 



Plain suits are led irregularly, either to 
strengthen the partner, to call through 
an honor turned, to throw the lead, or be- 
cause it would be damaging to continue 
with one's long suit. When playing 
against long-suit adversaries,lead through 
the left-hand opponent, w^here the 
strength of the suit has been declared; 
but with the short-suiters, the reverse is 
the case. — Emma D. Andrews \L. A.], 
''The X Y Z of Whist. ' ' 

The good whist-player is not a machine. 
He has certain conventional base lines, 
but he is prepared to take any line of 
strategy the development of the hand 
suggests. If he has what he considers an 
exceptional hand, he is free to open it 
with an irregular lead; and if opponents 
disclose the strong hands, he will both 
play and lead false cards, if his partner's 
hand be also weak. But it is better, and 
learners will progress more rapidly, if 
they will learn to walk before they try to 
run. — Charles S. Boutcher [L. A.]. 

The main objection to an irregular lead 
is that it is irregular. The original lead 
should be directive. Then, or never, can 
most important information be commu- 
nicated to partner. If this information is 
withheld for the sake of a possible subse- 
quent lead through an honor, the original 
leader is paying very dear for his whistle. 
Beyond this, it may be that irregularity 
of the lead is not developed until too late 
for advantage to accrue from it; mean- 
while partner is in a puzzle, and probably 
miscalculates the leader's holdings in all 
suits. — "Cavendish'' [L. A.], Scribner's 
Monthly, July, iSgy. 

There is one case in which an irregular 
opening has found such universal favor 
among good players that it may be almost 
saidto have becomeconventional, and that 
is where an honoris turned and the orig- 
inal leader desires to have it led through, 
either by reason of having the card in 
sequence below it, a tenace over it, or be- 
cause he has the card immediately above 
it, and hopes that his partner may be able 
to lead him a card which he can success- 
fully finesse. In such case it has grown 
to be a custom among experts all over the 
country to originally lead an irregular 
card. Such a lead, with an honor turned, 
is considered the most imperative 01 
trump signals, and is an absolute com- 
mand to the partner to get the lead as 
expeditiously as possible and lead trump. 
—Milton C. JVork [L. A. H.], ''IVhist of 
To-day." 

Irregular Flay. — Play which is 
not according to rules, but which 
may have some exceptional condi- 
tions to justify it. The higher 



^' 



^ 



IRRBGUIvAR WHIST 



225 



JACK 



wbist strategy contains numerous 
examples. 

They [the "good bad players"] play 
■what we may term an irregular game, 
and they play this irregular game well. — 
A. JV. Brayson \L+A+], "The Art of 
Practical IVhist." 

Irregular play should not be con- 
founded with false play. * * * The 
various form.s of finesse — underplay, 
holding up, throwing high cards — are all 
irregular play, but they are part of the 
strategy of the game. — C. D. P. Hamil- 
ton \^L. A i\,''' Modern Scientific Whisf^ 

I r r e g u i a r Whist. — Mongrel 
whist; also whist played irregu- 
larly and not in accordance with 
the rules; bumblepuppy. 

Irregularities in the Hands. — 

Irregularities in the hands consist 
in one or more players having 
either too many or not the requi- 
site number of cards. 

One card dealt irregfularly may be 
either right or wrong. As long as the 
irregularity is confined to two cards, the 
error is easily rectified; but when it ex- 
tends to three, the possibility of correct- 
ness becomes doubtful, and the estab- 
lished rule is that the deal is lost. — 
Deschapelles [C], ^'■Trait& du Whist," 
Article ji. 

If, at anj^ time after all have played to 
the first trick, the pack being perfect, a 
player is found to have either more or 
less than his correct number of cards and 
his adversaries have their right number, 
the latter, upon the discovery of such sur- 
plus or deficiency, may consult and shall 
have the choice: (i) To have a new deal; 
or, (2) to have the hand played out, in 
which case the surplus or missing card 
or cards are not taken into account. 
(3) If either of the adversaries also 
has more or less than his correct num- 
ber, there must be a new deal. If any 
player has a surplus card by reason of an 
omission to play to a trick, his adversa- 
ries can exercise the foregoing privilege 
only after he has played to the trick fol- 
lowing the one in which such omission 
occurred. — Laws of Whist {American 
Code), Section ig. 

Under the heading, "Irregularities in 
the Hands," the Americans have made an 
important difference in the law. By law 
44, section 4, English code, should a 
player have fourteen cards, and either of 

15 



the other three less than thirteen, it is a 
misdeal. In the first edition of "The 
Art of Practical Whist," I called atten- 
tion to the defect or obscurity of this law. 
By the American code an attempt is made 
to remedy this defect, but it does not 
seem to me that the difficulty is entirely 
avoided. Rule 19 of the American code 
(ut supra) is certainly a far better one 
than our English law, as it prevents the 
careless players who play with fourteen 
and twelve cards from scoring anything 
if a new deal is demanded. If, however, 
the non-offending players elect to have 
the hand played out, they may have over- 
rated their strength, and may lose two or 
three on the hand. That which I sug- 
gested in case 19, "The Art of Practical 
Whist," seems to me to more fully meet 
the case: " If two partners hold twenty- 
six cards, between them, one holding 
more, the other less, than thirteen, while 
the adversaries hold thirteen each, no 
score made by the partners holding the 
unequal number of cards can be counted 
in that hand, whereas any score made 
by the partners holding thirteen each can 
be counted." — A. W. Drayson [Z+^+], 
' ' Whist Laws and Whist Decisions." 

•Mt Didn't Matter" Player, 
The. — This kind of self-suflBcient 
and generally undesirable partner 
is thus gently pilloried by " Caven- 
dish" in his " Card-Table Talk:" 
' ' A companion to the ' If you had' 
player is the ' It didn't matter ' 
player. My partner trumps my 
best card, or does not trump a 
doubtful card after I have called 
for trumps, or commits some other 
whist enormity. We win the game 
notwithstanding, for we have pro- 
digious cards. If I suggest that 
there was no occasion to perpetrate 
the enormity in question, my part- 
ner triumphantly informs me, 'It 
didn't matter.' This view is alto- 
gether fallacious. It did not hap- 
pen to matter in that particular 
hand; but my confidence is im- 
paired, and it will matter in every 
hand I play with that partner for a 
longtime to come." 

Jack. — The fourth card in value 
or rank. It is also called the knave, 
especially in England. The two 
terms are synonymous, and inas- 



JACK 



226 



JENKS, MRS. M. S. 



much as it is easier and more simple 
to use the letter J than the abbre- 
viation Kn, in designating the card 
by initial, the general usage in this 
country largely favors it. The gen- 
eral adoption of the index or 
' ' squeezer' ' marks on the edges 
of the cards also affords a reason 
for the adoption of J as a way of 
indicating it. It may be interest- 
ing to those who prefer "knave," 
on account of its long use, to learn 
that "jack" is the older term, 
and that at one time it was consid- 
ered much more polite and respect- 
able than "knave." 

According to the system of 
American leads, the jack is led 
from two combinations, in suits of 
five or more: (i) From ace, king, 
queen, jack, and one or more. 
(2) From king, queen, jack, and 
two or more. G. W. Pettes also led 
jack from jack, ten, nine, and one 
or more, and jack, ten, and two 
small. 

The old system of leads provides 
for the lead of jack from king, 
queen, jack, and two or more; from 
jack, ten, nine, with or without 
small ones; and from jack and one 
or two others (forced leads). 

In the Howell (short-suit) game, 
jack, followed b}' queen, indicates 
the high-card game; followed by 
ace or king, or by a small card, it 
indicates the supporting-card game, 
and three in suit. 

Knave is now being led only from king, 
queen, knave, and others, denying ace, 
to give partner information that (when 
winning) the suitis unestablished, unless 
he holds the ace.— ATa/l^ IVheelock [L.A.], 
"IV/iisi Hules," i8gy. 

The term "jack," for the Scandinavian 
chief or captain, is historically correct. 
The term "knave" is comparatively 
modern and abusive; though now fash- 
ionable, it was a low term about 1720 
A. D. — "Aquarius'" [^L. 0.1, ^^ The Hands 
at IVhisi," 1884. 

Our use of the word "jack" is simply 
for convenience in distinguishing it from 



the king in abbreviation. * * * view- 
ing the matter from the imagined stand- 
point of a purist, we see nothing particu- 
larly elevating in the word " knave." — 
Whist \L. A.\ December, i8g2. 

Most of the authorities, and many of 
the finest players, have abandoned the 
lead of knave from knave, ten, nine, etc. 
Analysis demonstrates that there is little, 
if any, advantage in favor of the lead of 
the knave as against the fourth best. — C. 
D. P. Hamilton \L.A.\, "Modern Scien- 
tific Whist:' 

Jenks, Mrs. M. S. — ^Among the 
women of this country who have 
devoted their talents to the ad- 
vancement of whist, and who have 
won high and well-deserved repu- 
tations as teachers of the game, 
Mrs. Marta S. Jenks occupies a 
prominent position. Mrs. Jenks 
was born at Randolph, Tenn., and 
received her education in a convent, 
in the city of Memphis. She was 
initiated into the mysteries of whist 
by her father, at an early age, and 
was able to play an intelligent game 
while still in her teens. In early 
womanhood she removed to Phila- 
delphia, and soon after was mar- 
ried. She became well known in 
whist circles in the Quaker City, 
and in 1888, with her husband, re- 
moved to Chicago. There she en- 
gaged in the study of scientific 
whist, with three other ladies, more 
as a matter of mental discipline 
than as a preparation for her subse- 
quent work. Early in the follow- 
ing year, however, she was prevailed 
upon to devote at least a portion of 
her time to the instruction of pupils. 
Her success proved greater than 
she anticipated, and she thereafter 
devoted all her time to what has 
since become a profession. 

Mrs. Jenks has been very success- 
ful as an instructor. She has had 
many very interesting pupils in her 
classes in Chicago and elsewhere; 
among them have been successful 
men from all the vocations in life, 
from the traveling salesman to a 



'JEROBOAM HAND 



227 



JUMPING A SUIT 



member of the president's cabinet. 
And many of the brightest and 
most charming women of the land, 
also, have been graduated from her 
school. She has also written much 
upon the subject of whist for Whist 
and other journals, especially the 
Chicago Inter-Ocean, the whist 
column of which she edited with 
much ability for ten months, suc- 
ceeding the late G. W. Pettes. 
Owing to the increased demands 
upon her time as a teacher she was 
obliged to resign the position, al- 
though she still remains a regular 
contributor to the paper, which she 
represented at the organization of 
the Woman's Whist Iveague, in 
Philadelphia, 1897. From there 
she went to California to join her 
husband, who had settled at San 
Dimas, in February, owing to ill 
health. In the winter of i897-'98 
she returned to Chicago, and re- 
sumed her teaching there, and also 
in Washington, D. C. (See, also, 
"Teachers of Whist," and "Whist 
as an Educator,") 

"Jeroboam Hand." — In the 

early part of the present centmry, 
in England, if a player held cards 
of overwhelming strength he was 
said to have a "Jeroboam hand," 
in reference to the division of the 
tribes of Israel, when Jeroboam ob- 
tained ten and his rival but two. 
The phrase is now obsolete. 

Johnson on Whist. — Dr. Samuel 
Johnson, in the Rambler for May, 
1750, draws the character of a lady 
who was obliged to drudge at whist 
until she was "wearied to death 
with the game. ' ' 

Jones, Henry. — See, "Caven- 
dish." 

Judges of Appeals. — The by- 
laws of the American Whist League, 
as amended in 1895, provide for "a 



board of three judges of appeals, 
whose duty it shall be to consider 
and decide all questions concerning 
the interpretation or application of 
the laws referred to them by any 
member of the League. Their de- 
cisions shall be published in the 
official organ of the League. ' ' 

At the annual congress, in 1897, 
the by-laws were so amended as to 
abolish the judges of appeals, and 
to cause the duties above outlined 
to hereafter devolve upon the pres- 
ident of the League. The motion 
for the change was made by Eugene 
S. Elliott, the senior member of 
the board, or "court," who felt 
convinced that the laws of whist 
are so plain that a special tribunal 
to interpret them is unnecessary, 
and that any possible questions 
that might arise could safely be left 
with the presiding officer of the 
League. 

Judgment. — Good judgment in 
whist is an important and highly 
necessary quality. Quick percep- 
tion and judgment enables the 
player to do the right thing at the 
right time. Judgment must be ex- 
ercised, not only in opening a hand 
correctly, but in adapting the play 
to its development as affected by 
the holdings of partner and the 
adversaries. 

A certain class of persons, among whom 
•we often find players of considerable 
skill, consider that the play of a hand is 
entirely a matter of individual judgment. 
It would be so if the player had full data 
to act upon, and towards the end of a 
hand, when the positions of the cards 
may be pretty well known, these persons 
often play very well. But they forget that 
during a large portion of the hand no suf- 
ficient data exist for judgment, properly 
so called.— JVzllmm Pole [Z,. ^+J, ''Phil- 
osophy of Whist.'" 

Jumping a Suit. — To lead a 
winning card in one suit and lead 
another suit next — a play sugges- 
tive of an exceptional condition of 



JUNIOR WHIST CLUB 228 KEII/EY, CH ARISES R. 



the hand, or strongly suggestive of 
bumblepuppy. 

Junior Whist Club.— This novel 
and successful organization was 
started in Philadelphia, early 
in 1897, for the purpose of inter- 
esting the young men in a game 
which would afford them good 
mental training and discipline, and 
draw their attention away from less 
desirable games. The movement 
was started by Mrs. T. H. Andrews, 
president of the Woman's Whist 
League, and her son, T. H. An- 
drews, Jr., became president of the 
Juniors; J. D. Andrews, vice-presi- 
dent; R. Sterling Dupuy, secretary; 
and Henry L. Fox, treasurer. 

The Juniors acted as ushers at 
the first congress of the Woman's 
Whist League, in April, 1897, and 
on May 20 of the same year they 
were admitted to membership in 
the American Whist League, their 
membership being given in the 
annual report as twenty-six. They 
are also charter members of the 
Atlantic Whist Association. They 
have a comfortable club-house of 
their own, and have taken part in 
a number of important matches 
against older players. In the Phila- 
delphia inter-city match they de- 
feated the Hamilton Club, the Art 
Club, and the Columbia Club — a re- 
markable achievement. They sent 
a pair to the seventh congress of the 
American Whist League, at Put-in- 
Bay, 1897, and the young men dis- 
tinguished themselves in making 
top score for their side (north and 
south) in the match for the Brook- 
lyn Trophy. In the Minneapolis 
Trophy contest for club pairs, they 
stood seventh among fifteen con- 
testing pairs. The same pair made 
top score also at Jersey City, in the 
match for the Brooklyn Trophy, 
This record for the year 1897 gives 
promise for still better things in 



the future. We may add that the 
ages of the Juniors range from six- 
teen to twenty-one years. 

Keiley, Charles R. — A leading 
advocate of the short-suit game, 
and a whist-teacher of recognized 
ability. He was born in Richmond, 
Va., July 3, 1859; received his 
early education mostly from his 
father (a justice of the Interna- 
tional Court of Appeals of Eg3'pt), 
and subsequently attended the Uni- 
versity of Virginia. He has always 
been a contributor to the press, but 
engaged in various business enter- 
prises also at various times, includ- 
ing that of publisher. 

Mr. Keiley began playing whist 
in Richmond, his old home, a 
number of years ago, and con- 
tinued in a desultory manner until 
1885, when he played considerable 
'■'■whist d, trots" in Paris, and 
straight whist in England. After 
that he dropped the game until the 
early nineties, when he commenced 
playing again, and was extremely 
annoyed at being outpointed by 
men who were not in the same 
class with him in other games. 
This caused him to take up whist, 
and study it systematically. Since 
then he has taken high rank as a 
player, and also as an instructor. 
He has represented New York in 
the inter-city contests for teams of 
eight (as a member of the first four) ; 
he has been a member of the team 
of the Continental Club, of New 
York; captain of the Cherry Dia- 
mond Club's team, and also captain 
of the Whist Club team, of New 
York, which won the Challenge 
Trophy at the sixth congress of the 
American Whist League. He or- 
ganized the Syracuse (N. Y. ) Whist 
Club (now the Chess, Checker, and 
Whist Club), and has been whist 
editor of the New York Mail and 
Express, Evening Telegram, and 



KEIM, MRS. GEORGE DE B. 229 



KING 



Herald. His first venture as an 
author was " Whist Points, " a book 
for beginners, now out of print. In 
1897 he published another volume, 
" The Laws of Bridge," and in the 
same year he finished his most im- 
portant work, "Common Sense in 
Whist." This book is devoted to 
variations in the long-suit game; 
or, in other words, it advises a long- 
suit attack whenever the chances 
for its successful issue are favorable, 
but argues against the lead of the 
longest suit without taking into 
consideration the remainder of the 
hand. It is an amplification of the 
scheme of play which he devised 
for the team of the New York Whist 
Club. 

The idea of playing weak suits 
down, or leading from the ' ' top of 
nothing," originated with Mr. 
Keiley. His idea was always to tell 
partner that when the lower card 
fell from the leader's hand the lat- 
ter had no more. This scheme of 
play necessitated his abandonment 
of American leads, except in 
trumps. (See, also, " Short-Suit 
Leads, Keiley's.") 

Keim, Mrs. George de Benne- 
ville. — An efl&cient whist teacher, 
who has also done much good work 
in organizing whist clubs among 
the ladies. Mrs. Keim first became 
interested in whist after her mar- 
riage, owing to her husband's devo- 
tion to the game. About seven 
years ago she began to study the 
game systematically, during her 
residence in Philadelphia, being a 
pupil of Miss Gertrude Clapp, of 
New York, for three years. Then 
she studied two years with Mrs. 
Newbold, of Philadelphia, and 
after that one year with Mrs. T. H. 
Andrews. She began to teach the 
game herself during the winter of 
i896-'97, at Richmond, Va., her 
native city. The desire to learn 



the modem game had not yet been 
awakened in that city, and Mrs. 
Keim found some difficulty in intro- 
ducing it. By degrees she was 
able to inspire a few of the ladies, 
and finally she succeeded in form- 
ing a number of classes, and also 
in establishing two whist clubs, 
which she named respectively the 
Emma D. Andrews Whist Club (in 
honor of Mrs. T. H. Andrews), and 
the Milton C. Work Whist Club. 
The former started with forty and 
the latter with thirty members, and 
both joined the Woman's Whist 
League. In 1897 she began teach- 
ing in New Jersey, at Burlington, 
Beverley, and Edgewater Park (her 
place of residence), and at the lat- 
ter place she organized another 
League club, named also the Emma 
D. Andrews, of which she herself 
is president. 

Mrs. Keim teaches the long-suit 
system with American leads, and 
recommends Work's ' ' Whist of 
To-day " as the authority on the 
game. She is also a good player. 
In the ladies' whist tournament 
at Philadelphia, during Novem- 
ber, 1897, she played on the Cam- 
den team, and succeeded in hold- 
ing second place at the close. 

King. — The second highest card 
in the pack; one of the four hon- 
ors counted in the English game; 
one of the three court cards. It 
is led more frequently than any 
other high card. 

Under the system of American 
leads, the king is led originally 
only from suits of four or less, 
when accompanied by ace, or 
queen, or both. The king led, 
therefore, indicates a suit of not 
more than four, and either ace or 
queen, perhaps both. 

Under the system of old leads, 
the king is led only when the card 
next to it is also held in the hand. 



KING 



230 



LANGUAGE, A 



Thus, from ace, king, and others; 
from king, queen, and others (un- 
less these others, being more than 
two, include the jack); from king 
and two others (forced lead ) , if you 
have reason to believe partner has 
strength in the suit; and from king 
and one other (forced lead), what- 
ever that other card may be. 

In the Howell (short-suit) sys- 
tem, king followed by ace, indi- 
cates the high-card game, but 
greater accompanying strength 
than ace followed by king. King, 
unaccompanied by ace, indicates 
the high-card game, with probably 
queen, jack, and others in hand. 

In the Hamilton leads, the fourth 
best instead of the ten is led from 
the king, jack, ten combination. 

The question is often asked, 
whether, holding king and one 
small card, the king should be 
played, second hand, on a low card 
led ? Pole, in "The Philosophy of 
Whist," holds that it is disadvan- 
tageous to do so ; and "Cavendish" 
agrees with him that the small card 
should be played, but recognizes 
the fact that there are exceptions 
to the rule, such as urgent neces- 
sity for stopping the trump lead 
— queen turned up to the left — ace 
turned at the right, etc. In America 
opinion seems divided on the sub- 
ject. The editor of Whist, in the 
issue for April, 1894, stated that his 
observation was that "the king is 
generally played in our leading 
clubs. ' ' 

Another question on which there 
is a diversity of opinion is whether 
the second hand, holding king 
singly guarded, should cover the 
queen led. Milton C. Work, in his 
" Whist of To-day" (page 41), re- 
commends the play, but the editor 
of Whist (August, 1895, issue) says 
he regards it as " one of the worst 
trick-losing plays that it is very 
well possible to conceive of, al- 



though," he admits, "it is a prac- 
tice followed by many very fine 
players." 

Having king, knave, and ten, lead the 
ten. For if your partner holds the ace 
you have a good chance to make three 
tricks whether he passes the ten or not. — 
William Payne [L. O.], " Whist Maxims," 
1770. 

The old orthodox habit for a long suit 
headed by king and queen, was to begin 
with the king; but this also was now con- 
fined to suits of four only; for longer suits 
the new prescription [by " Cavendish," 
1888] was to begin with the queen. — 
William Pole \L. A-^\, ''Evolution of 
Whist." 

King Card.— See, " Master Card." 

Knave. — The fourth card in rank 
or value; the jack {q. v.). 

Lady Whist - Ptayers. — See, 
" Women as Whist-Players." 

Lamb, Charles, at Whist. — 

Charles Lamb, the gentle essayist, 
who portrayed and made famous 
the woman whist-player known as 
Sarah Battle, was himself a great 
admirer of the game. Talfourd, in 
his " Memorials of Charles Lamb," 
mentions him at a sitting as fol- 
lows: 

" Lamb himself, yet unrelaxed by 
the glass, is sitting with a sort of 
Quaker primness at the whist-table, 
the gentleness of his melancholy 
smile half lost in his intentuess on 
the game; his partner, the author 
of ' Political Justice,' is regarding 
his hand with a philosophic but not 
a careless eye; Captain Burney, only 
not venerable because so young in 
spirit, sits between them; and H. 
C. R., who alone now and then 
breaks the proper silence to wel- 
come some incoming guest, is his 
partner." 

Language, A. — There can be no 
doubt that whist has a language of 
its own. From almost every card 



LAST TRICK, SEEING THE 23 1 



LAWS OF WHIST 



played some inference may be 
drawn. Each partner speaks to the 
other as plainly as though he em- 
ployed words, when both are mas- 
ters of the game and its conven- 
tionalities. 



whist is a language, and every card 
played an intelligible sentence.— ;/aw2« 
aajc [L. 0+]. 

All whist-players understand that the 
cards speak. Some can comprehend all 
the cards say. — Westminster Papers 

It is well that the whist world is gov- 
erned substantially by the same code of 
laws. It would be better if it were alto- 
gether so; then even different languages 
would not separate good whist-players. 
As to whist, they would form a common 
brotherhood the world over and therein 
speak fluently one language. — A.J. Mcin- 
tosh [L. A.], "Modern Whist,'' iSS8. 

Fotir gentlemen or ladies, from the four 
quarters of the earth, perchance meet on 
board a train or ocean steamer. Each 
speaks in a tongue unknown to the other. 
The journey promises to be tedious, 
dreary, lonesome, and even disagreeable. 
Presently one produces a pack of cards, 
they sit around a table, the cards are 
shuffled, cut, and dealt, and thenceforth 
these four converse with an intelligence 
and an eloquence never surpassed by the 
glibest tongue the world ever heard. Their 
language is 7vh!st — every card properly 
played being an intelligible sentence, and 
they can each understand its inflections, 
and revel in its infinite variety of expres- 
sion until the journey is ended. What a 
beautiful language it is ! — P. J. Tormey 
[L. A.'\,lVhist,July, 1894. 

Last Trick, Seeing the. — See 

"Quitted." 



Last Trump. — A most important 
card in regaining the lead, and 
bringing in an established suit. 
(See, "Thirteenth Trump.") 

Laws of Whist. — Rules and reg- 
ulations for the practice of whist, 
and the government of whist-pla}-- 
ers. The laws have certain penal- 
ties attached for their infraction, 
which every whist-player should be 



familiar with, submit to on his part, 
and exact from others, in order that 
good whist may prevail. " Caven- 
dish" says: "Card laws are intend- 
ed to effect two objects: ( i ) To pre- 
serve the harmony and determine 
the ordering of the table. (2) To 
prevent any player from obtaining 
an unfair advantage. The word 'un- 
fair ' must be taken in a restricted 
sense. It does not mean intentional 
unfairness. This is not to be dealt 
with by laws, but by exclusion 
from the card table." 

Whist-players in America have 
generally accepted and are gov- 
erned by the American code (see, 
" Laws of Whist — American 
Code"), which is based on the 
English laws, but so changed and 
amended as to suit the American 
game. English players generally 
adhere to the laws of short whist, 
which were promulgated in 1864, 
and are based on the long-suit code 
of Hoyle, as amended in 1760.' 
Both the English and American 
laws are supplemented by "The 
Etiquette of Whist" {q. v.), a 
number of rules which are in effect 
laws, although it would be difficult 
to prescribe any penalties for their 
transgression other than those vis- 
ited upon persons who are guilty 
of bad manners or unfairness in 
other walks of life. 



Laws for the playing of card games 
were framed for the purpose: (i) Of or- 
dering and determining the conditions 
and formalities of the game; (2) of pro- 
moting harmony; (3) of establishing and 
maintaining equity. — William Cwsack- 
S7niih [L. 6.]. 

The law-makers, anticipating that 
through inadvertence, accident, or care- 
lessness the rules would be violated by 
players, and that thereby the player vio- 
lating, and his partner, would obtain an 
undue advantage, as a compensation to 
the adversaries for this advantage thus 
gained, provision is made under the 
rules — generally called penalties — to 
equal the advantage. — A.J.Mcintosh [L. 
A.], "Modern Whist," 188S. 



I^AWS OP WHIST 



232 



LAWS OF WHIST 



Laws of Whist — American 
Code. — A code for the government 
of American whist was drawn up 
under the guidance of George W. 
Pettes, and adopted, in 1889, by the 
Deschapelles Club, of Boston, Mass. 
It contained but eighteen sections, 
and marked a radical departure from 
the English system of laws. This 
code, together with the club rules, 
may be found in Pettes' "American 
Whist Illustrated," pages 21-25. 

The generally accepted and re- 
cognized laws for the American 
game were, however, enacted in 
1891, at the first congress of the 
American Whist League, at Mil- 
waukee, Wis., and in framing them 
the English code was taken as a 
basis, and practical suggestions, 
made in a letter to the congress, by 
N. B. Trist, were carried out. 
Among other things he said : " It is 
needless to say that I consider the 
deduction or adding of points, ex- 
cept in cases of revoke, as penalties 
for whist offenses, to be contrary to 
the principle on which whist laws 
should be based; consequently, I 
advise that we profit by the expe- 
rience of our English cousins. 
They already have an elaborate 
code of laws, which is authority all 
over England and in many clubs 
in this country, and which will 
subserve our purpose very well, by 
eliminating from it all matter per- 
taining to the counting of honors, 
which has been almost universally 
abolished in this country, as a 
blemish on a game which claims to 
be scientific. It is probable that 
some changes also in the mode of 
scoring will be proposed. The 
English system does not seem to be 
popular, as is shown by the fact 
that half-a-dozen ways of counting 
prevail in this country. * * * 
In my opinion, the game, where 
honors are not counted, should 
consist of seven points. ' ' 



The work begun by the first con- 
gress was continued at the second 
congress, in New York, and finished 
at Chicago, in 1893, where a re- 
port was made by a committee, 
consisting of Theodore Schwarz, 
chairman, and Nicholas B. Trist, 
Walter H. Barney, C. D. P. Hamil- 
ton , Fisher Ames, Cassius M. Paine, 
and Henry Jones ("Cavendish"), 
who had given the matter most 
careful attention. 

The new code reduced the num- 
ber of laws from ninety-one (in the 
English code) to thirty-nine, and 
made harmonious the great diver- 
sity of usage in vogue in this coun- 
try. (See, also, "American and 
English Laws. ' ' ) Broadly speaking, 
the American code is based upon 
the following postulations: 

1. The conduct of the American 
game should be governed by a code 
based on whist for whist, apart 
from stakes. 

2. Infractions of whist laws and 
rules of table etiquette are unin- 
tentional. 

3. No player takes advantage of 
information afforded by breaches 
of the law. 

4. Whist laws should be framed 
with these objects in view, viz. : To 
define the general order of play, to 
promote closer attention, and to 
maintain decorum. 

5. The penalty for the infraction 
of a law is not for the purpose of 
restitution for damages (except in 
the case of the revoke), but solely 
to stimulate precaution and repress 
improprieties of play. 

The American code also includes 
laws for the government of dupli- 
cate whist (see, " Duplicate Whist, 
Laws of"), which were adopted at 
the fourth congress of the League, 
Philadelphia, 1894. At the sixth 
congress, held at Manhattan Beach, 
Brooklyn, 1896, a standing commit- 
tee on laws was appointed to sug- 



LAWS OF WHIST 



233 



LAWS OF WHIST 



gest such revisions of tlie code 
(both for straight and duplicate 
whist) as their judgment might dic- 
tate. The committee invited every 
whist club, and every individual 
member who had any suggestion 
or recommendation to offer on the 
subject, to forward the same at 
earliest convenience. The report 
of the committee, made and adopt- 
ed at the seventh congress, at Put- 
in-Bay, 1897, was somewhat of a 
disappointment to those who be- 
lieved in revision, for the general 
code was left untouched, and only 
the laws of duplicate were amended. 
(See, "Laws of Whist —Proposed 
Revision. ' ' ) We give herewith the 
laws of the game as now in force: 

The Gaine. — i. A game consists 
of seven points, each trick above 
six counting one. The value of the 
game is determined by deducting 
the losers' score from seven. 

Forming the Table. — 2. Those 
first in the room have the prefer- 
ence. If, by reason of two or more 
arriving at the same time, more 
than four assemble, the preference 
among the last comers is deter- 
mined by cutting, a lower cut giv- 
ing the preference over all cutting 
higher. A complete table consists 
of six; the four having the prefer- 
ence play. Partners are determined 
by cutting; the highest two play 
against the lowest two; the lowest 
deals, and has the choice of seats 
and cards. 

3. If two players cut intermediate 
cards of equal value they cut again; 
the lower of the new cut plays with 
the original lowest. 

4. If three players cut cards of 
equal value they cut again. If the 
fourth has cut the highest card the 
lowest two of the new cut are part- 
ners, and the lowest deals. If the 
fourth has cut the lowest card he 
deals, and the highest two of the 
new cut are partners. 



5. At the end of a game, if there 
are more than four belonging to the 
table, a sufficient number of the 
players retire to admit those await- 
ing their turn to play. In deter- 
mining which players remain in, 
those who have played a less num- 
ber of consecutive games have the 
preference over all who have played 
a greater number; between two or 
more who have played an equal 
number the preference is deter- 
mined by cutting, a lower cut giv- 
ing the preference over all cutting 
higher. 

6. To entitle one to enter a table, 
he must declare his intention to do 
so before any one of the players 
has cut for the purpose of com- 
mencing a new game or of cutting 
out. 

Cutting. — 7. In cutting, the ace 
is the lowest card. All must cut 
from the same pack. If a player 
exposes more than one card, he 
must cut again. Drawing cards 
from the outspread pack may be 
resorted to in place of cutting. 

Shuffli7ig. — 8. Before every deal, 
the cards must be shuffled. When 
two jjacks are used, the dealer's 
partner must collect and shuffle the 
cards for the ensuing deal, and 
place them at his right hand. In 
all cases, the dealer may shuffle 
last. 

9. A pack must not be shuffled 
during the play of a hand, nor so 
as to expose the face of any card. 

Cutting to the Dealer. — 10. The 
dealer must present the pack to his 
right-hand adversary to be cut; the 
adversary must take a portion from 
the top of the pack and place it to- 
wards the dealer; at least four cards 
must be left in each packet; the 
dealer must reunite the packets by 
placing the one not removed in cut- 
ting upon the other. 

II. If, in cutting or in reuniting 
the separate packets, a card is ex- 



I,AWS OF WHIST 



234 



LAWS OF WHIST 



posed, the pack must be reshuffled 
by the dealer and cut again; if 
there is any confusion of the cards, 
or doubt as to the place where the 
pack was separated, there must be 
a new cut. 

12. If the dealer reshuffles the 
pack after it has been properly cut, 
be loses his deal. 

Dealing. — 13. When the pack 
has been properly ciit and reunited, 
the dealer must distribute the cards, 
one at a time, to each player in reg- 
ular rotation, beginning at his left. 
The last, which is the trump card, 
must be turned up before the dealer. 
At the end of the hand, or when the 
deal is lost, the deal passes to the 
player next to the dealer on his 
left, and so on to each in turn. 

14. There must be a new deal by 
the same dealer: 

I. If any card except the last is 
faced in the pack. 

II. If, during the deal or during 
the play of the hand, the pack is 
proved incorrect or imperfect; but 
any prior score made with that pack 
shall stand. 

15. If, during the deal, a card is 
exposed, the side not in fault may 
demand a new deal, provided 
neither of that side has touched a 
card. If a new deal does not take 
place, the exposed card is not liable 
to be called. 

16. Any one dealing out of turn, 
or with his adversaries' pack, may 
be stopped before the trump card is 
turned, after which the deal is valid, 
and the packs, if changed, so re- 
main. 

3fisdealmg. — 17. It is a misdeal: 

I. If the dealer omits to have the 
pack cut, and his adversaries dis- 
cover the error before the trump 
card is turned and before looking at 
any of their cards. 

II. If he deals a card incorrectly 
and fails to correct the error before 
dealing another. 



III. If he counts the cards on the 
table or in the remainder of the 
pack. 

IV. If, having a perfect pack, he 
does not deal to each player the 
proper number of cards, and the 
error is discovered before all have 
played to the first trick. 

V. If he looks at the trump card 
before the deal is completed. 

VI. If he places the trump card 
face downwards upon his own or 
any other player's cards. 

A misdeal loses the deal, unless, 
during the deal, either of the ad- 
versaries touches a card or in any 
other manner interrupts the dealer. 

TheTrump Card. — 18. The dealer 
must leave the trump card face up- 
wards on the table until it is his 
turn to play to the first trick; if it 
is left on the table until after the 
second trick has been turned and 
quitted, it is liable to be called. 
After it has been lawfully taken up, 
it must not be named, and any 
player naming it is liable to have 
his highest or his lowest trump 
called by either adversary. A player 
may, however, ask what the trump 
suit is. 

Irregularities in the Hands. — 19. 
If, at any time after all have played 
to the first trick, the pack being 
perfect, a player is found to have 
either more or less than his correct 
number of cards, and his adversa- 
ries have their right number, the 
latter, upon the discovery of such 
surplus or deficiency, may consult, 
and shall have the choice: 

I. To have a new deal; or, 

II. To have the hand played out, 
in which case the surplus or miss- 
ing card or cards are not taken into 
account. 

If either of the adversaries also 
has more or less than his correct 
number, there must be a new deal. 

If any player has a surplus card 
by reason of an omission to play to 



LAWS OF WHIST 



235 



LAWS OF WHIST 



a trick, his adversaries can exercise 
the foregoing privilege only after 
he has played to the trick following 
the one in which such omission 
occurred. 

Cards Liable to be Called. — 20. 
The following cards are liable to be 
called by either adversary: 

I. Every card faced upon the 
table otherwise than in the regular 
course of play, but not including a 
card led out of turn. 

II. Every card thrown with the 
one led or played to the current 
trick. The player must indicate 
the one led or played. 

III. Every card so held by a 
player that his partner sees any 
portion of its face. 

IV. All the cards in a hand low- 
ered or shown by a player so that 
his partner sees more than one card 
of it. 

V. Every card named by the 
player holding it. 

21. All cards liable to be called 
must be placed and left face up- 
wards on the table. A player must 
lead or play them when they are 
called, provided he can do so with- 
out revoking. The call may be re- 
peated at each trick until the card 
is played. A player cannot be pre- 
vented from leading or playing a 
card liable to be called; if he can 
get rid of it in the course of play, 
no penalty remains. 

22. If a player leads a card better 
than any his adversaries hold of the 
suit, and then leads one or more 
other cards without waiting for his 
partner to play, the latter may be 
called upon b}' either adversary to 
take the first trick, and the other 
cards thus improperly played are 
liable to be called; it makes no dif- 
ference whether he plays them one 
after the other, or throws them all 
on the table together, after the first 
card is played the others are liable 
to be called. 



23. A player having a card liable 
to be called must not play another 
until the adversaries have stated 
whether or not they wish to call 
the card liable to the penalty. If 
he plays another card without 
awaiting the decision of the adver- 
saries, such other card also is liable 
to be called. 

Leading out of Turn. — 24. If 
any player leads out of turn, a suit 
may be called from him or his part- 
ner the first time it is the turn of 
either of them to lead. The pen- 
alty can be enforced only by the 
adversary on the right of the player 
from whom a suit can lawfully be 
called. 

If a player, so called on to lead a 
suit, has none of it, or if all have 
played to the false lead, no penalty 
can be enforced. If all have not 
played to the trick, the cards erro- 
neously played to such false lead 
are not liable to be called, and must 
be taken back. 

Playing out of Turn. — 25. If the 
third hand plays before the second, 
the fourth hand also may play 
before the second. 

26. If the third hand has not 
plaj'ed, and the fourth hand plays 
before the second, the latter may be 
called upon by the third hand to 
play his highest or lowest card of 
the suit led; or, if he has none, to 
trump or not to trump the trick. 

Abandoned Hands. — 27. If all 
four players throw their cards on 
the table, face upwards, no further 
play of that hand is permitted. 
The result of the hand, as then 
claimed or admitted, is established, 
provided that, if a revoke is discov- 
ered, the revoke penalty attaches. 

Revoking. — 28. A revoke is a re- 
nounce in error not corrected in 
time. A pla3'er renounces in error, 
when, holding one or more cards 
of the suit led, he plays a card of a 
different suit. 



I^AWS OF WHIST 



236 



LAWS OF WHIST 



A renounce in error may be cor- 
rected by the player making it, 
before the trick in which it occurs 
has been turned and quitted, unless 
either he or his partner, whether 
in his right turn or otherwise, has 
led or played to the following trick, 
or unless his partner has asked 
whether or not he has any of the 
suit renounced. 

29. If a player corrects his mis- 
take in time to save a revoke, the 
card improperly played by him is 
liable to be called; any player or 
players, who have played after him, 
may withdraw their cards and sub- 
stitute others; the cards so with- 
drawn are not liable to be called. 

30. The penalty of revoking is 
the transfer of two tricks from the 
revoking side to their adversaries; 
it can be enforced for as many re- 
vokes as occur during the hand. 
The revoking side cannot win the 
game in that hand; if both sides 
revoke, neither can win the game 
in that hand. 

31. The revoking player and his 
partner may require the hand, in 
which the revoke has been made, 
to be played out, and score all 
points made by them, up to the 
score of six, 

32. At the end of a hand, the 
claimants of a revoke may search 
all the tricks. If the cards have 
been mixed, the claim may be 
urged and proved, if possible; but 
no proof is necessary and the re- 
voke is established, if, after it has 
been claimed, the accused player or 
his partner mixes the cards before 
they have been examined to the 
satisfaction of the adversaries. 

33. The revoke can be claimed 
at any time before the cards have 
been presented and cut for the fol- 
lowing deal, but not thereafter. 

Miscellaneous. — 34. Anyone, dur- 
ing the play of a trick, and before 
the cards have been touched for the 



purpose of gathering them together, 
may demand that the players draw 
their cards. 

35. If any one, prior to his part- 
ner playing, calls attention in any 
manner to the trick or to the score, 
the adversary last to play to the 
trick may require the offender's 
partner to play his highest or lowest 
of the suit led, or, if he has none, . 
to trump or not to trump the trick. 

36. If any player says, "I can 
win the rest," " The rest are ours," 
' ' We have the game, ' ' or words to 
that effect, his partner's cards must 
be laid upon the table, and are lia- 
ble to be called. 

37. When a trick has been turned 
and quitted, it must not again be 
seen until after the hand has been 
played. A violation of this law 
subjects the offender's side to the 
same penalty as in case of a lead 
out of turn. 

38. If a player is lawfully called 
upon to play the highest or lowest 
of a suit, or to trump or not to 
trump a trick, or to lead a suit, and 
unnecessarily fails to comply, he is 
liable to the same penalty as if he 
had revoked. 

39. In all cases where a penalty , 
has been incurred the offender must \ 
await the decision of the adversa- \ 
ries. If either of them, with or ' 
without his partner's consent, de- 
mands a penalty to which they are 
entitled, such decision is final. If 
the wrong adversary demands a 
penalty, or a wrong penalty is de- 
manded, none can be enforced. 

^ (See, also, " Etiquette of Whist") 

Laws of Whist— English Code. 

■ — Hoyle first gave a printed exist- 
ence to the laws of whist in 1742. 
The fourteen laws then issued were 
subsequently increased to twenty- 
four, and these were the authority 
until 1760, when they were revised, 
and the revision was agreed to by 



LAWS OF WHIST 



237 



LAWS OF WHIST 



the members of White's and Saun- 
ders's chocolate houses. These 
laws provided for the old ten-point 
game, or long whist, of Hoyle. 
They remained in force until 1864, 
when the supremacy of short whist 
had become a fact, and the neces- 
sity for a change in the laws was 
keenly felt by players everywhere. 
The first to suggest a revision, and 
to take an active part in bringing it 
about, was John Loraine Baldwin, a 
well-known player, who wrote as 
follows concerning it in May, 1864: 
' ' Some years ago I suggested to 
the late Hon. George Anson, one 
of the most accomplished whist- 
players of his day, that as the 
supremacy of short whist was an 
acknowledged fact, a revision and 
reformation of Hoyle's rules would 
confer a boon on whist-players gen- 
erally, and on those especially to 
whom disputes and doubtful points 
were constantly referred." Their 
views coincided, but the project 
was for a time abandoned. In 1863 
Mr. Baldwin renewed his eflForts, 
and in May of that year one of the 
chief whist clubs, the Arlington 
(now called the Turf), appointed a 
committee of nine, with James Clay 
as chairman, to co-operate in the 
matter. After preparing the new 
code, it was sent to another leading 
club, the Portland, and considered 
by a committee of which H. D. 
Jones (father of " Cavendish") was 
chairman. The suggestions offered 
by the latter committee were ac- 
cepted, and on April 30, 1864, the 
code was formally adopted by the 
Arhngton Club, on a resolution 
signed by the Duke of Beaufort as 
chairman. The code was shortly 
after published in conjunction with 
James Clay's treatise on "Short 
Whist, ' ' and was at once adopted 
by the principal clubs. It has ever 
since remained the standard author- 
ity in Fngland and other Fnglish- 



speaking countries, with the excep- 
tion of the United States, where a 
new code is now in force. The 
Bnglish code consists of ninety-one 
sections, as follows: 

The Rubber. — i. The rubber is 
the best of three games. If the 
first two games be won by the same 
players, the third game is not 
played. 

Scoring. — 2. A game consists of 
five points. Each trick above six 
counts one point. 

3. Honors — i.e.^ ace, king, queen, 
and knave, of trumps — are thus 
reckoned : 

If a player and his partner, 
either separately or conjointly, 
hold— 

I. The four honors, they score four 
points. 

II. Any three honors, they score two 
points. 

III. Only two honors, they do not score. 

4. Those players who, at the 
commencement of a deal, are at 
the score of four, cannot score 
honors. 

5. The penalty for a revoke takes 
precedence of all other scores. 
Tricks score next; honors last. 

6. Honors, unless claimed before 
the trump card of the following 
deal is turned up, cannot be scored, 

7. To score honors is not suffi- 
cient; they must be called at the 
end of the hand ; if so called, they 
may be scored at any time during 
the game. 

8. The winners gain — 

I. A treble, or game of three points, 
w^hen their adversaries have not scored. 

II. A double, or game of two points, 
when their adversaries have scored less 
than three. 

III. A single, or game of one point, 
when their adversaries have scored three 
or four. 

9. The winners of the rubber 
gain two points, commonly called 
the rubber points, in addition to 
the value of their games. 



LAWS OF WHIST 



238 



LAWS OF WHIST 



10. Should the rubber have con- 
sisted of three games, the value of 
the loser's game is deducted from 
the gross number of points gained 
by their opponents. 

11. If an erroneous score be 
proved, such mistake can be cor- 
rected prior to the conclusion of 
the game in which it occurred, and 
such game is not concluded until 
the trump card of the following deal 
has been turned up. 

12. If an erroneous score affect- 
ing the amount of the rubber be 
proved, such mistake can be recti- 
fied at any time during the rubber. 

Cutting. — 13. The ace is the low- 
est card. 

14. In all cases, every one must 
cut from the same pack. 

15. Should a player expose more 
than one card he must cut again. 

Formation of Table. — 16. If 
there are more than four candidates 
the players are selected by cutting, 
those first in the room having the 
preference. The four who cut the 
lowest cards play first, and again 
cut to decide on partners; the two 
lowest play against the two highest; 
the lowest is the dealer, who has 
choice of cards and seats, and hav- 
ing once made his selection must 
abide by it. 

17. When there are more than 
six candidates those who cut the 
two next lowest cards belong to the 
table, which is complete with six 
players; on the retirement of one of 
these six players the candidate who 
cut the next lowest card has a prior 
right to any after-comer to enter 
the table. 

Cutting Cards of Equal Value. — 
18. Two players cutting cards of 
equal value,unless such cards are the 
two highest, cut again; should they 
be the two lowest, a fresh cut is ne- 
cessary to decide which of those two 
deals. 

19, Three players cutting cards 



of equal value cut again. Should 
the fourth (or remaining) card be 
the highest, the two lowest of the 
new cut are partners, the lower of 
these two the dealer; should the 
fourth card be the lowest, the two 
highest are partners, the original 
lowest the dealer. 

Cutting Out. — 20. At the end of 
a rubber, should admission be 
claimed by any one or two candi- 
dates, he who has, or they who 
have, played a greater number of 
consecutive rubbers than the others 
is, or are, out; but when all have 
played the same number, they must 
cut to decide upon the out-goers; 
the highest are out. 

Entry and Re-entry. — 21. A can- 
didate wishing to enter a table must 
declare such intention prior to any 
of the players having cut a card, 
either for the purpose of commenc- 
ing a fresh rubber or of cutting out. 

22. In the formation of fresh 
tables, those candidates who have 
neither belonged to, nor played at, 
any other table have the prior right 
of entry; the others decide their 
right of admission by cutting. 

23. Any one quitting a table prior 
to the conclusion of a rubber may, 
with consent of the other three 
players, appoint a substitute in his 
absence during that rubber. 

24. A player cutting into one 
table, whilst belonging to another, 
loses his right of re-entry into that 
latter, and takes his chance of cut- 
ting in, as if he were a fresh can- 
didate. 

25. If any one break up a table, 
the remaining players have the 
prior right to him of entry into 
any other; and should there not be 
sufficient vacancies at such other 
table to admit all these candidates, 
they settle their precedence by 
cutting. 

Shuffling. — 26. The pack must 
neither be shuflied below the table, 



LAWS OF WHIST 



239 



LAWS OF WHIST 



nor so that the face of any card be 
seen. 

27. The pack must not be shuf- 
fled during the play of the hand. 

28. A pack, having been played 
with, must neither be shuffled by 
dealing it into packets nor across 
the table. 

29. Kach player has a right to 
shuffle, once only, except as pro- 
vided by Rule 32, prior to a deal 
after a false cut, or when a new 
deal has occurred. 

30. The dealer's partner must 
collect the cards for the ensuing 
deal, and has the first right to 
shuffle that pack. 

31. Each player, after shuffling, 
must place the cards, properly col- 
lected and face downwards, to the 
left of the player about to deal. 

32. The dealer has always the 
right to shuffle last; but should a 
card or cards be seen during his 
shuffling, or while giving the pack 
to be cut, he may be compelled to 
reshuffle. 

The Deal. — 33, Kach player deals 
in his turn; the right of dealing 
goes to the left. 

34. The player on the dealer's 
right cuts the pack, and in dividing 
it must not leave fewer than four 
cards in either packet; if in cut- 
ting, or in replacing one of the two 
packets on the other, a card be ex- 
posed, or if there be any confusion 
of the cards, or a doubt as to the 
exact place in which the pack was 
divided, there must be a fresh 
cut. 

35. When a player whose duty it 
is to cut has once separated the 
pack, he cannot alter his intention; 
he can neither reshuffle nor recut 

I the cards. 

36. When the pack is cut, should 
' the dealer shuffle the cards he loses 

his deal. 

A New Deal. — 37. There must 
be a new deal — 



I. If during a deal, or during the play 
of a hand, the pack be proved incorrect 
or imperfect. 

II. If any card, excepting the last, be 
faced in the pack. 

38. If, whilst dealing, a card be 
exposed by the dealer or his part- 
ner, should neither of the adversa- 
ries have touched the cards, the 
latter can claim a new deal; a card 
exposed by either adversary gives 
that claim to the dealer, provided 
that his partner has not touched a 
card; if a new deal does not take 
place the exposed card cannot be 
called. 

39. If during dealing a player 
touch any of his cards, the adver- 
saries may do the same without los- 
ing their privilege of claiming a 
new deal, should chance give them 
such option. 

40. If, in dealing, one of the last 
cards be exposed, and the dealer 
turn up the trump before there 
is reasonable time for his adver- 
saries to decide as to a fresh deal, 
they do not thereby lose their 
privilege. 

41. If a player, whilst dealing, 
look at the trump card, his adver- 
saries have a right to see it, and 
may exact a new deal. 

42. If a player take into the hand 
dealt to him a card belonging to 
the other pack, the adversaries, on 
discovery of the error, may decide 
whether they will have a fresh deal 
or not. 

A Misdeal. — 43. A misdeal loses 
the deal. 
44. It is a misdeal — 

I. Unless the cards are dealt into four 
packets, one at a time in regular rota- 
tion, beginning with the player to the 
dealer's left. 

II. Should the dealer place the last 
card (z. e,, the trump) face downwards, 
on his own, or any other pack. 

III. Shoxild the trump card not come 
in its regular order to the dealer; but he 
does not lose his deal if the pack be 
proved imperfect. 



LAWS OF WHIST 



240 



LAWS OF WHIST 



IV. Should a player have fourteen 
cards, and either of the other three less 
than thirteen. 

V. Should the dealer, under an impres- 
sion that he has made a mistake, either 
count the cards on the table or the re- 
mainder of the pack. 

VI. Should the dealer deal two cards at 
once, or two cards to the same hand, and 
then deal a third; but if prior to dealing 
that third card the dealer can, by altering 
the position of one card only, rectify such 
error, he may do .so, except as provided 
by the second paragraph of this law. 

VII. Should the dealer omit to have the 
pack cut to him, and the adversaries dis- 
cover the error, prior to the trump card 
being turned up, and before looking at 
their cards, but not after having done 
so. 

45. A misdeal does not lose the 
deal if, during the dealing, either 
of the adversaries touch the cards 
prior to the dealer's partner having 
done so; but should the latter have 
first interfered with the cards, not- 
withstanding either or both of the 
adversaries have subsequently done 
the same, the deal is lost. 

46. Should three players have 
their right number of cards, the 
fourth have less than thirteen, and 
not discover such deficiency until 
he has played any of his cards, the 
deal stands good; should he have 
played, he is as answerable for any 
revoke he may have made as if the 
missing card, or cards, had been in 
his hand; he may search the other 
pack for it, or them. 

47. If a pack, during or after a 
rubber, be proved incorrect or im- 
perfect, such proof does not alter 
any past score, game, or rubber; 
that hand in which the imperfec- 
tion was detected is null and void ; 
the dealer deals again. 

48. Any one dealing out of turn, 
or with the adversary's cards, may 
be stopped before the trump card is 
turned up, after which the game 
must proceed as if no mistake had 
been made. 

49. A player can neither shujffle, 
cut, nor deal for his partner with- 



out the permission of his oppo- 
nents, 

50. If the adversaries interrupt a 
dealer while dealing, either by 
questioning the score or asserting 
that it is not his deal, and fail to 
establish such claim, should a mis- 
deal occur he may deal again. 

51. Should a player take his part- 
ner's deal, and misdeal, the latter 
is liable to the usual penalty, and 
the adversary next in rotation to 
the player who ought to have dealt 
then plays. 

The Trump Card. — 52. The deal- 
er, when it is his turn to play to the 
first trick, should take the trump 
card into his hand; if left on the 
table after the first trick be turned 
and quitted, it is liable to be called; 
his partner may at any time re- 
mind him of the liability. 

53. After the dealer has taken the 
trump card into his hand it cannot 
be asked for; a pla5^er naming it at 
any time during the play of that 
hand is liable to have his highest 
or lowest trump called. 

54. If the dealer take the trump 
card into his hand before it is his 
turn to play he may be desired to 
lay it on the table; should he show 
a wrong card, this card may be 
called, as also a second, a third, 
etc., until the trump card be pro- 
duced. 

55. If the dealer declare himself 
unable to recollect the trump card, 
his highest or lowest trump may be 
called at any time during that hand, 
and, unless it cause him to revoke, 
must be played; the call may be 
repeated, but not changed — i. e., 
from highest to lowest, or vice 
versa — until such card is played. 

Cards Liable to be Called. — 56. 
All exposed cards are liable to be 
called, and must be left on the 
table; but a card is not an exposed 
card when dropped on the floor, or 
elsewhere below the table. 



IvAWS OF WHIST 



241 



LAWS OF WHIST 



The following are exposed cards: 

I. Two or more cards played at once. 

II. Any card dropped with its face up- 
■wards, or in any way exposed on or above 
the table, even though snatched up so 
quickly that no one can name it. 

57. If any one play to an imper- 
fect trick the best card on the table, 
or lead one which is a winning 
card as against his adversaries, and 
then lead again, or play several 
such winning cards, one after the 
other, without waiting for his part- 
ner to play, the latter may be called 
on to win, if he can, the first or any 
other of those tricks, and the other 
cards thus improperly played are 
exposed cards. 

58. If a player, or players, under 
the impression that the game is 
lost, or won, or for other reasons, 
throw his or their cards on the table 
face upwards, such cards are ex- 
posed, and liable to be called, each 
player's by the adversary; but 
should one player alone retain his 
hand, he cannot be forced to aban- 
don it. 

59. If all four players throw their 
cards on the table face upwards, 
the hands are abandoned; and no 
one can again take up their cards. 
Should this general exhibition show 
that the game might have been 
saved, or won, neither claim can be 
entertained, unless a revoke be es- 
tablished. The revoking players 
are then liable to the following 
penalties: they cannot, under any 
circumstances, win the game by 
the result of that hand, and the ad- 
versaries may add three to their 
score, or deduct three from that of 
the revoking players. 

60. A card detached from the rest 
of the hand, so as to be named, is 
liable to be called; but should the 
adversary name a wrong card, he is 
liable to have a suit called when he 
or his partner have the lead. 

61. If a player, who has rendered 

16 



himself liable to have the highest 
or lowest of a suit called, fail to 
play as desired, or if when called 
on to lead one suit lead another, 
having in his hand one or more 
cards of that suit demanded, he 
incurs the penalty of a revoke. 

62. If any player lead out of turn, 
his adversaries may either call the 
card erroneously led, or may call a 
suit from him or his partner when 
it is the next turn of either of them 
to lead. 

63. If any player lead out of 
turn , and the other three have fol- 
lowed him, the trick is complete, 
and the error is rectified; but if 
only the second, or the second and 
third, have played to the false lead, 
their cards, on discovery of the mis- 
take, are taken back. There is no 
penalty against any one excepting 
the original offender, whose card 
may be called, or he, or his part- 
ner, when either of them has next 
the lead, may be compelled to play 
any suit demanded by the adversa- 
ries. 

64. In no case can a player be 
compelled to play a card which 
would oblige him to revoke. 

65. The call of a card may be re- 
peated until such card has been 
played. 

66. If a player called on to lead 
a suit have none of it, the penalty 
is paid. 

Cards Played in Error ^ or not 
Played to a Trick. — 67. If the third 
hand play before the second, the 
fourth hand may play before his 
partner. 

68. Should the third hand not 
have played, and the fourth play 
before his partner, the latter may 
be called on to win or not to win the 
trick. 

69. If any one omit playing to a 
former trick, and such error be not 
discovered until he has played to 
the next, the adversaries may claim 



LAWS OP WHIST 



242 



LAWS OF WHIST 



a new deal. Should they decide 
that the deal stand good, the sur- 
plus card at the end of the hand is 
considered to have been played to 
the imperfect trick, but does not 
constitute a revoke, 

70. If any one play two cards to 
the same trick, or mix his trump or 
other card with a trick to which it 
does not properly belong, and the 
mistake be not discovered until the 
hand is played out, he is answer- 
able for all consequent revokes he 
may have made. If during the play 
of the hand the error be detected, 
the tricks may be counted face 
downwards, in order to ascertain 
whether there be among them a 
card too many. Should this be the 
case, they may be searched and the 
card restored. The player is, how- 
ever, liable for all revokes he may 
meanwhile have made. 

The Revoke. — 71. Is when a 
player, holding one or more cards 
of the suit led, plays a card of a 
different suit. 

72. The penalty for a revoke: 

I. Is at the option of the adversaries, 
who, at the end of the hand, may either 
take three tricks from the revoking 
player, or deduct three points from his 
score, or add three to their own score; 

II. Can be claimed for as many revokes 
as occur during the hand; 

III. Is applicable only to the score of 
the game in which it occurs; 

IV. Cannot be divided — i. e., a player 
cannot add one or two to his own score 
and deduct one or two from the revoking 
player, 

V. Takes precedence of every other 
score: e. g., the claimants two, their op- 
ponents nothing, the former add three to 
their score, and thereby win a treble 
game, even should the latter have made 
thirteen tricks, and "held four honors. 

73. A revoke is established, if the 
trick in which it occur be turned 
and quitted' — i. e., the hand re- 
moved from that trick after it has 
been turned face downwards on the 
table; or if either the revoking 



player or his partner, whether in 
his right turn or otherwise, lead or 
play to the following trick. 

74. A player may ask his partner 
whether he has not a card of the 
suit which he has renounced; 
should the question be asked before 
the trick is turned and quitted, sub- 
sequent turning and quitting does 
not establish the revoke, and the 
error may be corrected, unless the 
question be answered in the nega- 
tive, or unless the revoking player 
or his partner have led or played 
to the following trick. 

75. At the end of the hand the 
claimants of a revoke may search 
all the tricks. 

76. If a player discover his mis- 
take in time to save a revoke, his 
adversaries, whenever they think 
fit, may call the card thus played in 
error, or may require him to play 
his highest or lowest card to that 
trick in which he has renounced; 
any player or players who have 
played after him may withdraw 
their cards and substitute others; 
the cards withdrawn are not liable 
to be called, 

77. If a revoke be claimed, and 
the accused player or his partner 
mix his cards before they have 
been sufficiently examined by the 
adversaries, the revoke is estab- 
lished. The mixing of the cards 
only renders the proof of a revoke 
difficult, but does not prevent the 
claim, and possible establishment, 
of the penalty. 

78. A revoke cannot be claimed 
after the cards have been cut for 
the following deal. 

79. The revoking player and his 
partner may, under all circum- 
stances, require the "hand in which 
the revoke has been detected to be 
played out. 

80. If a revoke occur, be claimed, 
and proved, bets on the odd trick, 
or on amount of score, must be 



LAWS OF WHIST 



243 



IwAWS OF WHIST 



decided by the actual state of the 
latter after the penalty is paid. 

81. Should the players on both 
sides subject themselves to the pen- 
alty of one or more revokes, neither 
can win the game; each is punished 
at the discretion of his adversary. 

82. In whatever way the penalty 
be enforced, under no circum- 
stances can a player win a game 
by the result of the hand during 
which he has revoked; he cannot 
score more than four. 

Calling for New Cards. — 83. Any 
player (on paying for them) before, 
but not after, the pack be cut for 
the deal, may call for fresh cards. 
He must call for two new packs, 
of which the dealer takes his 
choice. 

General Rules. — 84. Where a 
player and his partner have an 
option of exacting from their ad- 
versaries one of two penalties, they 
should agree who is to make the 
election, but must not consult with 
one another which of the two pen- 
alties it is advisable to exact; if 
they do so consult, they lose their 
right; and if either of them, with 
or vdthout consent of his partner, 
demand a penalty to which he is 
entitled, such decision is final. This 
rule does not apply in exacting the 
penalties for a revoke; partners have 
then a right to consult. 

85. Any one during the play of 
a trick, or after the four cards are 
played, and before, but not after, 
they are touched for the purpose 
of gathering them together, may 
demand that the cards be placed 
before their respective players. 

86. If any one, prior to his part- 
ner playing, should call attention 
to the trick, either by saying that 
it is his, or by naming his card, or, 
without being required so to do, by 
drawing it towards him, the adver- 
saries may require that opponent's 
partner to play the highest or low- 



est of the suit then led, or to win or 
lose the trick. 

87. In all cases where a penalty 
has been incurred, the offender is 
bound to give reasonable time for 
the decision of his adversaries. 

88. If a bystander make any re- 
mark which calls the attention of a 
player or players to an oversight 
affecting the score, he is liable to 
be called on, by the players only, 
to pay the stakes and all bets on 
that game or rubber. 

89. A bystander, by agreement 
among the players, may decide any 
question. 

90. A card or cards torn or 
marked must be either replaced by 
agreement, or new cards called at 
the expense of the table. 

91. Any player may demand to 
see the last trick turned, and no 
more. Under no circumstances 
can more than eight cards be seen 
during the play of the hand, viz., 
the four cards on the table which 
have not been turned and quitted, 
and the last trick turned. 

(The " Etiquette of Whist," and 
laws of " Dummy " and " Double- 
Dummy ' ' will be found under 
these heads.) 

The laws of whist, though very good in 
the principles on which they are based, 
are, it must be confessed, loosely worded. 
It is to be hoped that some day the draft- 
ing may be reconsidered. If this were 
done with the consent of the clubs that 
have adopted the laws (which one would 
think could be readily obtained), a boon 
would be conferred upon whist-players. — 
'^Cavendish'''' [L. A.\, "Card-Table'Talk," 
1880. 

These laws fulfill their purpose so far as 
promoting harmony and maintaining 
equity. But they are not well worded; 
their verbiage is excessive; and they do 
not everywhere follow in appropriate suc- 
cession. Some are merely club rules, and 
others might be dispensed with as self- 
evident and superfluous. In the event of 
future revision, some of the conditions of 
the game might be reconsidered, as fol- 
lows: (i) Four by honors to count only 
two points, and two by honors one point, 
towards the game. (2) No game to be 



LAWS OF WHIST 



244 



LAWS OF WHIST 



won by honors without the trick. (3) The 
penalty for a revoke to be exacted as fol- 
lows: {a) The revoking player to at once 
forfeit three points to each of his adver- 
saries, {b) The revoking side not to score 
game on the hand during the play of 
which the revoke occurred. (4) A trick, 
once "turned and quitted," not to be seen 
again during the play of the hand, except 
to prove a revoke.— Sz> William Cusack- 
Smiih [L. O.]. 

Laws of Whist — Proposed Re- 
vision. — Although all the leading 
Bnglish authorities on whist agree 
that the English code is defective, 
and should be revised, there does 
not seem to be any practical move- 
ment looking towards revision. 
The previous code, based on the 
Hoyle game, remained in force for 
over one hundred years, until the 
radical change in the game from 
long to short whist made it abso- 
lutely necessary. It may be that 
an event of similar importance in 
the evolution of the game will be 
necessary before the present code 
is changed. 

In America, the code adopted at 
Milwaukee, in 1891, was revised 
two years later, but since that time 
the American Whist League has 
become quite conservative, and al- 
though a committee on revision 
was appointed in 1896, it reported 
against any change in the code 
in 1897 (see, "American Whist 
League"), contenting itself with 
amending the laws of duplicate 
whist. This was disappointing to 
those who desire to see the code 
improved whenever necessity for it 
arises. Among the suggestions 
submitted to the committee, at the 
latter' s request, were the following 
from N. B. Trist, who has taken a 
prominent and active part in per- 
fecting the American code from 
the verj' beginning: 

Law 8. — After "place them," insert 
"properly collected and face down- 
wards." This is the wording of the Eng- 
lish law. I would not have suggested 



this addition were it not for the fact that 
the American laws for cutting and deal- 
ing go into still minuter details. 

Same I,aw 8. — Strike out the last sen- 
tence and substitute the following: " The 
dealer also has the right to shuffle." The 
English law allows every player to shuf- 
fle and the dealer to shuffle last. The 
wording of our law being almost the same 
as the English, has given rise to the claim 
— made in Whist, if I am not mistaken — 
that all the players had the right to shuf- 
fle. The proposed change would remove 
the ambiguity. 

Law 10. — I think "either" would be 
better than " each." 

Law 17, VI. — After " manner," insert 
"interferes with." This would perhaps 
give greater scope for the application of 
the law. 

Law 18. — After "called by," strike out 
"either adversary" and insert "his 
right-hand adversary at any time during 
the play of that hand, before he plays to 
any current trick, or before the trick is 
turned and quitted, in case the offender 
gets the lead. The call may be repeated 
until the card is played, but it cannot be 
changed." As our law stands, it is a dead 
letter, as nobody can tell when the pen- 
alty is to be exacted. Some hold that it 
must be done immediately, and others 
that there must be a trump lead on which 
to exercise the right. The person who 
is to exact the penalty, and the restriction 
as to time, are provisions on the same 
lines as those regarding exposed cards 
and leading out of turn — as hereinafter. 

Law 20. — Strike out "by either adver- 
sary." 

Same Law, I. — Add " or any unseen 
cards of a hand faced upon the table." 
This is to cover the much-discussed and, 
to my mind, absurd English decision, 
that if a hand is placed face upwards on 
the table the whole thirteen cards can be 
called, although only the top one can be 
seen. (See Whist, August, 1895.) 

Same Law, V. — Add " but not the trump 
card which has been named by the deal- 
er." Otherwise, it could be treated as an 
exposed card, which would not do — as a 
penalty is provided for naming the trump 
card. 

Law 23. — Re-enacted as under: " Only 
the right-hand adversary can call an ex- 
posed card; if he plays without calling it, 
the player having the exposed card may 
play as he pleases. Should the latter get 
the lead, the exposed card can only be 
called before the trick is turned and 
quitted." This is an attempt to get over 
the difficulty of a player having to wait 
the pleasure of the adversaries about 
calling or not calling. 

Law 24. — After " lawfully called," insert 
" and who will lose his privilege to call a | 
suit, unless he gives notice of his inten- 



LAWS OF WHIST 



245 



LAWS OP WHIST 



tion to do so before the trick is turned 
and quitted." Same remarks as above 
apply. 

I,aw 28. — Add a third paragraph as 
under: " A player, however, may ask his 
adversaries if they have any of the suit 
renounced; but the question establishes 
the revoke if it happens that it is his 
partner who has renounced in error." 
(See pyhrsi, August, 1S95.) 

Law 30. — Instead of present penalty 
substitute: " The penalty for revoking is 
the adding of two points to the score of 
the adversaries." For reasons given at 
length in August JVhist, 1S95, I consider 
the present penalty a bungling affair, and 
in many cases totally inadequate as a 
punishment for a revoke. The change 
would be, in my opinion, a great im- 
provement in the law. 

Law 39. — After "is final," insert "if a 
player reminds his partner to enforce a 
penalty, or if the wrong adversary," etc. 

New paragraph, same law. "A player, 
however, has the right to prevent his 
partner from committing any irregular- 
ity, excepting renouncing in error." 
These changes and additions to settle 
two much-disputed questions. (See JVhist, 
August, 1894, p. 48; October, 1894, p. 77; 
December, 1894, p. 123; January, 1895, p. 
145- ) 

General A. W. Drayson, of South- 
sea, England, some of whose pre- 
vious suggestions had been incor- 
porated in the original American 
code, also responded to the request 
of the committee. His suggestions 
were as follows: 

I. As the value of the game is deter- 
mined by deducting the losers' score from 
seven (Law i), the penalty for a revoke 
may be nil. For example, north and 
south are at the score of five, east and 
west at six. North and south win two by 
cards and game; east and west have re- 
voked. By Rule 30, two tricks can be 
transferred from east and west to north 
and south, but this makes no difference 
in the value of the game, as north and 
south were game without the aid of the 
revoke. Hence no penalty can be in- 
flicted on east and west for "their revoke. 

It seems to me that the following slight 
alteration in Law 30 would meet such a 
case: "30. The penalty for revoking is 
the transfer of two tricks from the revok- 
ing side to their adversaries, or deducting 
two from the score of the revoking play- 
ers" etc. 

By Law 20, Section i, " Kvery card faced 
upon the table otherwise thanin the regu- 
lar course of play (can be called)." If a 



player, therefore, place his cards face up- 
wards on the table, the whole of his cards 
can be called, though he only expose the 
top card. This is the English law, and it 
is most unjust to inflict so severe a pen- 
alty for such an offense. 

I venture to suggest the following as a 
remedy for this injustice: If a player 
place his cards face upwards on the table, 
the card or cards exposed can be called, and 
in addition one extra card for each card 
exposed, the extra card being that imjnedi- 
ately below the exposed card or cards. 

By Law II, English Code, "If an erro- 
neous score be proved, such mistake can 
be corrected prior to the conclusion of the 
game in which it occurred, and such 
game is not concluded until the trump 
card of the following deal has been turned 
up." I cannot find in the American laws 
any reference as to when an erroneous 
score can or cannot be corrected. It 
might be as well to insert such a law. In 
the event of such a law being introduced, 
say that after the game is finished the 
score cannot be corrected, and more than 
one game is to be played by the same 
partners, we might encounter this diffi- 
culty: Suppose north and south, at the 
score of four, win two by cards, but by 
mistake count three, and hence game. 
North commences to deal for the second 
game, but east then remembers that 
north and south won only two by cards, 
and are not game. He stops north in the 
deal and points out the error in the score, 
which north and south admit, and ex- 
press regret. North continues dealing, 
but misdeals. North claims Law 17, Sec- 
tion 6, that he must deal again, as he was 
interrupted during his deal. 

Might it not be w^ell to embody Law 50, 
English Code, in Law 17, Section 6, 
American Code? viz.: " If the adversa- 
ries interrupt a dealer whilst dealing, 
either by questioning the score or assert- 
ing that it is not his deal, and fail to es- 
tablish such claim, should a misdeal 
occur, he may deal again." 

I venture to offer these few suggestions, 
as I believe cases must occur where their 
application may be of benefit, and having 
found that suggestions I made in 1879 
were adopted by the framers of American 
whist laws eleven years afterwards, I 
trust that my remarks may not be con- 
sidered presumptuous. 

The action of the seventh con- 
gress reserves for a future congress 
the credit of acting upon the above 
suggestions. The members of that 
congress seem to have been swayed 
by such logic as this: "A bad law 
that is unchangeable is better than 



LEAD, THE 



246 



I^EAD, THE 



an uncertain good one, and in our 
opinion, the damage that would 
result from continuous changes in 
the laws would largely outweigh 
any advantage that might be de- 
rived therefrom." {Whist, July 9, 
1897 .) This is, indeed, conservatism 
run mad. The Medes and Persians 
at least claimed that their laws 
were good before making them un- 
alterable. As N. B. Trist says, in a 
letter received from him under date 
of August 23, 1897: "This kind of 
ultra conservatism would act as a 
perpetual bar to any improvements 
m our code. I believe the code 
should be amended whenever it can 
be improved, but that this should 
be done only after due care and 
deliberation. * * * It looks, too, 
as if the congress had taken a 
somewhat anomalous position 
when it assumes the code of laws 
to be too perfect to be amended, 
and then suggests a virtual abroga- 
tion of some of the laws (an ac- 
knowledgment of deficiencies in 
the code) by recommending that 
whist-players should ' apply to 
straight whist such of the special 
laws of duplicate whist as are ap- 
plicable, and thus the alleged 
defects and deficiencies of the 
present code will be avoided.' " 

Lead, The. — The first card played 
of any round or trick. The origi- 
nal lead is the lead with which the 
player on the dealer's left (the eld- 
est hand) begins the game; also, 
the lead with which any other 
player opens his hand. The uses 
of the lead are manifold; in fact, 
the lead is the most important fac- 
tor in whist play. By its means we 
draw the adverse trumps, establish 
our best suit, or that of partner; 
enable partner to make his small 
trumps; force the adversaries' 
strong trumps; bring in our estab- 
lished suit; and do many other 



things, such as answer signals, 
throw the lead, give partner a 
chance to finesse, etc. 

The lead in trumps differs in this 
important respect from the lead in 
plain suits: it involves no danger 
that high cards will be lost if kept 
back. With trumps it is, therefore, 
often advantageous to play a wait- 
ing game and win the last round, 
thus retaining the lead and making 
it possible to bring in your long 
suit, especially if you are without a 
card of re-entry in another suit. 

Original or opening leads have 
an important influence on each 
hand played. They are always 
made in accordance with some 
recognized system or code whereby 
impoitant information is conveyed 
to partner, especially when taken 
in connection with the card played 
on the second round. (See, "Amer- 
ican Leads," "Old Leads," and 
"Short-Suit Leads.") 

The best leads are from sequences of 
three cards or more. If you have none , 
lead from your most numerous suit, if 
strong in trumps. — Thomas Mathews [L. 
O.J. 

Never lead a card without a reason, 
though a wrong one. Be particularly 
cautious not to deceive your partner in 
his or your own leads. — Thomas Mathews 
IL.O.-]. 

Though with good players, the lead 
nearly counterbalances the advantages 
of the deal, with bad ones it is of little or 
no advantage; of course it increases that 
of the dealer. — Thomas Mathews [L. O.]. 

No player should lead until the preced- 
ing trick is turned and quitted. No 
player should, after having led a winning 
card, draw a card from his hand for 
another lead until his partner has played 
to the current trick. — Etiquette of Whist 
{^American Code). 

The writer once had the pleasure of | 
playing with "Cavendish." After the 
game he said : " Mr. Jones, I notice you 
only follow your book in the opening 
leads." He replied: "Certainly. The 
book is only intended to guide the player 
in the opening leads. As the game pro- 
gresses he must be guided by the fall of 
the cards, experience, and common 
sense,"— iVeze/ York Times, j8g6. 



LEADER 



247 LEADING OUT OF TURN 



The card to lead is the one that will at 
once aiford the most information, and at 
the same time be in harmony with the 
general order. This brings the whole 
scheme of leading- within the scope of 
general principles, and makes it practi- 
cable to prepare a table of leads that will 
harmonize and be applicable to all but 
exceptional hands. It follows that if 
partners adopt the same system, they at 
once begin to count the hands, and are 
thus enabled to combine their forces and 
really play a partnership game. — C. D. P. 
Hamilton \L. Ai\y "^Modern Scientific 
Whist:' 

Leader. — The player wlio leads 
or plays the first card in any round 
or trick; the one who leads a suit 
and causes the rest of the players 
to play to it. The original leader 
in opening a hand is the eldest 
hand. 

Leading out of Turn. — A mis- 
play, in whist, which consists in a 
player placing on the table a card 
of a suit which he desires played, 
when the right to do so belongs to 
another. To lead when you ought 
to follow, is to lead out of turn. 
The penalty for leading out of turn 
is that a suit may be called, under 
the American laws; the card led, or 
a suit, may be called under the 
English code. 

The question, Has a player the 
right to prevent his partner from 
leading out of turn? is one upon 
which there is a great diver- 
sity of opinion in America. Un- 
der the English code, which, for 
example, permits a player to ask his 
partner whether he has any of a 
suit which he renounces (thereby 
often preventing a revoke), com- 
munication with partner concern- 
ing his play is more freely permitted 
than under the American laws, 
which tend more in the direction 
of making each player directly re- 
sponsible for his own acts. While 
they do not expressly, or under 
penalty, prohibit a player fi-om in- 
terfering with a-n erroneous lead on 



the part of his partner, neither do 
they expressly allow it. The ques- 
tion would, therefore, seem to be 
one where the etiquette of whist 
might with profit be consulted, 
and this says: "No conversation 
should be indulged in during the 
play, except such as is allowed by 
the laws of the game. ' ' 

' ' But, ' ' say those who claim the 
right to prompt partner in the 
emergency in question, "it is not 
necessary to employ conversation to 
prevent partner from leading out of 
turn. It can be done by a gesture, 
a groan, or other mark of disap- 
proval." In answer to this, how- 
ever, we may quote further from 
the etiquette of whist, which says: 
" No player should, in any manner 
whatsoever, give any intimation as 
to the state of his hand or of the 
game, or of approval or disapproval 
of a play.''' A lead ottt of turn is 
certainly a play, although a wrong 
one. 

While it seems to us clear, there- 
fore, that the American code favors 
the idea of individual responsi- 
bility (thereby inculcating caution 
and better play), yet in the absence 
of an express prohibition, under 
penalty, the whole matter must be 
left to the good judgment of the 
table, the same as many other 
questions of etiquette or of usage. 

I contend that a player has a perfect 
right to prevent his partner from com- 
mitting any irregularity whatever, such 
as dealing, leading, or plaving out of turn. 
—TV. B. Trist [L. A.], Whist, Deconber, 
1894. 

A player who sees, or thinks he sees, 
that his partner is about to mislead, or to 
lead out of turn, or to commit any irreg- 
ularity, has a perfect right to mention the 
fact, and to try to prevent the commissioa 
of the irregularity. — "Cavendish" [L. A.'], 
London Field. 

By the English code, two penalties may 
be enforced [for leading out of turn], viz., 
calling the card or calling a lead, and 
either adversary may elect to enact this 
penalty. By the American code, a lead 



LEADING OUT OF TURN 248 LBADS, SYSTEMS OF 



can only be called, and only one adver- 
sary can enact the penalty. This is cer- 
tainly a reduction of the punishment for 
careless play. — A. W. Drayson [Z,+.4+], 
" Whist Laws and Whist Decisions.'" 

I agree with Mr. Trist that one has a 
right to prevent his partner from com- 
mitting an irregularity — such as dealing 
out of turn, shuffling, or cutting — or any 
irregularity that might occur before the 
trump is turned; after that the game be- 
comes one of silence and play. We take 
our partner as one who knows how, and 
can control his own action; he should 
have the same confidence in us, and I 
look upon our new rules as particularly 
conducive to careful play. — George H. Fish 
\L. A.'\, Whist, January , iSg^. 

It is right on this principle that the 
English and American codes differ, the 
former holding that a player may protect 
the interests of his side by a reminder to 
partner in some cases; as, when a suit is 
renounced, to ask if no more of the suit 
is held, in order to guard against a re- 
voke; while the latter is regulated by the 
principle that a player must rely wholly 
on his own intelligence and attention, 
and that if he falls into any fault, it is 
only justice for the partnership to suffer 
the penalty. — Cassius M. Paine [L. A.], 
Whist, October, i8<)4. 

If any player leads out of turn, a suit 
may be called from him or his partner 
the first time it is the turn of either of 
them to lead. The penalty can be en- 
forced only by the adversary on the right 
of the player from whom a suit can law- 
fully be called. If a player, so called on 
to lead a suit, has none of it, or if all have 
played to the false lead, no penalty can 
be enforced. If all have not played to the 
trick, the cards erroneously played to such 
false lead are not liable to be called, and 
must be taken back. — Laws of Whist 
{^American Code), Section 24. 

If my partner (not having thirteen 
trumps in his hand} trumps my ace led, 
I clearly have no right to order him to 
take back his trump and put something 
else in place of it. Why? Because the 
blunder was his own fault, and I took him 
as a partner for better or for worse. So, 
if he neglects to win a trick fourth hand 
when he ought to, I have no right to sus- 
pend the play until I can persuade him 
to do so. Why ? Because, as before, 
* * * I must suffer while the opponents 
profit by his foolishness. Now, if he 
doesn't avoid leading out of turn, * * * I 
ought not to be allowed to save the game 
or help our score by playing his hand for 
him, as I do in a sense when I stop him 
from leading. * * * So long as the lead at 
the wrong time is strictly the partner's 



own fault, the firm of which he is a mem- 
ber ought to suffer the consequences. — M, 
L. Countryman, Whist, January, i8gs- 

If any player lead out of turn, his ad- 
versaries may either call the card erro- 
neously led or may call a suit from him or 
his partner, when it is the next turn of 
either of them to lead. 

If any player lead out of turn, and the 
other three have followed him, the trick 
is complete and the error is rectified; but 
if only the second, or the second and 
third," have pla3'ed to the false lead, their 
cards, on discovery of the mistake, are 
taken back. There is no penalty against 
any one excepting the original offender, 
whose card may be called, or he, or his 
partner, when either of them next has 
the lead, may be compelled to play any 
suit demanded by the adversaries. 

In no case can a player be compelled to 
play a card which would oblige him to 
revoke. 

The call of a card maybe repeated until 
such card has been played. 

If a player called on to lead a suit have 
none of it, the penalty is paid. — Laws of 
Whist {English Code), Sections 62-66. 

Leading Through. — Leading a 
suit in which your left-hand oppo- 
nent is strong. 

Many players seem to think that the 
excellent general rule, lead through 
strength (that is, lead a suit in which 
your left-hand adversary has high cards), 
IS a rule to be universally followed when 
you have no good suit of your own, and 
do not know what is your partner's best 
suit. But if your left-hand adversary 
leads from a suit both strong and long, 
and you, making first trick, lead through 
him in that suit, you are simply playing 
his game.—/?. A . Proctor \L. O.I . 

Leading Up To- — Leading a suit 
in which your right-hand opponent 
is weak — a play usually made 
when you have no good suit of 
your own, and it is inadvisable to 
return your partner's suit. 

Leads, American. — See, "Amer- 
ican Leads." 



Leads, Systems of. — The parent, 
or English, system of leading, 
known as the old leads {q. v?), 
was developed in the early history 
of whist, in the time of Hoyle and 



LEADS, SYSTEMS OF 249 LEWIS, FREDERIC H. 



his immediate successors. The old 
leads enable the player to accu- 
rately indicate the high cards in his 
hand, number in suit being a sec- 
ondary consideration. The next 
great system of leads is known as 
American leads {q. v.), by means 
of which number, as well as the 
character of the cards held, is accu- 
rately indicated. The sj^stem known 
as Hamilton leads [q. v.) is exactly 
the same as the American leads, 
with the exception of certain 
changes made in the leads from 
king and queen. lu fact, it is 
American leads with modifications. 
Then we have also the Howell 
game [q. v.), the common-sense 
game {q. v.), and other variations, 
whose chief peculiarity is the open- 
ing lead from short suits in prefer- 
ence to long suits, unless the latter 
are overwhelmingly favorable. 

The conclusion which the writer has 
reached upon the question of leads is that, 
for players of moderate ability, the sys- 
tem of the old leads is the best, "because it 
is the most simple. To such a player the 
intricacies of the system of American 
leads are most confusing, and often, in 
trying to determine some subtle question 
of how to show the number of cards in a 
suit, some point of play of far greater 
practical value is overlooked. It is only 
the expert who is able to benefit by the 
information to be given by American 
leads, and for two moderate players to 
use that system is therefore foolish when 
playing against opponents of their own 
calibre, and especially silly when matched 
against their superiors. The trump-show- 
ing leads give very important information, 
but it is of such a character that if the ad- 
versaries are of the class able to use it to 
the best advantage, they may make it in 
the long run redound to their benefit. If 
the adversaries have not the calibre to 
u.se the information, then the leader and 
his partner can adopt no system which 
will net them more tricks. The choice as 
between American leads and the old 
leads, with the optional trump-showing 
addition, was at least debatable until the 
Hamilton modification removed from 
American leads their most serious draw- 
back. Now, when Greek meets Greek, it 
would seem that the best method of at- 
tack is the Hamilton modification of 
American leads. — Milton C. Work \L. A. 
H.I, " IVhisi of To-day." 



Levick, Mrs. Mary D'invilliers. 

— A well-known whist advocate 
and player. She resides in Phila- 
delphia, where she has taken an 
active part in every movement for 
the advancement of the game. As 
a writer, she is chiefly known by 
her " Whist Catechism," in which 
she arranged and gave, in concise 
form, the fundamental principles 
which have stood the test of a cen- 
tury, together with American leads 
and some of the innovations 
adopted by whist experts. 

Lewis, Frederic H. — An Eng- 
lish whist expert and writer on the 
game, chiefly and justly famous for 
the 145 double-dummy problems 
which he invented and contributed 
to the Westminster Papers. He 
was also a fine chess-player, having 
once succeeded in drawing a game 
with Paul Morphy. Mr. Lewis was 
a solicitor by profession, having 
been admitted to the bar of the Inner 
Temple, London, in 1856. Charles 
Mossop, in the last number of the 
IVestminster Papers, April i, 1879, 
pays this tribute to his work: " The 
highest feature of the paper has 
been the production, month after 
month, of a double-dummy prob- 
lem by Mr. F. H. Lewis. This 
field is un worked, but for beauty 
and ingenuity I do not think these 
problems will ever be surpassed. 
* * * If we have done nothing 
else for the world, we have been 
instrumental in inducing Mr. Lewis 
to compose these problems, and 
they will henceforth represent the 
highest ideal whist extant." 

As an example of Mr. Lewis's 
powers in this direction, we will 
quote the following problem, which 
is one of his very best, if not his 
best. As good a player and analyst 
as J. H. Briggs pronounces it the 
best and most difficult that has ever 
come under his notice: 



LEWIS, FREDERIC H. 250 

Thb Hands. 

^ Q, 8, 7, 6. 
4^ K, J, 8, 6. 
A, 9, 8. 
♦ 4. 3- 



' LIEUT. -COLONEIv B." 







N. 






^ 10, 4, 2. 

♦ 10. 9, 5. 2. 
OK.Q. 

# A, 10, 6, 5. 


W. 


S. 


E. 


^ K, 9, 5, 3 

* Q, 7. 3- 
7, 6, 5- 

♦ J, 8, 2. 



*A, 4. 

J. 10. 4, 3. 2. 

♦ K, Q, 9, 7. 



Hearts are trumps; south leads. 

North and south to take nine tricks, 
east and west playing their best to pre- 
vent them. 

All the cards are exposed, and each 
player takes full advantage of their ob- 
served location. 

The following solution will be 
found interesting and instructive, 
although in this, as well as all 
other problems given in this book, 
students of the game should first 
exhaust their own ingenuity before 
reading the answer. South leads, 
as stated; the underscored card 
takes the trick, and the one under 
it is led next: 





North. 


East. 


South. 


West. 


1 

2 
3 
4. 
5 
6 
7 


3 « 

AO 


2 4k 

5 
8 ♦ 
J ♦ 

^ 3 

^ 5 

^ 9 


K* 


5 « 

QO 


2 
9 « 
7 ♦ 
^ J 


4. « 

c:? 6 


A« 
^ 2 

c? 4. 

6 ♦ 




l> CO CO 


^ A 


Q* 





East and west can now make 
only the king of hearts and king 
of diamonds. 

If east refuses to trump at trick 
7, south leads a diamond; west 
makes the king of diamonds and 
east the king and nine of hearts. 

Score: North and south, 9; east 
and west, 4. 

This solution, together with an 
exhaustive analysis (including five 
variations of the solution), will be 
found in Whist for September, 1893. 
Although the problem was before 
the whist-players of America sev- 
eral months, but two correct an- 
swers were received, one from Mr. 
Briggs, the other from Perry Trum- 
bull, of Chicago. John Hopley, of 
Bucyrus, Ohio, subsequently showed 
how north and south can win by 
the lead of any suit except clubs. 

'* Lieutenant-Colonel B."— A 

pseudonym under which a little 
volume appeared in London in 
1856, entitled "The Whist-Player: 
The Laws and Practice of Short 
Whist Explained and Illustrated, 
by Lieutenant-Colonel B****." A 



LITTlvB SLAM, THE 



251 " LITTLE WHIST SCHOOL " 



second edition appeared in 1858, 
dedicated to the Army and Navy 
Club. From the initial and aster- 
isks it was generally believed that 
the book was written by Colonel A. 
F. Blyth, but Courtney, in his 
"English Whist and Whist-Play- 
ers," states that the real author is 
said to have been Henry Charles 
Bunbury. " Cavendish" has a very- 
poor opinion of the author's abili- 
ties, whoever he was or is, based 
on the quality of his work. 

Little Slam, The. — Twelve tricks 
taken by a player and his partner 
in any one hand; a phrase em- 
ployed in "bridge" and other so- 
called varieties of whist. 

«• Little Whist School, The,"— 

A name applied to a coterie of Eng- 
lish whist enthusiasts who met and 
studied the game something after 
the manner of Lord Folkestone 
and his associates, with a view to 
improvement and mutual benefit. 
The influence of the " Little 
School," like that of the players at 
the Crown Coffee-House, a century 
earlier, was destined to make a 
lasting impression upon whist. 
The players composing it all de- 
serve to be remembered for their 
services in reducing to systematic 
form the many improvements made 
by expert players since the days of 
Hoyle, Payne, and Mathews. 

About 1850, we are told by Pole, 
a knot of young men at Cambridge, 
of considerable ability, who had at 
first taken up whist for amuse- 
ment, found it to ofler such a field 
for intellectual study, that they 
continued its practice systemati- 
cally with a view to its more com- 
plete scientific investigation. 
Among them was Daniel Jones, 
brother of "Cavendish," but the 
latter himself was not at that time 
one of the party, being then a stu- 
dent at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. 



Later on, about the year 1854, after 
the members of the original coterie 
had taken their degrees, ' ' Caven- 
dish" began to meet with them in 
London. The regular players were 
Edward Wilson, J. P., W. Dundas 
Gardiner, Daniel Jones, and Henry 
Jones, who had not yet assumed 
his famous pseudonym. While 
others joined in the play at times, 
these four formed the backbone of 
the "Little School." When they 
met it was their custom to play 
every hand through to the end for 
the sake of information and the 
purpose of making calculations on 
the results. They wrote down the 
particulars of all interesting hands, 
and fully discussed them among 
themselves. They also had constant 
access to the principal members of 
the Portland Club, and difficult 
points were usually written out and 
submitted to James Clay, M. P., a 
member of the club, and one of the 
foremost whist-players of his day 
and generation. All the information 
acquired by the school was care- 
fully recorded and tabulated, but 
without any thought at the time of 
publishing it. About i860 the 
members ceased to meet, but the 
records were fortunately preserved 
by Mr. Jones, still without any 
thought of making a wider use of 
them. Dr. Pole, having occasion 
to write an article for Macmillan'' s 
Magazine on ' ' Games of Cards 
for the Coming Winter," published 
in its number for December, 1861, 
added the following note: "It 
would be a great boon if some good 
authority would publish a set of 
model games at whist, with explan- 
atory remarks, such as are found so 
useful in chess, for example. " This, 
attracting Mr. Jones's attention, led 
to a correspondence between him 
and Dr. Pole, and to the publication 
of the "Principles of Whist, " " il- 
lustrated on an original system by 



LIVING HAND 



252 



LONG SUIT 



tneaus of hands played completely- 
through. ' ' The whist world was as 
ready and eager for the new whist 
dispensation as it had been for the 
old testament of Hoyle, and the 
"Little Whist School" was not 
only the source from which it 
sprang, but the institution from 
which was graduated the greatest 
master of whist since Hoyle. 

The "Little School" was first so chris- 
tened by a writer in the Quarterly 
Review of January, 1871. Then a storm 
arose. The late Abraham Haywood 
wrote to the Morning Post to say that 
none of the most celebrated playei-s 
of the day were aware of the exist- 
ence of this school. That was not sur- 
prising, considering that the players 
named had no idea that they formed a 
school until after the publication of the 
Quarterly, when they "awoke and found 
themselves famous." Haywood added, 
in the Post, "Did these young men origi- 
nate, or elaborate, or compass anything, 
or did they merely arrange what was well 
known and procurable before?" To this 
" Cavendish" replied: " What I claim for 
the Little School is that in one book we 
gave, for the first time, the reasoning on 
which the principles of whist play are 
based, logically and completely." It does 
not appear that the "Little School" 
originated any alterations worthy of 
record. These came later on. — N. B. 
Trist [Z. AJ], Harper's Magazine, March, 
1891. 

Living Hand. — In dummy whist, 
a hand other than dummy's. In 
French dummy, vivant, or the liv- 
ing hand, is more particularly the 
player who is dummy's partner. 

*' Living Whist." — An elaborate 
form of stage performance that has 
become popular of late years. It 
is also called " Spielkartenfest, " or 
festival of the playing cards. It is 
said that Mrs. George B. McLaugh- 
lin, of Philadelphia, noted its suc- 
cess abroad, and introduced it to 
society in the Quaker City in 1891. 
Next it was transported to Portland, 
Me., and then it spread to other 
cities. The amusement seems to 
have been suggested by living chess, 
which was very popular as early as 



1879. In that year, among other 
contests, one came off in the Acad- 
emy of Music, New York, in which 
Captain Mackenzie and Eugene 
Delmar manipulated the living 
chessmen. 

In "living whist," as we have 
seen it played, the curtain rises, 
and a garden _/^^^ is seen in progress 
at the royal palace. One of the 
guests proposes that a game of 
whist be played, in which the offi- 
cers and court ladies shall act the 
part of hearts, clubs, diamonds, and 
spades, each being appropriately 
costumed. The suggestion is greeted 
with applause, and when the cur- 
tain rises again a tableau is pre- 
sented of the entire complement of 
fifty-two cards. Then comes the 
game, and the cards are duly shuf- 
fled and dealt (by marching and 
countermarching), after which they 
are played by four expert whist- 
players. Each of these players has 
a page or attendant to bring the 
living cards out as they are desired. 

" Musical Whist, with Living 
Cards, "by " Cavendish," was writ- 
ten for the centenary celebration 
of the Masonic Female Orphan 
School of Ireland, and played at a 
grand bazar in aid of this noble 
charity at Dublin, in May, 1892. 
It illustrates some of the most fa- 
mous card hands of the past 
century. 

Long Cards. — The cards of a suit 
remaining in one hand after all the 
other cards of the same suit are 
out. 

Long Suit. — A suit containing 
originally four or more cards. The 
long suit is held to be the best me- 
dium for the play of the partner- 
ship game, and, with the latter, 
forms the basis of modern scien- 
tific whist, as taught by Pole, " Cav- 
endish," and the American school. 



J 



"LONG SUITER" 



253 LONG-SUIT GAME, THE 



The long suit is that of which you held 
originally more than three cards. The 
term, therefore, indicates strength in 
numbers. — '■'Portland'''' [L. O.], "The 
IVhist Table." 

He [Hoyle] also explained how tricks 
might be made by a number of small 
cards of a long suit, so entailing the ex- 
clusion of tricks in other good suits 
held by the adversaries. — William Pole 
\L. A+], "The Evolution of IVhist.^' 

Long suits may be divided into three 
classes: (i) Those which are very poorly 
adapted for the purpose of an original 
opening, viz., four-card suits without a 
face card. (2) Those which, as a rule, can 
be utilized more advantageously if not 
originally opened, viz., ace, queen, and 
two others, one of which is not the jack; 
king, queen, and two small; king, jack, 
and two small; queen and three others 
smaller than jack; jack and three others. 
(3) Those which should always be opened 
originally in preference to a short suit, 
viz., any other long suit. — Milton C. 
IVork [L. A. I/.]," IV/iist of To-day." 

We will suppose that it [the leader's 
hand] contains only one, two or three 
trumps. It will follow that among the 
other or " plain " suits there will be at 
least one of four or five or more cards. 
Such a suit is called a long suit, from its 
containing more than the average num- 
ber of cards, and it has an inherent capa- 
bility; of trick-taking which is very 
striking and important. To illustrate 
this, let us take an easy example: Sup- 
pose I hold ace, king, and five small 
hearts, each other player having two. If 
I get the lead, and trumps are out, I can 
draw my adversaries' hearts with my ace 
and king, and then all my five others, 
however small they are, will make tricks. 
Or, suppose I hold the knave and six 
small hearts, and suppose I have led 
small ones twice, which have brought 
out the ace, king, and queen, leaving, 
say, the ten in an adversary's hand. My 
long suit is then said to be " established," 
and if I can get the lead I can bring it in 
and may make tricks, not only with the 
knave, but with the three small ones 
remaining. It is easy to see from this 
what a great power a long suit may 
become; and although the cases cited are 
peculiarly favorable, the principle is the 
same in all. With even the least favor- 
able case possible, namely, four small 
cards, one will not unfrequently make a 
trick by reason of the "long-suit" capa- 
bility.— H^zV/iaw Pole \L. ^+], "Philoso- 
phy of Whist.'''' 

'• Long Suiter." — A player who 
leads from long suits; one who plays 
the long-suit game. 



Long-Suit Game, Tlie. — The 

game based upon the original lead 
from the long, or longest, suit. To 
establish and bring in such suit, 
taking tricks with the small cards 
when the adverse trumps have been 
extracted, and the lead retained or 
regained, is considered the height 
of scientific play. From the ear- 
liest times this has been looked 
upon as ideal whist, and the strong- 
est opponents of the system admit 
its beauty when the long suit is 
successfully brought in. The mod- 
ern tendency has been to make whist 
more and more a partnership game, 
and Dr. Pole, in his philosophical 
treatises, demonstrates that the long 
suit is the most perfect means 
whereby partnership play may be 
effected, and the two hands practi- 
cally utilized as one. The success 
of the long-suit game depends very 
largely upon a perfect understand- 
ing between the partners, and for 
this reason it is very necessary that 
they should have legitimate means 
for communicating, and reading and 
understanding each other's play. 
In this direction the greatest ser- 
vices have been rendered the long- 
suit game by " Cavendish" and 
Trist, who devised the most perfect 
language that cards have ever been 
made to speak while being played. 

While the long-suit game consists 
in leading from and bringing in the 
long suit, its strongest advocates 
admit that hands may be held from 
which it is advisable to lead from 
a short suit instead of the long. 
Provision for such exceptional play 
is made by means of what are 
called forced leads (q. v.). Some 
players employ these more largely 
than others. The short-suit play- 
ers use them so largely that they 
become the rule, and the leads from 
the long suit the exception. 

The following illustrative hand is 
given in Pole's ' ' Theory of Whist, ' ' 



LONG-SUIT GAME, THE 254 LONG-SUIT GAME, THE 



and shows ' ' how singularly, under 
extreme circumstances, the bring- 
ing in of a long suit may annihilate 
the most magnificent cards. The 
hand is a very remarkable whist 
curiosity." This is the same hand, 
with the suits transposed, which is 
widely known as the " Duke of 
Cumberland's famous hand" {g.v.). 
A and B are partners against Y and 
Z. The former hold all the honors 
in every plain suit and two honors 
in trumps, and yet do not make a 
single trick. Z dealt and turned 
the two of hearts. The underlined 
card wins the trick, and the card 
under it is the next one led: 



1 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


C? 7 
K4b 

(? 9 
A 4b 

^ J 

9? K 

« J 

*Q 
QO 
KO 
AO 

4 K 

* A 


^ 8 


* 6 

J 4b 

* 7 
Q4b 

* 8 
60 
7 
80 
90 
100 
J 

* 9 

*io 


^ 2 
'y 3 


2 4b 

c:?io 


<;? 4 

^ 5 


3 4b 

C? Q 


C? 6 

2 

3 

* 2 

* 3 

* 4 

* 5 
40 
50 


^ A 


]0 4b 


9 4b 


8 4b 


7 4> 


6* 


5 4b 


4 4b 





Score: A-B, o; Y-Z, 13. 

Per contra, R. P. Poster, the 
most determined opponent of the 
long-suit game in existence, gives 
the following illustrative hand in 
his " Whist Strategy" (1894), as an 
example illustrating the weakness 
of the long-suit game and the 
potency of leads from short suits. 
The king of hearts is turned. In 
the long-suit play of the hand, A 
leads as follows: 



to 


•a 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


2 4b 

30 
5 « 

7 

QO 


S 4b 

20 
7 4b 
40 
5 
9 « 

^ 10 

* J 


10 4b 

AO 
J ♦ 
6 
♦ 3 

4 4b 
CJ' A 


Q4b 

100 
A 4b 


KO 


90 
6 « 

* 5 

♦ 8 
^ 4 
^ 9 


K « 


8 4b 
* 9 
^ 3 
<^ 5 
<^ 6 

8 
4I.10 


*4 
^ 2 
^ 8 
V Q 

* 7 

* K 


^ J 


^ 7 

* 2 
4 6 

♦ Q 


C? K 


J 


♦ A 





Score: A-B, 4; Y-Z, 9. 

In the short-suit play of the hand, 
A leads as follows: 



to 

1- 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


♦ 10 

QO 


* 2 

2 

* J 

3 4b 

40 
7 4» 
9 4b 
5 

* 6 

^\o 
*Q 

^ 7 
^ J 


*4 

6 
A K 


♦ A 
10 

♦ 5 

A 4b 


* 9 
5 4b 
3 
8 4b 
K4b 


J 4b 

AO 


KO 
6 4b 
Q4b 

9 

* 8 

J 
^ 9 


104b 


4 4b 
Z> 2 


7 
C? 3 


4 7 
^ Q 


8 
2 4b 

C? 5 
^ 6 


* 3 

<:? A 


Z> K 

c:? 4 


^ 8 





Score: A-B, 9; Y-Z, 4. 

"In the original play," says 
Poster, "A leads his long suit like 
a machine. In the overplay a short- 



LONG-SUIT GAME, THB 255 LONG-SUIT GAME, THE 



suit strengthening card is led. Y, 
not having studied the defense to 
this style of play, passes, allowing 
B to finesse. Then A finesses with 
a strengthening card second hand. 
Whether he now continues clubs, 
or leads diamonds, makes no differ- 
ence in the result. At the eighth 
trick, if he leads the thirteenth 
spade, the result is the same, wheth- 
er Y trumps and B overtrumps, or 
both pass. The short-suit play of 
the hand makes eighteen tricks 
against eight; a gain of ten." 

Lead from your long suit only when 
you are sufficiently strong to bring in that 
suit with the aid of reasonable strength 
on the part of your partner. — Charles 
Mossop \L-\-0.\, IVesUninster Papers, No- 
vember z, 1S78. 

"We are willing to admit that in a major- 
ity of cases long suits are not established, 
but the struggle to bring in a long suit 
constitutes the intellectual enj03'ment of 
the game. — Cassius M. Paine \_L. A.I, 
Whist, March, i8g6. 

No writer before " Cavendish" sug- 
gests the modern practice of trying to es- 
tablish a long-suit even when there is not 
the slightest of hope of " remaining with 
the last trump to bring it into play." — P. 
P. Foster [S. O.], "Monthly Illustrator,''' 
1897. 

Cards being nearly equal, the point to 
which all the manoeuvres of good whist- 
players tend, is to establish a long suit 
and to preserve the last trump to bring it 
into play, and to frustrate the same play 
of their adversaries. — Thomas Mathews 
\L. 0.]. 

The long-suit informatory system 
makes the game of whist an intelligent 
and stimulating contest of. wits; the short- 
suit, uninformatory methods detract from 
the game's fascinating intellectual stim- 
ulus, reducing whist to the plane of a 
guerilla contest, a game of deception in- 
stead of information. — Charles S.Boutcher 
iL.A.\ 

The long-suit game owes much of its 
favor among experts to these two facts: 
A weak partner, confining himself uni- 
formly to this method, can do but little 
harm, while his strict adherence to that 
system, with the exaggerated amount of 
information thereby conveyed, enables 
the superior player on occasion to play 
both hands instead of one — Emery Board- 
man \L-\-Ai\, "Win?i.ing IVhist." 

To play from the long suit, or to en- 
deavor to make a long suit if you have an 



available one, or to make for your partner 
commanding cards which you have ascer- 
tained that he holds, is certainly correct; 
but merely to draw the trumps of the ad- 
versaries, and of course those of your 
partner, or always to attempt to draw 
them when you have numerical strength, 
is not good whist. — G. IV. Pettes \L. A. 
P.\, "Afnerican Whist Illustrated." 

I believe in the long-suit game when 
(and only when) it will probably, or with 
a reasonable degree of probability, do 
what it is intended to do, namely, estab- 
lish and bring in the long suit. ^Establish 
and bring in, mind you. We short-suit- 
ers don't care a fig about merelj' clear- 
ing a suit; we must also do some business 
with it afterwards in order to gratify our 
covetous inclinations. We would rather 
take tricks in a suit without establishing 
it, than establish it without taking 
tricks.— £•. C. Howell [5. H.'], ''Whist 
Openings." 

It often happens towards the end of a 
hand, an unplayed suit, of which the 
leader holds (say) four cards, can go 
round only twice — e. g., there maybe two 
trumps left in one of the opponents' 
hands. In such case, if your suit is headed 
by queen or knave, you should treat it as 
a suit of two cards only, and lead j'our 
highest, as this gives the best chance of 
making two tricks. In the reverse case, 
when a suit can go round only once, it is 
obvious that a small card should be led, 
so as not to tempt partner to finesse. — 
''Cavendish" \^L. A?\, "Laivs and Prin- 
ciples of Whist" {Twenty-second edition). 

Some very erroneous, and, to the mem- 
bers of the Albany team, some very an- 
noying, statements have appeared in 
print regarding their system of play. The 
Post-Express has been at some pains to 
get the truth. They are long-suiters of 
the hard-shell, never-say-die variety, and 
play that game because they believe it to 
be a winning one. The several matches 
played by them during the past winter 
against the so-called "common-sense," 
"short-suiters," and" mixers " have only 
served to more firmly con\dnce the whole 
team that the long-suit game was the 
stronger when the teams were of equal 
ability. — Rochester {N. V.) Post-Express, 
May 22, i8gy. 

While the main object of the scientific 
whist-player is to establish and bring in 
a long suit, it must be admitted that in a 
large number of hands this object cannot 
be attained, and the best whist-pla3'ers 
are those who are quickest at perceiving 
when it is incumbent on them to abandon 
the idea of making a great hand out of 
any particular holding, and to reach out 
for all stray tricks in sight. When you 
cannot bring in j'our long suit you must 



LONG-SUIT GAME, THE 256 



LONG WHIST 



bend your energies in the direction of 
preventing your adversaries from bring- 
ing in theirs, and your trumps are the 
best weapons to employ.— yb/jw T. Mitch- 
ell [X. A\, "Duplicate Whist:' 

Let us take, for example, the thirty- 
nine hands given by " Cavendish," in his 
" Laws and Principles," as showing the 
advantage of the long-suit system of 
strategj'. * * * i^gt us take these 
hands, and in every one of them lead the 
shortest suit, playing for position and 
tenace, or for the ruff, ignoring altogether 
the long-suit theory. * * * in com- 
paring the result with the published 
play we find, in 

Three hands there is no short suit; in 

Eleven hands the short-suit game wins 
more tricks; in 

Ten hands the short-suit game loses 
more tricks; in 

Two hands it wins or loses according to 
the play of the adversaries; in 

Thirteen hands it makes no diflference 
in the result.— i?. F.Foster \S. 0.\ ''Whist 
Strategy,'" i8g4. 

When long-suit players are partners 
they follow an entirely different system. 
If one begins with a small card of an un- 
established suit, he shows he is not strong 
enough to lead trumps, it is true, but 
what does his partner do if he has not the 
necessary strength to help hin- ? Does 
he run ? Not at all. He says to the orig- 
inal leader: "If you are not strong 
enough to defend that suit yourself, and 
I cannot help you, the best thing we can 
do is to try to establish another defense- 
less suit," and he proceeds to lead his 
own. The writer has seen many thou- 
sands of hands played, but has never yet 
met with a case in which two partners, 
neither of whom was strong enough to 
lead trumps, succeeded in establishing 
two suits, except for the benefit of their 
adversaries. — R. F. Foster \S. C], New 
York Sufi, i8g6. 

It is urged against the long-suit system, 
that the object aimed at more frequently 
fails than succeeds. This is true, as suc- 
cess usually requires not only the perfect 
co-operation of the partner, but also a 
fortunate arrangement of the cards. But 
the argument is worth nothing unless 
some disadvantage arises from the at- 
tempt if unsuccessful. This is quite the 
reverse of the fact; for (a) if the attempt 
fails, it does not stand in the way of the 
full realization of any other advantages 
the hand may possess; and (b) the sys- 
tem is so constituted as to do the least 
possible harm to either of the players 
using it, or good to their opponents; and, 
indeed, it offers generally the best means 
of obstructive tactics against the opposite 
party. The long suit is almost always 



practicable. Leads on other principles 
are not. For example, you may have no 
master cards to lead out at once for trick- 
making, and no single card to lead out for 
trumping. Some old authors recommend 
first leads from sequences, and other 
writers, more modern, from combina- 
tions which will leave tenaces to be led 
up to. But you may have no such cards 
in your hand. Hence all these fail in 
giving any definite information to your 
partner, whereas it very rarely happens 
that you have not a long plain suit, and 
consequently your invite, as the French 
call it, to your partner, is uniform and 
unmistakable. — William Pole \L. A-\-\, 
' 'Fh ilosophy of Wh ist. ' ' 

Long Trump. — The last trump 
held in one hand, all the others 
being out. Long trumps are any 
number of trumps held by a player 
after having drawn all the others. 

Long Whist. — "\yhist as originally 
played from the time the game be- 
came generally known; the ten- 
point game, honors counting, the 
latter being calculated as follows: 
One player, or one player with his 
partner, holding the four honors 
(ace, king, queen, jack), scores 
four; holding three honors, they 
score two; holding two honors, they 
do not score. Players at the score 
of eight cannot count honors. 

Long whist was improved by 
Lord Folkestone and the players 
at the Crown CoflFee-House, Lon- 
don, beginning with the year 1728. 
(See, "Crown Coffee-House," and 
"Folkestone.") It was the whist 
which was taken up and taught by 
Hoyle, and it continued to be the 
whist played everywhere until, in 
an evil moment, the gamblers, who 
had gotten hold of it as a favorite 
amusement, found it too slow for 
their purposes, and cut it in two. 
(See, "Short Whist") Pole says 
of long whist that "sometimes, 
when the honors ran even, a game 
might be spun out for a long time, 
and the longer it took the less gain 
there was made by the winners." 



LONGEST SUIT, IvEAD FROM 257 LONGEST SUIT, LEAD FROM 



Long whist is now practically ob- 
solete, having been supplanted in 
England by short whist, the five- 
point game, with honors counting, 
and in this country by the seven- 
point game, honors not counting. 

At Oxford we used to play long whist, 
and I have always been sorry that the 
game pegged out. It had more variety; 
at the beginning, the goal was distant, 
you could take liberties, and finesse into 
your boots: there was more scope for sci- 
ence, only I am afraid we had very little. 
In the latter half of it it was short whist, 
as now^complicated to some extent by 
"can you oue ?" — when you have to be 
more careful in your finessing or the 
game is gone before you know where you 
are. The American scoring is much 
more fair, but it must be murderous to 
the duffer.— ''Pembrids:e" [L+0.], IVhist, 
March, 1893. 

Longest Suit, Lead from the. — 

The advantage of opening the hand 
with a lead from the longest suit 
was known to the masters of whist 
from the early history of the game. 
William Payne gave it his unquali- 
fied endorsement as early as 1770, 
when he said, in his " Whist Max- 
ims:" " Begin with the suit of which 
you have the most in number, for, 
when trumps are out, you will 
probably make several tricks in it." 
It remained for Dr. Pole, however, 
to more fully demonstrate that the 
lead from the longest suit is the 
best means for carrying on the 
partnership game; or, in other 
words, of playing both hands as 
one. This forms the basis of mod- 
ern scientific whist as advocated by 
" Cavendish" and his school. This 
theory of selecting the longest (or 
long) suit for the opening play, in- 
stead of the strongest, has met with 
much opposition from those who 
believe in the efficacy of short-suit 
leads. They especially object to 
the invariable lead from the longest 
suit, although here, it seems to us, 
they are borrowing trouble unne- 
cessarily; for "Cavendish," and all 

17 



the most ardent advocates of the 
long-suit game, recognize the fact 
that exceptional hands may be held 
to which no fixed rule can be profit- 
ably applied, and provision has, to 
a certain extent, been made for 
these under the head of what are 
called "forced leads," an adjunct 
of the long-suit game. Whist, it is 
firmly believed by many, is passing 
through a transition period to still 
higher and nobler forms, and it 
may be well, therefore, not to be 
bigoted or dogmatical either way. 
Certain it is that the modern scien- 
tific partnership game, under nor- 
mal conditions, is best played by 
means of the original lead from the 
longest (or long) suit; but excep- 
tional hands, and exceptional con- 
ditions of the game should also 
be taken into consideration. 

For our own part, we should be inclined 
to say, Lead from your long suit only 
when you are sufficiently strong to bring 
in that suit with the aid of reasonable 
strength on the part of your partner. — 
Westminster Papers [Z,+0.]. 

In deciding what card to lead from the 
long suit, regard must be paid not only to 
the establishment of it, but also to the 
possibility of making tricks in it early, 
in case it should not be possible ultimately 
to bring it in. — William Pole [L. A+'\. 

I should like an answer to this simple 
question: If the longest suit is always to 
be led, how is it that every whist book, 
without exception, gives minute direc- 
tions for leading short suits? — "Pem- 
brzdge" [Z-l-O.], '"Decline and Fall of 
Whist." 

The rule of always leading from the 
longest, as distinct from the strongest, 
suit, is a rule which, more frequently 
than any other, sacrifices a partner's 
cards without any benefit to the leader, 
and is in direct opposition to the true 
principles of combination. — "Mogul'" 

We have hitherto assumed that you lead 
from the longest suit you hold, which is 
the safe general rule; but cases often 
occur which involve some difficulty of 
choice. For example, suppose you have 
five small cards in one plain suit, and 
four with honors in another. The theory 
by no means imperatively calls on you to 
lead the former, for it must be borne in 



LOOKING OVBR A HAND 258 LOSING TRUMP, DECLINING 



mind that the rank of the cards always 
deserves consideration, and your leading 
the four-suit (which is still a long suit) 
■would be perfectly justifiable. Similarly, 
a question might arise between four small 
cards and three good ones; but here the 
case is difierent, for three cards constitute 
a short suit, to lead which unnecessarily 
would be a violation of the theory. — IVil- 
liam Pole [L. A+], "Theory of IVhist." 

In selecting a suit for the lead, numeri- 
cal strength is the principal point to look 
to: for it must be borne in mind that aces 
and kings are not the only cards which 
make tricks; twos and threes may be- 
come quite as valuable when the suit is 
established — i. «.,when the higher cards of 
the suit are exhausted. To obtain for 
your own small cards a value that does 
not intrinsically belong to them, and to 
prevent the adversary from obtaining it 
for his, is evidently an advantage. Both 
these ends are advanced by choosing for 
your original lead the suit in which you 
nave the greatest numerical strength; for 
you maj; establish a suit of this descrip- 
tion,^ while, owing to your strength, it is 
precisely the suit which the adversary has 
the smallest chance of establishing 
against you. A suit that is numerically 
weak, though otherwise strong, is far less 
eligible. Suppose, for example, you have 
five cards headed by (say) a ten in one 
suit, and ace, king, and one other (say 
the two) in another suit. If you lead from 
the ace, king, two suit, all your power is 
exhausted as soon as you have parted with 
the ace and king, and you have given the 
holder of numerical strength a capital 
chance of establishing a suit. It is true 
that this fortunate person may be your 
partner; but it is twice as likely that he 
is your adversary, since you have two ad- 
versaries and only one partner. * * * 
The best suit of all to lead from is, of 
course,one which combines both elements 
of strength. — "■Cavendish" [Z,. .<4.], "Laws 
and Principles 0/ Whist." 

Looking Over a Hand. — Gaining 
a knowledge of the cards held by 
another player, by unfair means, 
such as looking into his hand. This 
is a reprehensible practice, and one 
which should subject the offender 
to expulsion from the table; al- 
though careless players who hold 
their cards so that they may be seen, 
often place temptation before those 
who would not try to gain an un- 
fair advantage of their own accord. 
Some players have been known to 
be guilty of the equally reprehen- 



sible practice of purposely lowering 
or exposing their hand for partner 
to look over. It is hardly neces- 
sary to say that such whist is not 
played among gentlemen. 

It is wrong to see your adversary's 
hand; it is wrong to play on the knowl- 
edge thus obtained. * * * The first 
thing to teach a player is the obvious duty 
to hold up his cards. — Westtninsier Papers 
[^+0.]. 

It must not be supposed that we intend 
in any way to justify a man in looking 
over another's hand on purpose; or, hav- 
ing accidentally seen an adversary's card, 
in playing accordingly. In spite of re- 
peated provocations in the last instance, 
the man thus playing is a contemptible 
being at best. — Westminster Papers \,L-\- 

o.-\. 

Clay told me that when he first played 
■whist at a Loudon club he was horrified 
to see an old gentleman deliberately 
looking over one of his adversaries' 
hands. Mr. Pacey, the player whose hand 
was overlooked, was, as it happened, an 
old friend of Clay's, and, the rubber being 
over. Clay took an immediate opportunity 
of advising him to hold up his hand when 
playing against P , adding: 

" The last hand he saw every card you 
held." 

" Oh, no, he didn't !" replied Mr. Pacey, 
■who was well aware of P 's peculiari- 
ties; " he only saw a few I put in the cor- 
ner to puzzle him." — "Cavendish''' \L. A.], 
"Table Talk." 

Loose Card. — A card of any 
plain suit which, owing to the 
strength of the other hands, is 

useless. 

Loose card is a card of no value, and, 
consequently, the properest to throw 
away. — Edmond Hoyle \0.\ 

Losing Card. — A card which is 
not likely to take a trick. 

Losing Trump, Declining to 
Draw a. — As a rule, a player who 
has his long suit established, and 
the trumps all out except a losing 
trump in the hand of the adver- 
sary, does not hesitate to draw that 
trump also. But " Cavendish" 
holds that there is another class of 
cases where the trump should not be 
drawn as a matter of course; for 
instance, if one adversary has a 



LOVB 



259 



LOW'S SIGNAL 



long suit established, and his part- 
ner has a card of that suit to lead. 

Love. — Not having scored. The 
partners who have not scored are 
said to be at the point of love. To 
play for love, in England, means 
to play without stakes. 

Love-All. — The state of the score 
before either side has made a point. 

Love Game. — A game in which 
one side wins before the other side 
scores at all. 

Low/ Cards. — The eight inferior 
cards of the pack, from deuce to 
nine inclusive. Under the system 
of American leads they are gener- 
ally led as fourth best, in original 
leads. Under the old leads, they 
indicate a lead from the penulti- 
mate or antepenultimate. In the 
Howell (short-suit) system, the 
original lead of the nine indicates 
the supporting-card game; the lead 
of the eight, seven, or six, the ruff- 
ing game; and the lead of the five, 
four, three, or two, the long-suit 
game — the kind of game played de- 
pending upon the character of the 
hand. The low cards are also 
largely used for signaling purposes. 
In the long-suit game they are 
given the same value as high cards 
or trumps, when the suit has been 
established, the adverse trumps ex- 
tracted, and the lead retained or 
regained. To give this higher 
trick-taking value to the low cards 
IS one of the chief features of the 
long-suit, or modern scientific, 
game. 

Low cards are led when the leader has 
not the command, or when it is best to 
reserve such high card or cards as are 
held, in order to keep the command or 
obtain it later. They also indicate, to a 
considerable extent, the character and 
number of the suit. — Fisher Ames [L. A.]. 



Lowered Hands. — A careless 
player may not only lower his hand 
accidentally, and thus give others 
an opportunity to look it over, but 
an unscrupulous player may lower 
his hand for the purpose of showing 
his cards to his partner. In the 
American code, a penalty is pro- 
vided for such practice. 

The case of a lowered hand comes 
under the same category] "but," asks 
General Drayson, "who is to be judge 
whether the hand has been sufficiently 
lowered for the partner to see any por- 
tion of a card?" The answer is, the 
partner himself; presuming him to be a 
gentleman, he is allowed to sit on his own 
case, and if he denies having seen the 
card, there is an end of it. — ^. B. Trist 
\L. A^^ IVfiist, August. iSgs. 

By the English code, you may lower the 
whole of your hand so that your partner 
may see nearly every card in it. but there 
is no penalty for doing so. In case 29, 
"The Art of Practical Whist,"'' I called 
attention to the defect in this law. By 
the American code, an attempt is made to 
remedy this defect. Law 20, section 3 
[under "Cards Liable to be Called"], 
states: "Every card so held bj^ a player 
that his partner sees any portion of its 
face." Section 4: " All thecardsina hand 
lowered or shown by a player, so that 
his partner sees more than one card of 
it." Who is to be the judge as to whether 
the cards were sufficiently lowered to en- 
able the partner to see them ? One part- 
ner might sit very tall, another very 
short; the angle at which the cards were 
lowered might enable the tall partner to 
see them, while the same angle of lower- 
ing would not enable the short partner to 
do so. Who is to judge of the angle? It 
would be merely a matter of opinion on 
the part of the adversaries, and when a 
question comes to a matter of opinion it 
must end in an unsatisfactory dispute. — 
A. IV. Drayson [L+A+], " JVhist Laws 
und Whist Decisions.'^ 



Low's Signal. — One of a num- 
ber of devices or signals intended 
to convey to partner exact informa- 
tion concerning the number held 
by you in a suit led by him. H. 
N. Low, of the Capital Bicycle 
Club team, effects this in the fol- 
lowing manner; With four or more 
of the suit, you play the third best 



LUCK 



260 



LUCK 



to partner's lead of a high card, or 
when no attempt is made to win 
the trick. In returning the suit 
you lead the second best, if three 
or more remain, and on the third 
round, or when discarding, you 
play the highest, always retaining 
the fourth best, and those below 
fourth best. 

Luck. — Chance, accident, for- 
tune, good or bad, at whist, is that 
element of the game which is be- 
yond the control of skill, and is 
known as the luck of the game. 
As we have observed in oiur re- 
marks on the history of duplicate 
whist {q. v.), the modern tendency 
has been to eliminate more and 
more this element of chance or 
luck from whist, and to enlarge the 
element of skill. In the game, as 
first played, luck was the most im- 
portant element; hence the game 
lent itself readily to the play for 
money, the poor player having, to 
some degree at least, an equal show 
with the good player, for it is a fact 
often commented upon, that poor 
players are apt to hold good cards. 
The old style play, limited in its 
informatory character, if not al- 
most entirely non-informatory; the 
counting of honors, and the short- 
ening of the game from ten to five 
points, were all favorable to chance, 
or luck, in the game as played in 
England, and to this day it seems 
impossible to get Englishmen to 
play whist for its own sake, with- 
out the addition of stakes. In 
America, the elimination of hon- 
ors, the lengthening of the game 
from five to seven points, the free 
use of the trump signal, echoes, 
number-showing leads, and other 
informatory play, have made whist 
more and more a game of skill and 
partnership; and by the develop- 
ment of duplicate, the final blow 
may almost be said to have been 



dealt to the element of chance, or 
luck. 

strangely enough, it is the men who 
habitually win that are the most positive 
that such a thing as luck does not exist. 
— IVestminster Papers \_L-\- C] . 

I am often asked the question: Which 
is more valuable at whist — luck or skill ? 
I invariably answer: I,uck to win games, 
skill to enjoy them. — R, F. Foster [S. O.], 
^^ Duplicate Whist.''' 

The Americans, almost with one ac- 
cord, have cried out against the luck in 
the short game, and sought means to 
increase the power of the element of 
play, by declining to count the honors, 
and. making the score by tricks only. — 
William Pole \L. ^+], '■^Evolution of 
Whist r 

Watch the cards held by the habitually 
unlucky player, and without doubt they 
will be found average cards; but when he 
holds a good hand he does nothing with 
it, and when he has a bad hand he loses 
every trick that it is possible to lose. — 
A. W. Drayson [^+v4+], ''The Art of 
Practical Whist." 

In the American whist laws no men- 
tion is made of counting honors. The 
game consists of seven points, instead of 
five. * * * These alterations tend to 
diminish the effect of what is termed 
"luck," and hence to increase the value 
of play. This is undoubtedly an improve- 
ment in the game of skill. — A. W. Dray- 
son [L+A +},,'' Whist Zmws and Whist De- 
cisions." 

As soon as ever you have taken up your 
hand, utter an exclamation, as if you had 
received a sudden shock, and declare that 
you are the most unlucky devil that ever 
lived, and that you always hold the most 
horrid cards. If after that you should 
win, your success must, of course, be at- 
tributed only to your own masterly play. 
On the other hand, if you should lose, 
you are thus made to present the sublime 
spectacle of a virtuous man continually 
struggling with adverse fate; which will 
awe your opponents into admiration and 
wonder, and excite the sympathy of 
lookers-on. — Blackwood's Magazine., No- 
vember, iSj8. 

There are various kinds of luck in an 
intricate game like whist. * * * In 
making up the table you may get into a 
bad table or a good table. In cutting for 
partners you may get the best or the 
worst partner. You may lose the deal. 
You may choose the right or the wrong 
cards. Your partner, if a good player, 
may play ill, and lose the game; or, being 
a bad player, you may play well or ill, 
and win or lose the game. You or your 
partner may have at starting two equally 



LURCH 



261 



'MAJOR A." 



good suits, each of apparent equal value. 
Open with the one, and you win; and 
with the other, and you lose; and a bad 
partner may not finesse, and lose; or he 
may make a finesse utterly indefensible, 
and win by it. Either player may mis- 
conduct the hand, and lose the game. 
One may lose by an oversight, by drop- 
ping a wrong card, and so on. — IVest- 
minster Papers [Z+0.] . 

Whist is not a certainty; neither is it 
true that you will every year find your 
account exactly square on the thirty-first 
of December— it is a popular fallacy de- 
vised by those who win, to keep the losers 
in good spirits. * * * j have no doubt 
things equalize themselves in the long 
run; the difficulty is that I am unable to 
g^ive you any idea, even approximately, 
what the duration of a long run is. I 
have held three Yarboroughs in two 
hours (a Yarborough is a hand contain- 
ing no card above a nine), and a hand 
with no card above a seven at least twice. 
There was a hand recently at Surbiton 
with no cards above a six. One of the 
two finest players I ever met lost twenty- 
eight consecutive rubbers; feeling ag- 
grieved at this treatment, he swore off for 
a fortnight, and then lost twelve more. If 
there is such a thing as luck— and I be- 
lieve there is— don't lie down and let it 
kick you. When you hold cards which 
you do not consider quite equal to your 
deserts, instead of playing worse on that 
account — as most people do — take a little 
extra care. — ^^Pemoridge" [Z.+0.]. 

Lurch. — An old whist term, now 
rarely used, which was borrowed 
from the game of backgammon, 
and has passed into the common 
expression, ' ' to leave one in the 
lurch." To save your lurch, in the 
whist language of Hoyle's time, 
meant to prevent the adversaries 
from making the odd trick neces- 
sary to win the game, you and 
your partner having scored nothing 
yet. Deschapelles says it is used 
"when the losing partners have 
not made one point — i. e., when 
thev have lo.st everything that can 
be lost." 

In the "Humours of Whist" 
{q. v.), a satire on Hoyle, one of 
the characters is named Lurchum. 

Lytton, Lord, as a Whist- 
Player. — Lord Bulwer-Lytton, the 
great author, was fond of whist, 



and belonged to the celebrated 
Portland Club, in London. Ser- 
geant Ballantine, in his reminis- 
cences, tells us that he played the 
game well, and apparently concen- 
trated his whole attention upon it; 
but, at every interval between the 
rubbers, he would rush ofif to a 
writing table, and with equally 
concentrated attention, proceed 
with some literary work until 
called. Among the members of 
the club was a Mr. Townsend, a 
very inoflfensive man, for whom 
Lord Lytton took the most violent, 
dislike; so much so that he would 
never play whist while that gentle- 
man was in the room, being firm in 
his belief that he brought bad luck. 
" One afternoon," says Ballantine, 
" when Lord Lytton was playing, 
and had enjoyed an uninterrupted 
run of good luck, it suddenly 
turned, upon which he exclaimed: 
' I am sure that Mr. Townsend has 
come into the club.' Some three 
minutes after, just time enough to 
ascend the stairs, in walked this 
unlucky personage. Lord Lytton, 
as soon as the rubber was over, left 
the table and did not renew the 
play." 

"Major A." — A pseudonym 
adopted by Charles Bardwell Coles, 
who published, in 1834, " Short 
Whist: Its Rise, Progress, and Laws, 
together with Maxims for Begin- 
ners, and Observations to make 
anyone a Whist-Player. By Major 
A*****." The great popularity of 
short whist made a text-book en- 
tirely devoted to the new form of 
the game very desirable, nothing 
having appeared as yet save a few 
pages by Mathews in an appendix 
to his book on the old game of 
long whist. Thus " Major A." be- 
came popular, despite his lack of 
originality. This was also in some 
measure due to the fact that Major 



"MAJOR TENACB" 



262 MANDEIvL, HENRY A. 



Aubrey, a leading whist-player of 
the day, was supposed to be the 
author of the book. Coles himself 
was a literary hack, and all he did 
was to translate Mathews into short 
whist, so to speak. Thus, if Math- 
ews says the game is ten up, 
" Major A." makes it read five up, 
etc. Nor did he improve upon 
Mathews's lack of methodical ar- 
rangement. Coles's venture, how- 
ever, was successful. A second 
edition was called for in two 
months; a third was published next 
year; and new editions appeared 
frequently after that, so that the 
sixteenth was published in 1865. 
This had the distinction of having 
added to it Dr. Pole's first essay on 
the "Theory of the Modem Scien- 
tific Game." 

•• Major Tcnace." — Under this 
pseudonym was published in 1886 
(New York and London) a " Hand- 
book of Whist and Ready Refer- 
ence Manual of the Modern 
Scientific Game." The author 
(George W. Bailey, of New York 
City) says in his introduction: "An 
attempt is made to condense, ar- 
range, and to marshal into a system 
all the specific directions for play 
that could be found in the works 
of the acknowledged masters of 
whist. The object is to present 
these directions, unencumbered by 
explanation or discussion, in a form 
convenient for reference." 

Make. — To make a card is to 
take a trick with it. "To make 
the cards," is sometimes used in 
England synonymously with the 
expression "to shuffle the cards." 

Make Up. — When two packs of 
cards are used at a table, the deal- 
er's partner must make up, or col- 
lect and shuffle, the cards for the 
ensuing deal, and place them at his 
right hand. (See, " Shuffling. " ) 



Mandell, Henry A. — Fifth presi- 
dent of the American Whist 
League; was born in Detroit, Mich., 
March 16, 1861. He was educated 
in the public schools, and graduated 
from the University of Michigan in 
1883, with the degree of Bachelor 
of Philosophy. He subsequently 
studied law, and was admitted to 
practice in the Supreme Court of 
Michigan in 1895. In 1892 he was 
appointed assistant city attorney 
of Detroit, and resigned in 1893 to 
accept the position of assistant 
prosecuting attorney of Wayne 
county, which he still holds. 

He has played whist since 1879, 
receiving his first introduction to 
the game at college, where he 
joined other freshmen in studying 
and playing it. In 1888 he helped 
to organize the Detroit Whist Club, 
and in 1889 was elected its presi- 
dent. Later, when it was merged 
with the Wayne Club, and the 
Wayne Whist Club was organized, 
he became the first president of the 
latter organization. In 1895 he was 
elected the first president of the 
Inter-state (Ohio and Michigan) 
Whist Association, and in 1896, 
likewise the first president of the 
Michigan Whist Association. He 
has attended every congress of the 
American Whist League but the 
first, and was elected one of its 
directors in 1892, serving in that 
capacity until 1896, when he was 
elected vice-president. At the sev- 
enth congress, held at Put-in -Bay, 
1897, he was honored with a unani- 
mous election as president. 

Mr. Mandell says: " I am a 
strong advocate of the long-suit 
game, as treated by Hamilton and 
'Cavendish,' including the princi- 
ples: (i) 'Know the rules and 
when to break them;' and ( 2 ) ' The 
fall of the cards may at one time or 
another modify every rule of 
play.' " 



MANNERISMS 



263 



MASTER CARD 



Mannerisms. — Nearly every 
player has some slight mannerism, 
and it would be difficult to find a 
set of players all reduced to the 
mechanical regularity and fixed 
stolidity of expression such as be- 
long to automata. In fact, if this 
were possible, their mannerism 
would be exceptionally marked. A 
player's individuality must assert 
itself in his style of play, and this 
is unobjectionable, so long as it 
does not annoy or infringe upon the 
rights of others, and so long as it 
does not impart information to a 
partner or obtain for the player any 
other undue advantage. (See, 
also, " Peculiarities of Players.") 

It is not whist to show anything about 
your hand by your way of handling your 
cards— whether through design or care- 
lessness. — R. A. Proctor [L. O.]. 

No player should play a card in any 
manner so as to call particular attention 
to it, nor should he demand that the cards 
be placed, in order to attract the attention 
of his partner. — Etiquette of Whist {Amer- 
ican Code). 

You should studiously avoid all man- 
nerisms in play, and never permit your- 
selves to draw any inferences from the 
antics of either your partner or your op- 
ponents, if they should be guilty of mak- 
ing them. — C. D. P. Hamilton \L. A.'l, 
'■''Modern Scientific Whist.'''' 

No intimation whatever, by word or 
gesture, should be given by a player as to 
the state of his hand or of the game. A 
player who desires the cards to be placed 
* * * should do it for his own informa- 
tion only, and not in order to invite the 
attention of his partner. — Etiquette of 
Whist {English Code). 

Whist should be played in a manner 
void of objectionable features. Each card 
should be played with thought and rea- 
son. Give no physical indication of the 
nature of your hand, and do not intrude 
mannerisms which trench upon fairness 
and honesty. Refrain from assuming a 
part which does not belong to you, and 
thus save yourself from appearing ridic- 
ulous. — T. E. Otis [L. A .] , in Newark News. 

The mannerisms of some players afford 
a surer clue to the contents of their 
hands than any card they could possibly 
play. I do not refer to the bumbledogs — 
the card-thumpers, who are mostly in 
evidence on railway trains, and who 
have no idea of concealing their emo- 



tions — but to the gentlemen who play sci- 
entifically. One of the most eminent of 
whist-players, who has placed himself on 
record as most emphatically opposed to 
anything that may look like a private 
convention, conveys to his partner the 
most positive information of his holding 
when third hand,by a way he has of par- 
tially drawing his card before the second 
hand has played. By this trick of man- 
ner, which is entirely involuntary, his 
partner knows whether or not he is con- 
sidering a finesse. If he takes it and 
loses, his partner knows exactly what he 
holds in the suit, froru knowing what he 
mu.st have to even consider a finesse. 
Most valuable information this. No 
doubt the action is entirely unconscious, 
but it is no less informatory. There are 
others, as we all know, who convey more 
or less information by a significant look 
or smile, or movement. These manner- 
isms are far more intolerable than what 
are sometimes mis-called " private con- 
ventions." — Wkisi [L. A."], April, i8g6. 

Mark. — To mark a card in some 
other player's hand is to locate it 
by the fall of the cards. 

Markers. — Whist-markers are 
used in counting or scoring the 
points made by the players. They 
may consist simply of round chips, 
or of some of the many devices in- 
vented for counting purposes. It is 
highly important that the appa- 
ratus, in each instance, shall allow 
the state of the score to be dis- 
tinctly seen by each player, as the 
game progresses. 

Marking. — See, "Scoring." 

Masking a Signal. — Starting a 
signal and failing to complete it 
on the second round. The player 
having some reason for changing 
his mind about signaling, conceals 
his intention. 

Master Card. — The highest un- 
played card of a suit; the king 
card. 

This is sometimes also called the " king 
card," a name likely to cause confusion. 
— William Pole \L. ^-t-l, ''Theory of 
Whist." 



MASTER-HOLDINGS 



264 



MATHEWS, THOMAS 



Master-Holdings. — Cards held 
in plain suits which are reasonably- 
sure to take tricks; best cards. 

Match. — A contest at whist be- 
tween individuals, between two or 
more pairs, between two or more 
teams of four, or between clubs or 
associations composed of various 
clubs. Matches are now all played 
by means of duplicate whist. The 
leading features of the annual con- 
gress of the American Whist League 
{q. V.) consist of matches for the 
various trophies. ( See, also, ' 'Whist 
Match by Correspondence," and 
" Whist Match by Telegraph.") 

The best duplicate match is four players 
against four. This is admitted to be the 
standard, and provided the number of 
deals is sufficient, is the best possible test 
of whist s^iW— Milton C. Work [L. A. H.], 
" JVkist of To-day.^'' 

Mathews, Thomas. — The third 
whist author of importance in the 
history of the game, and perhaps 
the most able of the three, Hoyle 
and Payne being the other two. 
Nothing is known about Mathews, 
personally, except that he was " the 
finest player of his day," that he 
lived at Bath, and that he enter- 
tained a somewhat contemptuous 
opinion of Hoyle, "who," he said, 
*' so far from being able to teach 
the game, was not fit to sit down 
with even the third-rate players of 
the present day." Mathews' book 
was published in 1804, and bore the 
following elaborate title: "Advice 
to the Young Whist-Player: con- 
taining most of the Maxims of the 
Old School, with the Author's Ob- 
servations on those he thinks Erro- 
neous; with several new ones. Ex- 
emplified by Apposite Cases; and a 
Method of Acquiring a Knowledge 
of the Principles on which they 
are Grounded, pointed out to the 
Inexperienced Whist-Player. By 



an Amateur." The author's name 
was not published at first, but ap- 
peared in subsequent issues, being 
at first spelled " Matthews," but 
later, " Mathews." 

The ninth edition was published 
at Bath, in 1816, and contains three 
pages of observations on short 
whist, which had lately come into 
prominence. The eleventh edition 
is dated 1818; the thirteenth was 
issued in 1822, the sixteenth in 
1825, and the eighteenth in 1828. 
The work was also reprinted and 
favorably commented upon by 
Richard A. Proctor, in his maga- 
zine called Knowledge. 

Mathews' book originally con- 
tained, besides an address to the 
reader, several pages on leads and 
the laws of whist, and one hundred 
and nine " Directions and Maxims 
for Beginners." He set forth a sys- 
tem of play differing materially 
from that of his predecessors, and 
on this account he has been called 
the founder of a new school. He 
laid great stress upon the special 
importance and advantage of part- 
nership play, and the legitimate 
communication between partners 
concerning their hands, being in 
this respect the forerunner of Pole. 

Mathews defines whist as "a 
game of calculation, observation 
and position, or tenace." Calcula- 
tion, he says, teaches you to plan 
your game, and lead originally to 
advantage. After a few leads, how- 
ever, calculation is nearly super- 
seded by observation. The players 
who observe, and note well the fall 
of the cards, become "as well ac- 
quainted vrith the material ones 
remaining in each other's hands as 
if they had seen them." These 
two elements he considers the foun- 
dation of the game, after which 
comes the more difficult science of 
position, or the art of using the two 
former to advantage. 



fe. 



•23Sn& .H niic] .nnuS .J sgicsO 

Li'.iJirfW .H .W 




HOLDINGS 



264 



MATHEWS, THOMAS 



— Cards 
tre reasol 
est carda. 



. ' ' The author's name 

!KLti'' at first, but ap- 

' -'.it issues, being 

' Matthews," but 

>n wa« published 

;s three 

short 

' an 

was 

Mth in 

ui 1828. 

.a. vvas j,i:=u reprinted ^nd 

^- commented upon by 

A. Proctor, in his maga- 

ed knowledge. 

... a^;ws' book originally con- 

Tv,- • wr« Alt '-'"<^'<^> besides an address to the 

*^'*^ Whist Aw^lyslSler, several pages on leads and 

the laws of whist, and one hundred 



Mutch.. ^1; at whist 

♦'vet:?! JM ' etween tv - 

vvc-n two or 
• between ch-: 
■- ci'ttiposed 0- ~ 
• tches are now 

of duplicate wb 

. !g features of the an . 
of the American Wh . 
{q. V.) consist of match' 
various trophies. (See, al- 
Match by Correspoudevi 
" Whist Match by Telegr 

The best duplicate ma! •: 
a'gain.<!t four 
stands r' ' 

dcai.s ; 
of win 
'•Ulm. ... 



test 



, iorge L^Bunn. 

whist author of importance in the 
history of the game, Wd ljierWtli(tfel«J.U' 
the most able of the three, Hoyle Ir: 
and Pavne hefng- tl-f .,>th':"- *■■>,■.>. \~ 
is-Mm^ ;StOW. 

iter- tl: 



and nine " Directions and Maxims 
for Beginners. " He set forth a sys- 
tf '"i J ^n !#; Hfiff §ing materially 
front that of his jjVedecessors, and 
on this account he has been called 
: v..,)Ar . •• , M».t,r school. He 
\ the special 

Charles. M. Clav. 



to_ the Y.V 
taining mo.^.. ... ..1.. 

Old Scliool, with t) 
servations on those h 
neons; with several new 
emplified by Apposite Ca. 
Method of Acquiring a K^ 
of the Principles on wl ' 
are Grounded, pointed o\\\ u. 
Inexperienced Whist-Player. 



hy for 



-e of part- 
citimate 
partners 
'ing in 
f Pole, 
as "a 
rvation 

Calcula- 

hes you to plan 
Uad originally to 
;i few leads, how- 
is nearly super- 
>ti. The players 

note well the fall 
., ... ,^,gjj ^g. 

1 ones 

utinds as 

■n. " These 

!•, +hefoun- 

whicb 

•nee of 

.J the two 



MAXIMS 



265 



MEDIUM CARDS 



He lays down the principle that 
' 'the best leads are from sequences, ' ' 
and that, being without sequences, 
you should "lead from your most 
numerous suit, if strong in trumps" 
(a more cautious direction than 
that of Payne). "Finesses," he 
continues, "are generally right iu 
trumps or (if strong in them) iu 
other suits; otherwise they are not 
risked but with caution." With 
three or four small trumps, he pre- 
fers a " lead from a single card to a 
long weak suit," in which respect 
he may be said to have anticipated 
the modern short-suit players. He 
also laid down the principle that 
" if strength of trumps is with the 
adversaries" your partner should 
"keep guard on their suits, and 
throw away from his own." He 
also formulated the rule: " With 
three cards, return the highest; 
with four, the lowest, of your part- 
ner's lead." 

About 1804, Thomas Mathews published 
his " Advice to the Young Whist-Player." 
This rapidly became the authority, and is 
still regarded by experts as one of the 
best works on whist, most of the modern 
writers borrowing from it very freely. 
The author was regarded as the best 
player of his day, and there are many 
■who believe that he and Deschapelles 
were the only two men that ever mastered 
the game. —^. F. Foster [S. C], ^'■Johnson's 
Universal Cyclop(zdia." 

The body of Mathews' book consists of 
"Directions and Maxims for Beginners." 
These are heterogeneously disposed, with- 
out any sub-headings, a defect which 
diminishes their usefulness and increases 
the difficulty of profiting by them. They 
are, however, generally very good; some 
have been altered or abolished by the 
subsequent march of evolution, but most 
of them are as applicable to the modern 
form of game as to the one they belonged 
Xo.— William Pole [L. A -I-]. 

Maxims. — Rules of play founded 
upon experience, and tersely for- 
mulated in brief sentences, in order 
that they may be strongly im- 
pressed upon the memory. All 
the early writers on whist — Hoyle, 



Payne, and Mathews especially — 
taught whist largely by means of 
maxims, following no regular sys- 
tem or arrangement in their books. 

Maxims are supposed to come into use 
as guides to conduct after the play of the 
hand is sufiSciently advanced for a player 
to judge something of its broad features. 
—R. F. Foster [5. O.], :' IVhisi Tactics." 

Mcintosh, AndrewJ. — An Amer- 
ican whist author, who resides at 
Utica, N. Y. He was born in Steu- 
ben, Oneida county, May 4, 1826; 
educated at Hobart College, and 
graduated in the class of 1844. He 
immediately took up the study of 
law in Utica; was admitted to the 
bar in 1848, and has practiced ever 
since. Judge Mcintosh (as he is 
familiarly known from Maine to 
Texas, although, in fact, he has 
never held judicial office) became 
interested in whist early in his 
youth, and was a welcome visitor 
at many whist clubs in various 
parts of the country. He thus be- 
came impressed with the multitude 
of questions arising tinder the 
rules, and the poor understanding 
most players had concerning them. 
At the suggestions of the clubs, he 
thereupon compiled all the deci- 
sions made under the laws in force 
in England, France, and America. 
He found this no small task, but 
when his labor was accomplished 
he had an increased interest in the 
game, and this led him to write an 
exhaustive study of the principles 
of play. This gave birth to his 
book, "Modern Whist, with Port- 
land Rules, and Decisions Thereun- 
der," the third edition of which 
was published in Utica, 1888. Per- 
sonally he favors American leads, 
but plays the five-point game with- 
out counting honors. 

Medium Cards. — Cards of me- 
dium value; cards between the king 
and the eight-spot. 



MEETING AND OPPOSING 266 



MEMORY 



Meeting and Opposing. — There 
is a distinction between meeting 
and opposing players at duplicate 
whist. For instance, A-B are said 
to meet Y-Z at the same table, but 
A-B at table one are opposed to 
Y-Z at table two. 

Memorizing the Hands in Du- 
plicate. —In the single-table, or 
mnemonic, duplicate game, the 
players who have exceptionally 
good memories sometimes gain a 
decided advantage by remembering 
certain hands and playing accord- 
ingly when they receive them in the 
duplicate or overplay, although the 
best authorities agree that in such 
cases they should play according to 
rule, just as if they did not remem- 
ber. However, human nature is 
hard to control in its desire to win, 
and a still better remedy is sug- 
gested by others, and that is not to 
overplay the hands at the same sit- 
ting. (See, also, "Duplicate 
Whist, Schedule for Single Table.") 

Memorizing- the hands has become such 
an intolerable nuisance that many play- 
ers in our leading clubs will no longer 
play the up-and-back game. The return 
play, under such circumstances, is any- 
thing but whist, for those players who 
happen to be in a position to take advan- 
tage of the situation have an undue ad- 
vantage. We would suggest as a remedy 
that your club play twice as many hands, 
playing them up one week and back the 
next. This method of play is practiced 
in some of the League clubs, and has 
been found to greatly reduce, if not en- 
tirely eliminate, the undue advantages 
formerly gained through remembering 
the hands. It is certainly a great im- 
provement over playing the hands back 
the same day. — IVhist [L. A .] , September, 
1896. 

Memory. — Memory plays an im- 
portant part in whist, especially in 
the modern scientific game, with 
its conventional signals, its mani- 
fold leads and inferences, and its 
complex language of the cards gen- 
erally. Still, persons who have not 



got phenomenal memories make 
good whist -players, especially if 
they have the largely compensating 
qualities of being able to pay strict 
attention to the game and to bring 
all their intelligence to bear upon 
it. Practice, too, will improve 
weak memories, and this is one of 
the great benefits conferred by the 
game, that it will help a player to 
train his mind to think and act sys- 
tematically. Memory alone will 
not make a whist-player. There 
have been many prodigies who 
could remember whole books, and 
recite them forwards and back- 
wards, but we have never heard 
that any of them excelled at 
whist. 

The memory is often unjustly blamed 
for not carrying some card which, owing 
to lack of attention, was never lodged in 
the mind. — Milton C. IVork [L.A. H.]. 

You must not despair if your memoiy 
frequently fails you at first. Like all 
other distinct faculties of the mind, it is 
strengthened by practice. — "Lieutenant- 
Colonel BV [L. O.]. 

Memory is a word often used, but little 
understood. What you consider memory 
is nothing more, as regards whist, than 
careful observation. — A. W. Drayson\L-\- 
^+], ''The Art of Practical Whist." 

Some persons verily believe that certain 
good players have the power to remem- 
ber every card played through every 
hand. * * * This is not true, is not 
possible, and, under the modern system, 
not necessary. — C. E. Coffin [L. A.l, 
"Gistof Whist y 

The necessity of remembering all the 
cards that fall is a fiction; no one at- 
tempts to do it, or needs to do it. The 
effort of memory required for fairly good 
playing is very moderate indeed, and 
such as no one need despair of being able 
to supply, when the game is learned sys- 
tematically. — William Pole [L. A-j-], 
"Philosophy of Whist." 

Endeavor to remember as many of the 
cards played as you can. They will in 
time all dwell on your memory; but you 
must begin by at least kno^wing all the 
chief cards which have been played, and 
by whom, in each suit. It is, however, 
still more important, and will greatly aid 
your memory, to observe with whom the 
strength in each suit probably lies. — 
James Clay \L. 0+]. 



MEMORY, ARTIFICIAL 267 MII/WAUKEB WHIST CI.UB 



The whist-player must possess the 
power, as the cards pass before his ej'es, 
of imprinting- them on his memory. He 
must comprehend them in his mind in- 
tuitively, without any strain, and with it 
should be the faculty of discarding the re- 
collection at the close of the hand. The 
whist-player must be innate in the mind 
of the player, and perfection will come 
by practice. A striking illustration of 
this is told in 1781, by the Scotch Law- 
Lord Monboddo to Dr. Horsley. * * * 
The faculties of the late provost of Edin- 
burgh had given way^ but although he 
had lost his judgment in everything else, 
there still remained the remarkable 
ability at whist which had always charac- 
terized him, and he played the game as 
well as ever. — W. P. Courtney \_L-\-0.'], 
^''English Whist." 

Memory, Artificial. — Various 
means have been suggested from 
time to time whereby a player 
might be enabled to assist his mem- 
ory in playing whist. Hoyle had a 
System of "artificial memory" 
which he was pleased to impart to 
all who were willing to pay him a 
guinea for it. It was published in 
the Edinburgh edition of his book, 
in 1838, and as a matter of curiosity 
is herewith reproduced: 

1. Place the trumps to the left of 
all other suits in your hand, the 
best or strongest suit next, the 
second best next, and the weakest 
last, on the right hand. 

2. If in the course of play you 
find you have the best card remain- 
ing of any suit, place it to the right 
of them, as it must certainly win a 
trick after all the trumps are played. 

3. When j'ou find you are pos- 
sessed of the second best card of 
any suit, to remember, place it on 
the right hand of that card you 
have already to remember as the 
best card remaining. 

4. If you have the third best 
card of any suit, place a small card 
of that suit between the second best 
card and the third best. 

5. In order to remember your 
partner's first lead, place a small 
card of the suit led entirely to the 



left of the trumps, or trump, in 
case you have but one. 

6. When you deal, put the trump 
turned up to the left of all your 
trumps; and as it is a kind of rule, 
keep this trump as long as you are 
able; it will be more out of the way 
and easier for you to recollect. 

(See, " Cards, Arrangement of. ") 

Memory Duplicate. — See, 
" Mnemonic Duplicate Whist." 

Middle Card.— The eight-spot. 
It is the seventh card in rank, 
counting from either end of the 
suit; hence, it is termed the middle 
card. 

Milwaukee Whist Club.— "To 

Eugene S. Elliott and his fellow- 
members of the Milwaukee Whist 
Club, to whom the origin of the 
first American whist congress, and 
the formation of the American 
Whist League, are due, this book 
is fraternally dedicated," wrote 
Charles S. Boutcher, in his " Whist 
Sketches," in 1891. 

The Milwaukee Whist Club was 
first organized as a chess and whist 
club in 1875, through the instru- 
mentality of Eugene S. Elliott {q. 
V. ) . Whist soon became the fa- 
vorite game, and after the advent 
of John Rheinart [q. v. ) , the play 
of the club was raised to a high 
degree of efficiency. The name 
was changed, and it became the 
first exclusive whist club in this 
country. Its first match was played 
with a club at Racine, Wis., and 
the record was three games won 
and two lost. Aside from this, the 
Milwaukee Club had, up to the first 
whist congress, won forty-four 
games and lost none, its total win- 
ning score being 2840 points, and 
its losing score but 52 points. At 
the congress the club distinguished 
itself by defeating the visitors 



" MINNEAPOLIS LEAD " 268 



MISDEAL 



(twenty-six tables, fifty-two players 
on each side), by a score of 1525 
against 1258, being 267 points 
ahead. 

On May 7, 1892, forty players 
from the Chicago Whist Club de- 
feated an equal number from the 
Milwaukee Club by sixty points, 
after the Chicago Club had sus- 
tained nine successive defeats in 
their efforts to obtain victory. This 
was the first defeat for Milwaukee 
in many years, and on June 4 it 
was followed by another defeat at 
the hands of the Chicago Club, 
which won by three tricks. 

The Milwaukee Whist Club was al- 
ready several years old when he [John 
Rheinart] first entered its doors; it then 
contained a goodly number of eager 
whist-students, who were anxious to per- 
fect themselves in the game, and who 
thought they were doing so when they 
played rigidly according to rule. They 
were book-players, and nothing else. 
Mr. Rheinart's play was a revelation to 
them. At first they would have none of 
it, then doubted, and finally warmly era- 
braced its principles. The success that 
has attended the Milwaukee Club during 
the last twelve years is largely the result. 
— WTiist, August, i8g2. 

** Minneapolis Lead." — A vari- 
ation in the American leads, which 
consists in leading the fourth best 
instead of the ace, in the combina- 
tion of ace and four or more others 
not including the king. The usual 
rule is to lead the fourth best only 
from a suit of four or less, headed 
by the ace, and to lead the ace when 
there are more than four in the 
suit. With strength in trumps, 
however, some players prefer to 
hold back the ace, also, in suits of 
five, in the belief that it will more 
likely prove of value on a subse- 
quent round than on the first. The 
play is said to have originated with 
the members of the Minneapolis 
team, in 1893, or at least to have 
been adopted by them at that time, 
when they won the championship 



trophy at the annual whist con- 
gress. The captain of the team in- 
formed R. F. Foster that he thought 
the same lead lost the champion- 
ship for them in 1894. Foster is 
inclined to agree with W. H. Whit- 
feld, the English analyst, that in 
the majority of cases, especially in 
straight whist, the lead of the small 
card is unsound. 

Minneapolis Trophy. — At the 

fifth congress of the American 
Whist League, held at Minneapo- 
lis, Minn., in 1895, a cup was do- 
nated by the Minneapolis Chess, 
Checkers, and Whist Club, to be 
played for by pairs at each annual 
congress. It was won at the sixth 
congress, at Manhattan Beach, 
Brooklyn, in 1896, by Beverley W. 
Smith and A. H. McCay, from the 
Baltimore Whist Club, who, how- 
ever, were at first tied by a pair 
from the Hamilton Whist Club, of 
Philadelphia ( Paul Clayton and Ar- 
thur D. Smith), the final result 
being determined by the trick score, 
by which the Baltimoreans were 
ahead. At Put-in-Bay, in 1897, the 
trophy was won by F. W. Mathias 
and L. J. Mathias, the pair repre- 
senting the Toledo (Ohio) Whist 
Club. 

Misdeal. — An incorrect deal of 
the cards. A misdeal loses the deal 
in straight whist, but in duplicate 
whist the player who misdeals is 
simply required to deal again. 

Under the head of " Misdeal," law 44, 
section 5, it is stated: " Should the dealer, 
under an impression that he has made a 
mistake, either count the cards on the 
table or remainder of the pack," it is a 
misdeal. The wording of this law is bad; 
a quibbler may stop during the deal and 
begin counting the cards; the adversaries 
would claim a misdeal. " Certainly not," 
would say the quibbler; "there is nothing 
in the laws against my counting the 
cards. I am not under the impression 
that I have made a misdeal; I know I 
have not done so. I may count the cards 



MISDEALING 



269 MITCHELL, JOHN T. 



if I choose." By rule 17, section 3, of the 
American Code, it says: " It is a misdeal if 
he counts the cards on the table or in the 
remainder of the pack," no mention be- 
ing made as to the "impression" of the 
dealer.—^. JV. I)rayson[L+A+'i, ''JVkist 
Laws and Whist Decisions.^' 

It is a misdeal: — 

I. If the dealer omits to have the pack 
cut and his adversaries discover the error 
before the trump card is turned, and be- 
fore looking at any of their cards. 

II. If he deals a card incorrectly and 
fails to correct the error before dealing 
another. 

III. If he counts the cards on the table 
or in the remainder of the pack. 

IV. If, having a perfect pack, he does 
not deal to each player the proper num- 
ber of cards, and the error is discovered 
before all have played to the first trick. 

V. If he looks at the trump card before 
the deal is completed. 

VI. If he places the trump card face 
downwards upon his own or any other 
player's cards. 

A misdeal loses the deal, unless, during 
the deal, either of the adversaries touches 
a card or in any other manner interrupts 
the dealer. — Laws of Whist {American 
Code), Section 17. 

Misdealing, How to Avoid. — 

If for any cause you must stop 
before finishing the deal, adopt the 
unfailing rule of stopping with 
yourself — i. e., deal yourself the 
last card — and when you resume 
begin with your left-hand adver- 
sary, as in the beginning of the 
deal. 



" Miss Todd's Whist Party."— 

Anthony Trollope, in his novel, 
"The Bertrams," gives a rather 
amusing old-time picture of a whist 
party which was given by Miss 
Todd. ' ' Nearly all the women in 
the room quarreled consutnedly 
over the game, and at last one of 
the victims of the denunciation of 
others, who ' had suffered from 
paralysis,' spread consternation 
throughout the company by behav- 
ing as if she were about to have a 
fit. Fortunately she possessed suf- 
ficient strength of body to retire 
from the room, and vigor enough 



as she withdrew to make a savage 
thrust, which went home, at the 
sharp-tongued lady, 3Iiss Ruff, 
whose persistent reproaches had 
driven her within a measurable dis- 
tance of frenzy." 

Mistakes. — To err in whist is 
human, as in other things. The 
best of players are liable to make 
mistakes. It is only when mistakes 
are repeated over and over, and 
persisted in, that they become evi- 
dence of ignorance and bad play. 
Nor should we do like Sir James 
Mackintosh's friend, of whom he 
records in his diary that, although 
in love with whist, he " always 
lost, because, instead of thinking 
how he was to play the hand be- 
fore him, he thought only of his 
blunders in the last hand." 

I never make a mistake, and I don't see 
•why yovt should. If you do, never admit 
it. — "The Roarer," in " The Whist Table." 

The bulk of players, when they go 
wrong, see the mistake they have made, 
and this is sufficiently mortifying— a gen- 
tleman should not add to the pain by 
harping on this one string. — Westminster 
Papers [L+O.]. 

Then there is the netT^ous partner (I 
feel deeply for him), who, if he makes a 
mistake, is so impressed by its enormity 
that his head is turned into a humming- 
top, and his play becomes wildly inco- 
herent.— ya»2« Payn [Z,. C]. 

Mitchell, John T. — Author of 
the first book on duplicate whist 
ever published, and the leader of 
the duplicate whist movement in 
America. Mr. Mitchell was born 
in Glasgow, Scotland, April 3, 1854, 
and came to this country in 1875. 
For five years he was at Milford, 
Conn., and after a year in Detroit, 
Mich., he went to Chicago in 1882, 
where he is now located with the 
Union National Bank. He com- 
menced playing whist in 1888, in 
which year his attention was called 
to a clipping from the London 



MITCHEI/L, JOHN T. 



270 MNEMONIC DUPLICATE 



Field, describing a match between 
tbe Carleton and Wanderers' Clubs 
at Glasgow, his native place, in 
■which use was made of a new kind 
of duplicate play devised by James 
Allison {q. v.). This led to his 
taking up the study of the dupli- 
cate game, and in the same year he 
organized the Chicago Duplicate 
Whist Club (all the members of 
which are now also members of the 
Chicago Whist Club). He has been 
an enthusiastic exponent of the 
game ever since, and has played in 
many matches and written much on 
the subject of duplicate whist. He 
joined the Carleton Club, of Chi- 
cago, in 1890, but resigned shortly 
after the Chicago Whist Club was 
organized, in 1891, and became a 
charter member of the latter. In 
1895 he became a member of the 
Hyde Park team, which won the 
championship the same year at the 
fifth congress of the American 
Whist League. In 1892 he wrote 
"Duplicate Whist," the first book 
on the subject. Mr. Mitchell was 
on the tournament committee of 
the third whist congress of the 
League, held at Chicago, in 1893, 
and played for the Chicago Dupli- 
cate and the Chicago Whist Clubs at 
Philadelphia, in 1895. In 1896 he 
was elected a director of the Ameri- 
can Whist League. Early in 1897 
appeared a greatly enlarged and 
thorougly revised edition of his 
book, now called " Duplicate Whist 
and Modern Leads." 

Mr. Mitchell is an advocate of 
the long-suit game and American 
leads, although in regard to the 
latter he favors certain modifica- 
tions, as set forth in his letter to 
Whist, September, 1896. (See, 
"American Leads, Changes in.") 
He is well in touch with " Caven- 
dish," except in the matter of the 
discard. He says, in a letter: "I 
believe in the weak-suit discard, 



except to protect honors in adver- 
saries' suits, and am opposed to 
the discard from the strong suit 
when adversary leads trumps, and 
that is my main point of difference 
with ' Cavendish. ' ' ' 

The new [Chicago Whist] club soon be- 
came famous for its Wednesday and Sat- 
urday night duplicate tournaments, 
which * * * were suggested and 
arranged by Mr. Mitchell. Full accounts 
of the marvelous attendance on these 
whist nights appeared in the Chicago 
papers, and were widely copied, with the 
natural result that other cities quickly 
followed the example, and Mr. Mitchell 
was kept busy writing instructions to 
people who wanted to play duplicate. To 
his efforts in Chicago the great popularity 
of duplicate whist is undoubtedly due, 
and he is generally spoken of as "the 
father of duplicate whist." — R. P. Foster 
[S. 0.1 , Monthly Illustrator, 1897. 

In 189 1 the writer picked up in a Chi- 
cago bookstore a slim, blue-colored vol- 
ume entitled, "Duplicate Whist: Its 
Rules and Methods of Play. Being a Full 
Description of the New and Scientific 
Game which Equalizes the Strength of 
Opposing Hands, thus Reducing the Ele- 
ment of Luck to a Minimum. By John 
T. Mitchell." It was the first effort to put 
systematically into print the schedules 
and arrangement of plaj'ers through 
which the then new game of duplicate 
whist was slowly groping toward perfec- 
tion. It was a treasure, a delight, a reve- 
lation of the possibilities of the new 
game. Nearly up to that time the local 
enthusiasts had played their cards to the 
centre, picked them out afterwards by a 
record previously made, and preserved 
the hands in envelopes. No system of 
play including more than one table was 
understood. Mitchell's " Duplicate 
Whist" changed all this, and the "team 
of four" and the "progressive" games 
became possible. — H. M. Wheelock [L. A.], 
Wheelock''s Weekly, Fergus Falls, Minn. 

" Mixers." — Players who em- 
ploy both long and short-suit tac- 
tics. An American phrase. 

Mnemonic Duplicate Whist. — 

Duplicate whist played by four 
players at one table; the single- 
table game. Called also mnemonic 
because the memory may assist the 
players in playing the hands again 
more easily than in the game where 



MODEL HANDS 



271 " MODIFIED GAME, THE " 



more tables and players are em- 
ployed. For this reason, the laws 
of duplicate whist allow the trump 
to be declared for the sitting in the 
mnemonic game, the fact being 
recognized that the turning of a 
trump for each deal would aid the 
players in remembering the hands. 
(See, " Duplicate Whist.") 

It is a (juestiou whether any advantage 
[at duplicate whist] is gained b5' trj'ing 
to memorize the hands. IJgregious errors 
are sometimes made by those trying to 
recognize and act upon some peculiarity, 
as a loss is apt to occur b3' mistaking the 
hand. There are occasional hands, how- 
ever, which intrude on the memory, and 
in which a variation of play may lead to 
an advantage. The only fair thing to do 
is to play the cards in strict accordance 
■with whist maxims, or throw out the 
deal.— ^VAtsi [L.A.]. 

Model Hands. — See, "Illus- 
trative Hands." 

Modern Scientific Game. — 

Whist played scientifically and 
after the manner of the modern 
school, of which "Cavendish" is 
the head and chief exponent. The 
modern scientific game is defined 
as follows by Dr. Pole, in his " Evo- 
lution of Whist:" "We are now 
able to enunciate the fundamental 
theory of the modern scientific 
game, which is, that the hands of 
the two partners shall not be played 
singly and independentl}', but shall 
be combined, and treated as one. 
And in order to carry out most 
effectually this principle of combi- 
nation, each partner shall adopt 
the long-suit system as the general 
basis of his play." (See, also, 
"American L,eads," "Long-Suit 
Game," and "Old and New 
Schools.") 

Even to-day persons may play excellent 
whist without reference to the modern 
system; j'et the fact remains that they 
must play a vastly better game than their 
opponents in order to win from those who 
avail themselves of that system. — Emery 
Boardman \L-\rA^, "Winning Whist.''' 



The reproach oftenest applied to the 
modern system is the allegation that the 
ability developed for play is, in general, 
much inferior to that acquired for signal- 
ing. That sj'stem, however, does tend to 
create a host of acceptable partners for 
experts, which is a boon to both, making 
life much pleasanter for the fine players, 
and they, in turn, for their partners. — 
Emery Boardman [L+A.'i, ''Winning 
Whist." 

The essential difference between mod- 
ern whist and the style of game which we 
call old-fashioned lies in the recognition 
of the principle stated by Clay: " It is of 
more importance to inform your partner 
than to deceive your adversary." This is 
not universally true, and it might be 
qualified by saying that information is 
of more use to the strong hand than to 
the weak, for when the adversaries de- 
velop great strength, or a partner shows 
decided weakness, to give exact informa- 
tion would be very bad whist. — R. F. Fos- 
ter [S. C], ''Johjison's Universal Cyclo- 
pisdia," i8g^. 

"Modified Game, The.'* — A 

method of play for advanced play- 
ers devised by Charles S. Street, 
which, while growing out of the 
long-suit game, differs from it in 
essence and structure. It was com- 
piled from the long-suit and from 
the short-suit games, and is in- 
tended to ' ' embody the good points 
of each, and to remedy the weak- 
nesses of both." Mr. Street em- 
phasizes one great point in whist: 
" The player who opens a suit with 
a small card does so at a great cost; 
this cost he should incur only when 
he is fairly sure that he can reim- 
burse himself and his partner by a 
subsequent gain in the hand." 
Having laid down this platform, 
he continues: " Forgetful of this, 
the long-suiter errs in his low leads 
from useless five-card suits, and in 
his ruthless exposure of single 
court cards and tenaces in four-card 
suits; and the short-suiter errs in 
his lead of a low singleton or a low 
two-card suit." The remedy is the 
modified game. While a player 
of this game leads from almost any 
five-card suit with two or more 



"MOGUL" 



272 



" MOGUIv " 



honors in it, while he even leads a 
low card in true orthodox way from 
any five-card suit with but one 
honor in it, he halts there. While 
he leads any four-card suit, with 
three honors, he is wary about suits 
of this length when they contain 
two honors forming a real or possi- 
ble tenace, or when they contain 
but one honor, or none; while he 
leads short suits, or even singletons, 
he refuses to do so when they are 
low cards demanding high play 
from third hand. In brief, the 
modified game is built upon these 
five prohibitions: 

1. Do not lead a small card (any 
card under the nine) from a suit 
which you are unlikely to estab- 
lish, or at least to protect. 

2. Do not lead a small card from 
a four-card suit not containing an 
honor. 

3. Do not lead a low card as a 
singleton, or in a two-card suit. 

4. Unless compelled to, avoid lead- 
ing four-card suits containing king, 
queen; ace, queen; ace, jack; king, 
jack; or a single king or queen. 

5. Do not lead five trumps just 
because you have them, with noth- 
ing else to make. 

This play was practiced and per- 
fected by Mr. Street and his part- 
ners on a team of four — Messrs. 
Charles S. Knowles, Charton L. 
Becker, and William Donald — to 
whom he dedicated Part II. of his 
" Whist Up-to-Date." 

'• Mogul." — A pseudonym un- 
der which Matthias Boyce, a lead- 
ing English opponent of " Ameri- 
can leads," has written much in 
opposition to "Cavendish" and the 
modern scientific school. Mr. 
Boyce was born on July 3, 1829, at 
Richmond, Surrey, near London, 
and has practiced as a solicitor in 
the latter city for nearly fifty years. 
Having a mathematical turn of 



mind, and his father being a very 
good whist-player, he took to the 
game while still in his teens. Not 
content with merely watching fine 
play, he studied the best treatise 
then available, "Major A.'s" 
"Short Whist" (a rechaufie of 
Mathews' treatise, then out of 
print). In 1866 he began a series 
of papers on whist in the Field, 
under the nom deplume of "Mo- 
gul," and continued them for some 
six years. His contributions em- 
braced such subjects as the prin- 
ciples of play, the construction of 
the laws, and the etiquette of the 
game, the principal articles being: 
" On the Play of Second Hand 
with King and one Small One;" 
"The Lead from Ace and Four 
Small Ones;" "The Lead from 
Queen, Knave, Ten, and Others;" 
" On the Grand Coup," etc. In 
1867, he tells us, he advocated the 
lead of the ten from queen, ten, 
jack, and others, as ensuring the 
command of the suit on the third 
round; " but," he adds, " 'Caven- 
dish' then objected to it." After 
that he ceased for a time to contrib- 
ute to the Field, but sent numer- 
ous papers to The Westminster Pa- 
pers and Knowledge, with which 
he was more in sympathy. He 
also wrote for the Cornhill Maga- 
zine an article on "Whist, Ra- 
tional and Artificial. " The papers 
in Knowledge included one on 
"Discarding," and another "On 
the Original Lead." For the pur- 
poses of the latter he drew up sev- 
eral hands, and submitted them to 
the leading English players for 
their opinions as to the lead. " By 
this means, ' ' he says, ' ' I was able 
to prove that ' Cavendish's' cast- 
iron rules for leading were not 
generally adopted, and that nearly 
all the experts allowed themselves 
a much greater latitude in leading 
than 'Cavendish' enforced." In 



'MOGUI." 



273 MORALITY OF WHIST 



1884, and subsequently, "Mogul" 
attacked, in the Field, the lead of 
the penultimate and the succeed- 
ing American leads. He has since 
contributed a few papers also to 
Whist (Milwaukee), including one 
on " Private Conventions," where- 
in he strongly condemns all private 
signals, and also all signals which 
are purely arbitrary. We are as- 
sured that his opinions on these 
points are unchanged, and in his 
judgment "the chief effect in 
England of ' Cavendish's' endeavor 
to make American leads and other 
signals an integral part of the 
game has been to lower his pres- 
tige and authority;" in fact, ac- 
cording to " Mogul's" experience, 
' ' the great bulk of players prefer 
to keep on the old highroads of 
the game, based on rational deduc- 
tions, rather than to be led into by- 
paths smothered with sign-posts 
leading to chaos. ' ' 

' ' Mogul ' ' considers the American 
game of playing for tricks less in- 
teresting ( as is quite natural for an 
Englishman of his conservatism) 
than the English mode of playing 
games and rubbers. In his opinion, 
the American game ' ' loses entirely 
some of the nicest points of play 
consequent on the necessity of 
playing to the score. ' ' In 1896 he 
took E. C. Howels's book on the 
short-suit game as his text for an 
article in the Field, showing the pit- 
falls consequent on conflicting sys- 
tems of signals, and the confusion 
thereby created. " Mogul" holds 
that the play of every hand must 
be adapted to its peculiarities, hav- 
ing regard to the score; he scouts 
the idea that a hand ought to be 
played in accordance with fixed 
rules in order that a player may 
earn a character for straightforward 
play, as unfair to his then partner; 
in fact, he approves of the "com- 
mon-sense" game, "provided the 

18 



player has qualified himself to bring 
common sense to bear on the sub- 
ject by mastering the theory of the 
game, for otherwise untrained com- 
mon sense is no better guide at 
whist than it would be in naviga- 
tion." 

Mongrel Whist. — Whist which is 
not played in accordance with any 
well-defined method or system; a 
mixture; bumblepuppy. 

Morality of Whist, The— Of all 

card games whist is the best, not 
only scientifically, but morally 
considered. In this country at 
least it is not in any way associated 
with play for money, and throws 
no temptation in the way of the 
young. The first congress of the 
American Whist League, in 1891, 
did away even with the often trivial 
table stakes which obtain in Eng- 
land and other countries, by de- 
claring them to be "contrary to 
good morals." The infinite re- 
sources of the game were deemed 
sufficient in themselves to lend 
charm and interest to it in the 
eyes of all classes of players. The 
changes in its laws and the manner 
of play made in this country are 
all in harmony with these ideas. 
The elimination of honors from the 
count, the change from five to seven 
points in counting game, and the 
introduction of duplicate play all 
greatly reduced the element of 
chance, and made American whist 
essentially a deliberate game of 
skill, unsuited entirely to the pur- 
poses of those who play for money. 
Whist, thus purified and elevated, 
may safely be recommended to 
every man, woman, and child as a 
means of amusement, recreation, 
and mental training. (See, also, 
" Whist as an Educator.") 

One phase of the interest in whist 
which is spreading among women should 



MORGAN, H. F. 



274 



MORT 



not be overlooked. This is its added re- 
source to woman's power and home influ- 
ence. To its lover, whether man or 
woman, the charm of whist is its mental 
recreation, and if good whist can be had 
at home or in the social circle, most of the 
inducement for seeking it elsewhere is 
lost. — Charles S. Boutcher \L. A.]. 

But if whist is not a g'ame for the saloon 
or the gambling-hell, it is, on the other 
hand, a game for the home; a game in 
which any bright child may innocently 
indulge, and that will assist in training 
his mental faculties to such a condition 
of excellence as will materially aid him 
in the duties of after-life. We wish that 
we could see this game introduced into 
every American home, for we believe that 
it would do more to keep our boys out of 
dangerous places, and put them under 
safe and ennobling influences, than al- 
most any other agency. — Casstus M. Paine 
[L.A.], JVhist. 

Morgan, H- F. — Author of a 
treatise on whist ("The Whist- 
Player's Guide," 1881), which deals 
with the subject by way of ques- 
tions and answers. He was a cap- 
tain of the Twenty-eighth English 
regiment. 

"IWort."— Whist for three, or 
French dummy {whist d, trots), is 
popularly known as ' ' ntori. ' ' The 
dummy hand is called mort, and 
dummy's partner vivant, or the 
living hand; the other players are 
known as the right and left. These 
are also collectively spoken of as 
the adversaries. The table is usually 
composed of four players, one of 
them sitting out until the end of a 
rubber. The player cutting the 
lowest card has ntort as partner for 
the first game, and is known as 
vivant; he has the choice of seat 
and cards. When four are playing, 
each player, after occupying the 
position of vivant, immediately 
sits out fox the next game, usually 
occupying morVs seat, and making 
himself useful by sorting morVs 
cards, etc., although he has noth- 
ing to do with the play. When 
stakes are played for, vivant is 
obliged to pay double when losing. 



and entitled to receive double when 
winning. Honors are not counted 
in ' ' -mort, ' ' but a special value of 
twenty points, for the side making 
it, attaches to a slam. The slam, 
however, is credited on the general 
score, and has no effect on the 
game in which it is made, the cards 
being played, and points counted, 
as if no slam had been made. On 
the general score are counted also 
the number of points won on each 
game by each side, all the cards 
being played out each time. The 
winners count three extra points 
for a triple game, if their opponents 
have not scored; two points for a 
double, if the opponents are not 
halfway; or one point for a single, 
if the opponents are three or four. 
The winners also add four points as 
a bonus, corresponding to the rub- 
ber points in English whist. From 
the total points found upon adding 
up are deducted the points scored 
by the losers. The cards in ^'morV^ 
are played the same as in whist, 
and the rules and laws governing 
dummy largely apply. Owing to 
the feature of counting the slam, 
however, a change is made in the 
laws governing revokes, it being 
provided that the revoking player's 
tricks shall not be reduced to noth- 
ing. At least one trick must re- 
main, so that slams shall not be 
made through revoke penalties. 
Where a player revokes to an extent 
that would make him liable to lose 
all his tricks, or more, the other 
side leaves him one trick, and adds 
the unpaid tricks to its own score. 

The French game of mort is dummy, 
vTith a better system of scoring intro- 
duced. — R. F. Foster \S. C>.], '■^Complete 
Hoyle." 

A few years back I passed a winter in 
Algiers, and found dummy whist played 
there in a way that was altogether new to 
me, and which I consider vastly superior 
to the old-fashioned game. Single games 
are played and not rubbers, and each 
player plays one in his turn. Honors are 



MOSSOP, CHARLES 



275 



MOSSOP, chari.es 



not counted, but each trick counts for 
one, and the winning of the game for 
four. Thus, if twelve out of the thirteen 
tricks are made, the value of the game is 
fifteen points, viz. : eleven for tricks and 
four for the game. And if all thirteen 
tricks are made, which is commonly 
called the "grand slam," the winner re- 
ceives seventeen points from each adver- 
sary, viz., thirteen for the tricks and four 
for the game points. But this hand does 
not count towards the game in which it 
has occurred, and that game proceeds as 
if no grand slam had been made. When 
dummy is played in this waj; no hands 
are thrown up, as every trick is of value. 
* * * I recommend it as a great im- 
provement on the old game, and as much 
more instructive to those who wish to be- 
come good whist-players. — James Clay 
[L. O-h]. 

This highly scientific game is almost 
universal in France. It involves a mode 
of play entirely different from ordinary 
whist. Honors are not counted. Each 
player takes dummy in turn as partner. 
Each trick over six counts one. Either 
side making all thirteen tricks, counts a 
"grand slam," the winner, or winners, 
counting twenty points against each ad- 
versary; but this slam does not affect the 
game being played. The game goes on 
as if no slam had been made. If the 
party making the slam makes more 
points in the following hand they are 
added to the slam; if he lose, they are 
deducted. If either side makes five points 
over and above the first six, he goes out, 
and counts (if his adversaries have made 
none), five for points, three for a treble, 
and four for game, or " consolation," 
equal to twelve points, which are added 
to all the points he may have made in the 
previous hand or hands. In some clubs 
the slam is not counted, in which case 
eighteen points is the most that can be 
won or lost in one game, viz., four previ- 
ous hand or hands, seven tricks, a treble, 
and the " consolation." In some parts 
of France dummy is counted thus: Single 
games without honors, each player takes 
dummy in turn; each trick taken counts 
one, and four for "consolation." If the 
grand slam is made, the winner receives 
seventeen points from each adversary, 
and the game continues; if twelve tricks 
are made, the winner receives the value 
of sixteen points. In dummy whist, as 
plaj'ed at the Washington Club [in Paris] , 
points are not counted as above, but 
counted the same as short whist — so much 
a game of five points — "yl. Trump, Jr." 
\L. O.], ''Short Whist," 1880. 

Mossop, Charles. — An advo- 
cate of the old leads and old style 
of play, who, for eleven years, as 



editor of the famous Westminster 
Papers, exercised an influence 
over English whist-players second 
only to that of " Cavendish" in the 
Field. Mr. Mossop was born at 
Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, Eng- 
land, November 6, 1833, and edu- 
cated at the Diocesan School, Lin- 
coln. Later he studied law, and 
passing his examination before he 
was of age, he was admitted to 
practice in 1854, His career as a 
lawyer has been very successful, as 
the long list of celebrated litiga- 
tions in which he has come off vic- 
torious fully attests, and at this 
writing he is the senior partner in 
the firm of Mossop & Rolfe, solici- 
tors, practicing at 46 Cannon street, 
E. C., London. 

Mr. Mossop comes of a whist- 
loving family, his father and uncles 
all being players of reputation. 
He himself, at an early age, took 
an interest in games of skill, such 
as chess, whist, and double dummy. 
He was fond of whist, he tells us, 
from his childhood. In April, 
1868, the Westminster Papers was 
started, at first as a chess journal; 
then the originators suggested that 
Mr. Mossop join them, and, as he 
says, go in for whist as well. His 
love for the game induced him to 
do so, and, for eleven years, as 
proprietor and editor, he conducted 
the periodical, writing an article 
on whist every month. "His 
style," says a writer in "Lead- 
ing Men of London," " was rough, 
but very trenchant, and few could 
mistake his meaning. " The West- 
minster Papers was started in part 
because all the other journals then 
devoted to chess were controlled 
by Staunton, who, it was claimed, 
was often dictatorial and unjust to 
his rivals. In whist, something of 
the same opinion was held of 
"Cavendish" and the Field, by 
Mr. Mossop and his friends. 



NATIONAL TRUMP 



276 NEWBOLD, MRS. WM. H. 



As a lawyer lie was distinguished 
for his shrewdness, readiness in de- 
bate, and great aggressiveness. He 
was a born fighter, and these same 
qualities, when carried into whist, 
made his journal a thing of force 
and character, and something that 
was well worthy of the serious at- 
tention of those opposed to him in 
opinion. In 1879 the journal was 
discontinued, not for want of sup- 
port, but because Mr. Mossop took 
up public work, serving for ten 
years as a member of the Chelsea 
vestry, and part of the time as its 
representative on the Metropolitan 
Board of Works. 

Since then, while he has re- 
tained his interest in whist, his 
legal practice has prevented him 
from taking a very active part. He 
has for years had the reputation of 
being a fine player, and was chosen, 
with A. B. BeUief, F. H. Lewis, 
and A. G. Barnes, to represent the 
Westminster Club in its whist 
match with the Cavendish Club, 
the players of the latter being 
Messrs. Foster, Martin, Walker, 
and Boyce, at the time considered 
the pick of London whist-players. 
"The Whist Table," a large vol- 
ume, edited by "Portland," pub- 
ished in 1894, is largely made up 
from Mr. Mossop' s writings in the 
Westminster Papers. 

National Trump. — The laws of 
duplicate whist permit a suit to be 
declared for the entire sitting in the 
mnemonic, or single-table, game, 
the object being to lessen the 
chance of remembering the hands 
by the turned trump. For other 
good reasons, it seems to us, trumps 
might be declared instead of turned 
from the pack in all forms of dupli- 
cate whist (and they now are, in 
fact, frequently so declared). Nor 
do we see any valid reason why a 
permanent trump should not be 



selected for straight as well as du- 
plicate. A national trump would 
simplify the game and add strength 
to it, as it would not only remove 
the annoyance caused by many 
players constantly forgetting what 
card was turned, but it would en- 
able each and every one to expend 
the mental effort required in keep- 
ing track of the trump suit to bet- 
ter purpose upon the play of the 
hand. There need be no fear that 
the failure to turn trumps each 
time may in some mysterious man- 
ner disturb the proportions and 
harmony of whist, or attach too 
great an advantage to the deal, for 
where all are agreed and no excep- 
tion is made, in any given mode of 
play, there cannot be any disad- 
vantage to any one, per se. Take, 
as an example, the non-counting of 
honors in the American game. All 
are agreed upon it, and no one is 
at a disadvantage. When the laws 
of whist are again revised, the per- 
manent, or national, trump should 
receive due consideration as a sim- 
plification and improvement of the 
game, 

Newbold, Mrs. William Henry. 

— Mrs. Newbold may with justice 
be called the pioneer of woman's 
whist in Philadelphia. Her enthu- 
siasm as a player, her social posi- 
tion, and attractive personality gave 
her a special opportunity to arouse 
an interest in the game among the 
women of the Quaker City. It is 
largely due to her efforts that Phil- 
adelphia stands to-day at the head 
of all whist centres, so far as her 
women players are concerned. 

Mrs. Newbold began teaching 
about the year 1891, and has always 
devoted the proceeds of her teach- 
ing to charity. Her system of 
teaching is conservative for begin- 
ners, consisting of the long-suit 
game with American leads, as in- 



NEW DEAL 



277 



'NEW PLAY, THE" 



culcated by " Cavendisli" and his 
school. When they have grasped 
their elementary instruction and 
proved discriminative, she teaches 
them the game of the advanced 
players. Her "Condensed Text- 
book of Whist," which she pub- 
lished under the name of Roberta 
G. Newbold, is a deservedly popu- 
lar whist primer, 

Mrs. Newbold was elected an as- 
sociate member of the American 
Whist League, June 20, 1896, and 
took an active part in the organi- 
zation of the Woman's Whist 
League in April, 1897. She is one 
of the most expert players of the 
League. " Her game," says Mrs. 
H. E. Wallace, in Vogue, January 
7, 1897, "is a strong and brainy 
one, great skill being shown in 
trump management, strengthening 
cards, leading through weakness, 
and skill in discarding. The latter 
feature of her plan caused consid- 
erable complimentary comment 
among the men-players at the whist 
congress in June, at the Oriental 
Hotel, Manhattan Beach, where 
among other clever discards one of 
the king of hearts made a gain of 
several tricks in the hand as played 
by her." 

The team of four captained by 
Mrs. Newbold won the Andrews 
trophies in 1896, and successfully 
defended them nine times against 
all comers up to December, 1897. 

New Deal. — A fresh deal of the 
cards when, for any reason, the 
previous deal is void. 

There must be a new deal by the same 
dealer: (1) If any card except the last is 
faced in the pack. (2) If during the deal, 
or during the play of the hand, the pack 
is proved incorrect or imperfect; but any 
prior score made with that pack shall 
stand. 

If during a deal a card is exposed the 
side not at fault may demand a new deal, 
provided neither of that side has touched 
a card. If a new deal does not take place 



the exposed card is not liable to be called. 
— Laws of IVhist {American Code), Sections 
14. 15- 

There must be a new deal: (i) If dur- 
ing a deal, or during the play of^a hand, 
the pack be proved incorrect or imperfect. 
(2) If any card, excepting the last, be 
faced in the pack. 

If, whilst dealing, a card be exposed by 
the dealer or his partner, should neither 
of the adversaries have touched the cards, 
the latter can claim a new deal; a card 
exposed by either adversary gives that 
claim to the dealer, provided that his 
partner has not touched a card; if a new 
deal does not take place the exposed card 
cannot be called. 

If during dealing a player touch any 
of his cards the adversaries may do the 
same without losing their privilege of 
claiming a new deal, should chance give 
them such option. 

If in dealing one of the last cards be 
exposed, and the dealer turn up the trump 
before there is reasonable time for his ad- 
versaries to decide as to a fresh deal, they 
do not thereby lose their privilege. 

If a player, while dealing, look at the 
trump card his adversaries have a right 
to see it, and may exact a new deal. 

If a player take into the hand dealt to 
him a card belonging to the other pack 
the adversaries, on discovery of the error, 
may decide whether they will have a 
fresh deal or not. — Laws of IVhist {Eng- 
lish Code), Sections 37-42. 

New Deal, Not Entitled to A. — 

At a game of whist, one of the par- 
ties, immediately after the trump 
card was ttirned, threw down his 
hand and exclaimed: "lam enti- 
tled to a new deal, as I have neither 
trump, ace, nor court card." His 
demand was refused, whereupon he 
said he would wager he was right, 
and the matter was referred to 
Whist for decision. The latter, of 
course, decided that the claim for a 
new deal was unfounded. 

*• New Play, The." — A term em- 
ployed by G. W. Pettes, in his 
"American Whist Illustrated," to 
designate his proposed system of 
leads, whereby he intended to show 
the number of lower cards held in 
the hand, in the same manner that 
the fourth-best lead shows the pos- 
session of a certain number of 



" NIGHTMARE WHIST ' 



278 



NINE-SPOT, THE 



higher cards. For instance, he 
says: " By the American lead of 
eight you know that three higher 
cards are held. By the new play 
of the queen you know that three 
lower cards are held." This sys- 
tem, and the American leads, he 
desired to incorporate into what he 
called his former system of Ameri- 
can whist. " The American game," 
he said, "appropriates and makes 
available all the advantages that 
both plans can offer." He appears 
to have submitted his idea to 
"Cavendish," who, he says, "re- 
cognizes that a portion of its influ- 
ence can be used in English whist, 
but because of its newness, and the 
necessity of knowing the manner 
of its application, very properly 
says: ' It will, for the present, at 
least, be accepted only by players 
of the first force. ' ' ' Upon the death 
of Mr. Pettes these improvements, 
as well as other special leads which 
he advocated, fell into disuse. (See, 
" Nine-Spot," and " Pettes, G.W.") 

•• Nightmare Whist." — Whist 
which is not played as a pastime, 
but as a severe means of exercise 
and training in the game, or as a 
means of exhausting the possibili- 
ties of certain hands. (See, ' ' Per- 
ception Problems," and "Study 
Whist") 

There is a large (and it is gratifying to 
know an increasing) class of players who, 
having'been initiated into the rudiments 
of the game, are not content until they 
have exhausted all there is of it, and who 
find that the more study they put upon it 
the more there is left for them to learn. 
An example of this class is the coterie of 
the Boston Press Club who play to the 
eighth trick, then stop and try to locate 
the remaining cards, writing down their 
estimates on blanks prepared for the 
purpose. After playing the last five tricks 
they pass the blanks around and have 
them corrected. Finally they discuss 
from top to bottom the play of the deal, 
and in a doomsday book put down a big 
black mark opposite the name of any- 
body who loses a trick. Our correspon- 



dent in September Whist remarks that 
"they seem to enjoy this sort of thing; 
but there are others who call it nightmare 
whist." Probably it is a nightmare to 
those whose inclinations or ability forbid 
them to indulge in such study. It is a 
recorded fact that men have lived who, 
after a hard day's work, would find their 
recreation in solving problems of Euclid. 
What to them was undoubtedly sport or a 
pleasant pastime, would unquestionably 
be to ordinary people a most hideous sort 
of nightmare.— ?*7iM^ \L. ^.], October, 
1895- 

Nine-Spot,Thc.— The sixth card 
in rank or value in the pack ; the 
highest of the low cards. It is in- 
cluded among the high cards by 
some authorities. 

The original lead of the nine has 
occasioned not a little discussion. 
In the system of old leads it is not 
now led from any high-card combi- 
nation, except as it may happen to 
be the penultimate or antepenulti- 
mate. But R. A. Proctor, a well- 
known advocate of old leads, 
advocated the lead of the nine 
("How to Play Whist," 1889) as 
the proper lead from king, jack, 
nine; and, in case of a forced lead, 
from nine and two others. 

In the system of American leads 
the nine is led as a fourth-best card, 
but under this rule it so happens 
that it is restricted to just two com- 
binations of four cards each — ace, 
queen, ten, nine; and ace, jack, ten, 
nine. G. W. Pettes, while accept- 
ing the American leads, insisted 
upon a number of variations, and 
one of his ideas was to treat the 
nine as a high card and lead it from 
the single combination of king, 
jack, nine, with or without others, 
excepting ace and queen. In order 
to effect his special lead of the nine, 
he led ace from ace, queen, ten, 
nine; and from ace, jack, ten, nine. 
Although for a time the fad met 
with considerable favor, it was 
shown to be unsound, and is now 
entirely fallen into disuse. " Cav- 
endish" strongly condemns it. 



NOEL, MRS. LILLIAN C. 279 NOEL, MRS. LILLIAN C. 



In the Howell (short-suit) system, 
the lead of the nine (or the ten) 
indicates the supporting-card game; 
followed by jack or ten, it indicates 
a suit of four or more, and does not 
deny higher cards in the suit. 

Some of the things he ["Cavendish"] 
condemns have long since been dead 
issues in this country, such as the lead of 
ace from ace, queen, ten, nine, and ace, 
jack, ten, nine, which was suggested by 
G. W. P., who wished to restrict the nine- 
lead to king, jack, ten, nine, or king, 
jack, nine, and others. If any one plays 
the G. W. P. game now he is a curiosity. — 
R. F. Foster [S. O.] , New York Sun, July ii, 
1897. 

Experimental whist commenced its 
career in America by the practice of lead- 
ing nine, instead of fourth best, from 
king, knave, nine, and one or more small 
cards. The lead of nine was to show 
absolutely the possession of king, knave, 
etc. It was not to be led from any other 
combination. Now, if any special ad- 
vantage is to be gained by showing king, 
knave in hand, the nine-lead might be 
submitted to as an irregular opening, with 
a particular object. But the reverse is the 
case. If the adversaries hold any high 
cards in the suit, the lead of nine, on this 
system, instructs them how to take the 
best chance of making tricks. Moreover, 
it gives less information than the lead of 
nine [as fourth best] from the recognized 
combinations, as well as compelling un- 
usual leads from them. Deeper analysis 
of the fad would be waste of space. It 
has been tried, and is now generally 
given up. — " Cavendish'''' \^L. A.I, Scribner''s 
Monthly, July, 1897. 

Noel, Mrs. Lillian Curtis. — One 

of the foremost exponents of whist 
in the great Southwest. Mrs. Noel 
became interested in whist while a 
mere child. Her father was fond 
of the game, and it was as his suc- 
cessful partner against opponents 
(gentlemen) who considered them- 
selves hard to defeat, that her 
game first attracted attention. 
During her school-days whist was 
her recreation, one hour being de- 
voted to it every evening before she 
went to her studies. An early edi- 
tion of G. W. P. 's "American 
Whist' ' was the authority consulted. 
Upon her marriage she removed 



from her whist surroundings, and 
did not play a game for several 
years. When she returned to St. 
Louis she found her friends play- 
ing the " book game," and this in- 
duced her to take up whist and 
study it scientifically. Before long 
she was frequently referred to as an 
authority upon doubtful points by 
those who had not had the advan- 
tage of an early training similar to 
hers, and later she was urged by 
many to become their teacher. 
Having never heard of any one 
teaching whist, she hesitated, but 
was finally persuaded. She thus 
began giving instruction in 1893, 
and soon became very successful in 
the work, which is very congenial 
to her tastes. She finds in every 
beginner something new and inter- 
esting, and is very popular wdth 
her classes. Although she has had 
many flattering offers from other 
cities, she has thus far almost ex- 
clusively devoted her time to teach- 
ing in St. Louis, where the de- 
mands upon her time are so great 
that she finds none to spare. J. E. 
Shwab, one of the directors of the 
American Whist League, induced 
her to go to Nashville, in the vsdn- 
ter of i896-'97, and deliver a lec- 
ture on whist for the benefit of the 
woman's building at the Nashville 
Centennial Exposition. That, and 
a summer spent in teaching at 
some of the Northern watering- 
places, have been her chief experi- 
ences away from home. 

Mrs. Noel was elected an asso- 
ciate member of the American 
Whist League, June 17, 1895, at 
the Minneapolis congress. In the 
previous year she had organized 
the Woman's Whist Association, of 
St. Louis, which has since grown 
to be one of the largest and most 
successful women's clubs in the 
country. In 1897 it had nearly 
reached the limit of one hundred 



NOM DB PLUMB 



280 NUMBBR-SHOWING LBADS 



members. lu order that it might 
start with the most desirable mem- 
bership, an examination in whist 
was prescribed for all applicants. 
Mrs. Noel has been its president 
ever since its organization. She is 
very proud of the high standard of 
the whist played by the members; 
and well she may be, as it is large- 
ly due to her untiring eflforts. We 
cannot do better, in closing this 
brief sketch, than to quote the fol- 
lowing from a review of the whist 
congress in the Minneapolis yi?«r- 
«a/ of June 19, 1895: 

" While Miss Wheelock may lay 
claim to the title of ' whist queen,' 
nevertheless yesterday, at the con- 
vention, she was obliged to divide 
honors with a St. Louis lady, who 
has also entered the domain of 
whist with conquering step. Not 
that she seeks notoriety, for she is 
as modest as her sister 'queen,' 
Miss Wheelock; but she has been 
very successful in her work. She 
is Mrs. L. C. Noel, and it is small 
wonder that her whist classes are 
popular, for she is as charming as 
any ambitious beginner, or, for that 
matter, an expert at the game, 
could wish to meet. She is a 
typical Southern woman, with all 
the easy grace which distinguishes 
the members of her sex." 

Nom de Plume. — See, "Pseudo- 
nyms of Whist Authors." 

Non - Informatory Game. — A 

style of game by which no informa- 
tion is conveyed between partners; 
primitive whist; bumblepuppy. 

The player who never read a book on 
■whist sometimes, though rarely, gains an 
advantage by his non-conventional play. 
He puzzles his partner, but also puzzles 
his adversaries, and perhaps once out of 
three or four times he gains a success by 
this confusion. Then he remembers his 
success, and forgets his disasters, and is 
more firmly convinced than ever that 
reading is of no practical benefit. — A. IV. 



Drayson [L+A +], "The Art of Practical 
IVkist." 

N-S, E-W. — Letters chiefly used 
to distinguish the players at dupli- 
cate whist, but sometimes also used 
in printed or published hands of 
straight whist. North and south 
are partners against east and west. 
A good rule would be to let north 
always represent the leader, un- 
less otherwise stated. (See, "A-B, 
Y-Z.") 

The cardinal points of the compass, 
familiar from childhood and almost daily 
used as guides, are the simpliist symbols 
we can conceive of for denoting relative 
positions. — IVhisi [L. A .] , December, 1892. 

Number-Showing Leads. — A 

name sometimes applied to the 
American leads {q. v.), because 
they give information concerning 
the number, as well as the charac- 
ter, of the cards held in hand. R. 
F. Foster, in his articles in the 
Monthly Illustrator (1897), holds 
that Charles Mossop, the editor of 
the famous Westminster Papers, 
was ' ' the originator of the principle 
of showing the number of cards in 
the suit by varying the leads of 
high cards in sequence." His first 
suggestion was contained in an 
answer to a correspondent, " L. 
D.," in the Westminster Papers of 
July, 1868, page 45, as follows: "The 
regular lead from a five-card suit 
headed by the ace is the ace; but 
from a five-suit headed by ace-king, 
the king. We disapprove this dis- 
tinction, and think it preferable in 
the latter case to lead the ace, be- 
cause it is more important to tell 
your partner that you have five of 
the suit than the commanding card 
thereof. With less than five, 
headed by ace-king, the king is, 
of course, the right card to lead." 
This certainly agrees with the ideas 
subsequently carried out as part of 
the system of American leads. In 
the Westminster Papers for Au- 



NUMBER-SHOWING LEADS 28 1 



ODD TRICK, THE 



gust, 1869, page 63, Mr. Mossop re- 
iterates his position, in answer to 
another correspondent; and in No- 
vember, 1869, he published what is 
held to be the first published hand 
(No. 19) in which number-showing 
leads were employed. The nine of 
hearts is turned; the underscored 
card wins the trick, and the card 
under it is the next one led: 



holds some protection in 
monds." 



dia- 



0) 

c 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


I 
2 

3 

4 
5 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1 1 
12 
13 


A # 


10 ♦ 

Q* 

^ 2 
A 2 

* 3 
^ 6 
^ 7 
^ 8 

* 7 

3 
4-0 
100 
6 


5 4» 
2 « 

C? 4- 

♦ 9 

A K 


3 « 

8 « 

(^ A 


K « 


^ Q 

* 4. 

* 5 

^ 3 

« 6 
9 # 
7 
J 4 


A A 


*Q 

<;:?io 
<9 9 
5 

A 8 

♦ 10 

* J 

J 

KO 


^ J 


^ K 


7 « 
^ 5 


6 « 
2 

AO 


4. <> 


9 
8 


QO 



Score: A-B, 9; Y-Z, 4. 

"By his first and second lead," 
says Foster, "A shows the three 
other players that he holds at least 
five spades. This information is 
not of the slightest use to his part- 
ner; but it should have enabled Y, 
his adversary, to prevent A-B from 
winning the game. At trick eight 
it should be obvious to Y that if A 
had five spades originally, B could 
have only one more, and that if Y 
passes this trick, refusing to trump 
it, B will have to continue with his 
only remaining spade, and Y can 
then trump with safety, knowing 
from Z's leads that he has the best 
club, and from his discard that he 



Object of Whist Play.— The first 
object in whist is to see which side 
cau make the most tricks; the next 
object ought to be to see which 
pair of partners can do this in the 
most scientific manner, and by 
means of the most correct play. 

The object of all whist play is to win 
as many tricks as possible. Every play 
which has not that end immediately or 
remotely in view is bad; while any that 
can be shown to tend towards that end, 
in the majority of cases is good. — J?. F. 
Foster [S. O.], "IVhzsi Manual." 

Observation. — One of the most 
important and necessary qualities 
in a successful whist-player. The 
memory cannot be exercised unless 
you first observe, and you cannot 
remember the fall of the cards un- 
less you first note the same. 

Job never had for a partner an unob- 
servant player, or his reputation for pa- 
tience would not have been gained. — A. 
IV. Drayson [Z.+^+l, ''Art of Practical 
IVhistV 

Begin by recording in your mind the 
broad indications of the hand as it pro- 
gresses, and you will gradually acquire 
the power of noting even the minor feat- 
ures without great effort. — C. E. Coffin 
IL.A.], "Gist of Whist." 

Odd Trick, The.— Out of the 

thirteen tricks constituting each 
deal, the odd trick is the seventh 
first turned by one side or the other. 
Sometimes only this odd trick is 
necessary to win the game (both 
sides being at even score, or one 
side lacking but one point of going 
out), and then all energies are bent 
towards playing for the odd trick, 
and a more cautious game is played 
than usually, there being no neces- 
sity for a great game in which 
many tricks may be taken at con- 
siderable risk. The odd trick is 
not played for in duplicate whist, 
the great object being to see which 



ODDS AT ENGLISH WHIST 282 OLD AND NEW SCHOOLS 



side can make the most tricks out 
of the same hands. 

Remember that, between winning and 
losing the odd trick, there is a relative 
difference of two in the scores. — Clement 
Davies [Z,. ^+], ''Modern IVhui." 

In playing for the odd trick, you play a 
closer game than at other scores. You 
lead from single cards and force your 
partner, when at another time you would 
notbejustified. — Thomas Mathews [L. O.]. 

Be cautious of trumping out [drawing 
the trumps] , notwithstanding you have a 
good hand. For since you want the odd 
trick only, it would be absurd to play a 
great game. — Willia?n Payne [L. O.I, 

IVhist Maxims," 1770. 

Odds at English Whist.— Cur- 
rent odds at whist (English game) 
are calculated as follows: On the 
dealer it is 5 to 4 for game, and 6 to 
5 for rubber (the layers in this case 
are considered by the most recent 
authorities to have the worst of the 
bet); I to " love," with the deal, it 
is II to 8 for game, and 5 to 4 for 
rubber; 2 to "love," with the deal, 
it is 13 to 8 for game, and 3 to 2 for 
rubber; i or 2 to "love," deal 
against, it it 11 to 8 for game, 
and II to 8 for rubber; 3 or 4 to 
"love," with the deal, it is 2 to i 
for game, and 2 to i for rubber; 3 
or 4 to "love," deal against, it is 
15 to 8 for game, and 15 to 8 for 
rubber. The first game being won, 
is 5 to 2 on the winner. (This is 
the current bet, but the real odds 
are rather more than 3 to i, 
about guineas to pounds, with the 
deal; rather less than 3 to i with 
the deal against. ) The first game 
being won, and i to "love" of the 
second, is 7 to 3 on the winner. 
The first game being won, and i to 
" love" of the second, deal against, 
is 3 to I on the winner. First 
game, and 2 to "love" second, 
with deal, is 7 to 2 on the winner. 
First game, and 3 or 4 to "love," 
with the deal, or against, is 4 to i 
on the winner. It is an even bet 
the dealer has two points or more. 



The deal, by many good players, is not 
conisidered an advantage, the lead being 
deemed equivalent to the trump turned. 
One to love, the odds are 5 to 4; 2 to love, 
5 to 3; 3 to love, 5 to 2; 4 to love, 5 to i. — 
A, Trump, Jr. \L. O.]. 

Offenses, Claims for. — See, 
" Penalties." 



Old and New Schools. — In 

whist, as in politics, religion, medi- 
cine, and other great departments 
of human activity, there is a grand 
division into conservatives and lib- 
erals, and a subdivision of the latter 
again into liberals proper, radicals, 
and revolutionists. Thus the old 
school and the new school exist for 
the best interests of whist; for, as in 
other matters, the conservative ele- 
ment acts as a balance to the other- 
wise too impetuous reformers and 
innovators. Even in the early part 
of the century there existed a new 
school in whist, and it has con- 
tinued to exist in one form or 
another. Just now the new school is 
in the hands of " Cavendish," Pole, 
Drayson, and others, in England; 
Trist, Hamilton, Ames, Coffin, and 
others, in this country. Opposed to 
them are "Mogul," Mossop (and 
the late R. A. Proctor, and ' ' Pem- 
bridge," also recently deceased), in 
England, and Foster, Howell, 
Starnes, and others, in this country. 
Some there be who see in all 
division and disagreement a deplor- 
able state of affairs. To us the 
alignment of forces, progressive 
and conservative, seems natural 
and proper. Whist would die of 
dry rot, on the one hand, or degen- 
erate into the fantastic and ridicu- 
lous, on the other, without these 
opposing influences, between which 
it IS bound to become more and 
more perfect and permanently use- 
ful and beautiful, ever adapting 
itself to the new requirements of 
the times. 



OLD AND NBW SCHOOLS 283 OLD AND NEW SCHOOLS 



If the old school of whist-players are 
content to stand still no one can prevent 
them, but they may be sure that the 
whist-players of the future, having noth- 
ing to unlearn, will adopt the improved 
system. — "Cavendiak" [L. A.]. 

In America very few representatives of 
the old school are left, but in ]Bngland the 
best players have never adopted modern 
methods. For thirty years " Mogul" and 
" Pembridge" have wielded their pens in 
defense of the old masters, and both by 
their writings and their play have dem- 
onstrated that there is no advantage in 
anv of the conventionalities of modern 
w}iist.—R. I^. I'osier [S. O.], Monthly Il- 
lustrator. 

The old-fashioned player's game is fos- 
silized; he cannot alter it, and he does not 
wish to alter it. He actually would cease 
to take an interest in the game if he had 
to play according to new ideas. All his 
whist traditions are based upon old-fash- 
ioned play. "King ever, queen never," 
and "when in doubt play a trump," are 
his maxims, and these he carries out to 
the bitter end. He usually tires after three 
rubbers, and then gives up for the even- 
ing.—^. W. Drayson [X+^+], "The Art 
of Practical Whist." 

The " blue peter " was the introduction 
to whist of a purely arbitrary signal or 
convention, and its seed has spread like 
a thistle's, until it has entirely overrun 
the old game of " calculation, observa- 
tion, position, and tenace;" leaving in its 
place long suits, American leads, plain- 
suit echoes, four signals, and directive 
discards. These seem to have choked up 
all the dash, brilliancy, and individuality 
in our whist-players, reducing them all 
to the same level — not by increasing the 
abilities of the tyro, but by curtailing the 
skill of the expert.—/?. F. Foster \S. C], 
The Monthly Illustrator. 

The danger now is that the game will 
be made too abstruse. The mystery of its 
practice would, if certain writers and 
players had their way, become more mys- 
terious than ever. Rules are now being 
propounded for the play of cards which 
may come, in the ordinary way, once or 
twice in a hundred rubbers. The mind 
is in danger of being clogged with an in- 
finity of maxims as to the particular card 
to be played at a definite juncture. In 
whist, the exercise of intelligence should 
have the first place with a fine player, 
but intelligence will, unless a determined 
stand be made against the invaders, soon 
be deposed for arbitrary custom . An addi- 
tional argument against the adoption of 
these new modes of play lies in the fact 
that several of them clash with those laid 
down by older players for several genera- 
tions in succes.sion. — W. P. Courtney \L-\r 
O.I, "English Whist." 



Fortunately, for the purposes of com- 
parison, there are on record a great num- 
ber of hands played on the old style. 
That very valuable collection, the West- 
minster Papers, is full of them. Here is 
one, played long, long ago, in which A 
and B were partners against Y and Z. Z 
dealt and turned up the heart seven. The 
underlined card wins the trick, and the 
card under it is the next one led. 



1 

•c 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 

3 
4. 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


2 
2 « 

^ A 


QO 
10 ♦ 

^ 2 

^ K 


7 
Q4k 


6 
5 4k 

C? 4 

<;? 6 

8 C^ 
^ 7 

100 
4k 3 
4k8 


^ Q 
^ 9 
A 4k 


^ 5 
4 4k 
6 4k 
3 

* A 


K 4k 

(J? 3 

^ 8 

« 2 
3 # 
7 4k 
J 4k 
5 
KO 


^ J 


^10 


4k K 

A 4 
4k 10 


♦ 7 

40 
8 
90 
AO 


4k 5 
4k 6 
4k 9 
4k J 


4kQ 


9 4k 


J 





Score: A-B, 10; Y-Z, 3. 

The lead of the small diamond may 
surprise some, but the old school never 
led an ace unless they had the king. 
They kept aces to kill high cards with. 
How beautifully B shuts out that spade 
suit, and kills that re-entry king of dia- 
monds in Y's hand ! How neatly he takes 
advantage of his position in clubs at the 
ninth tnck, and puts the screws on Y at 
the eleventh ! In all the championship 
matches in this country, there is not a 
hand recorded that approaches this one. 

The same cards were given to the play- 
ers in the recent whist tournament by 
correspondence, and each of them had a 
week in which to study over every card he 
played. The hand was opened in the 
same way, with a small diamond, by Cas- 
sius M. Paine, the editor of Whist. His 
partner B is the author of "Howell's 
Whist Openings." Y was Harry Trum- 
bull, captain of the team that won the 
championship of the world at the Phila- 
delphia Whist Congress, and Harry Ste- 
vens, Z, is the man whom "Cavendish" 
thought the finest whist-player he met 
during his first visit to America. These 



"OIvD-FASHIONBD PARTY" 284 " OLD-FASHIONED PARTY " 



famous players got onlj' six tricks out of 
A and B's cards, by letting Y make three 
tricks in spades and by killing the club 
ace. Here is the play: 



to 

•a 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 

4 

5 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


40 
2 « 

AO 


QO 


7 
J 

^ 9 


60 
5 A 
100 
8 A 

<;? 4 

C? 6 

c? 7 


10 ♦ 

50 
KO 

^ 2 

^ K 


3 
^ A 


<:? Q 

A* 
A 10 


^ 5 

4 4 
* 7 

6 4> 
A A 
2 

5 
©0 


J ♦ 
A 2 

^ 3 

^ 8 


A 6 
A 5 
A3 
A 8 
A 9 
A J 


^ J 


AK 

9 A 
A 4 
AQ 


K* 


7 « 


3 « 



Score: A-B, 6; Y-Z, 7. 
—/^. F. Foster \_S. O.], Monthly Illus- 
trator. 

"Old-Fashioned Whist-Party, 
An." — Charles Dickens, in his in- 
imitable " Pickwick Papers," ex- 
hibits Mr. Pickwick at whist on 
several occasions. In chapter six 
he describes an old-fashioned whist- 
party at Dingley Dell, in which the 
great man was one of the victims. 
Two card-tables had been set out 
by the fat boy, one for ' ' Pope 
Joan," the other for whist. The 
whist-players, besides Mr. Pick- 
wick, were, his partner, the old 
lady, and Mr. Miller and the old 
gentleman. The rest of the com- 
pany played the round game, 
"Pope Joan." Dickens continues: 

The rubber was conducted with 
all that gravity of deportment and 
sedateness of demeanor which be- 
fit the pursuit entitled ' ' whist' ' — a 
solemn observance, to which, as it 
appears to us, the title of game has 



been irreverently and ignomini- 
ously applied. The round-game 
table, on the other hand, was so 
boisterously merry as materially to 
interrupt the contemplations of 
Mr. Miller, who, not being quite so 
much absorbed as he ought to have 
been, contrived to commit various 
high crimes and misdemeanors, 
which excited the wrath of the fat 
gentleman to a very great extent, 
and called forth the good-humor of 
the old lady in a proportionate de- 
gree. 

" There," said the criminal Mil- 
ler triumphantly, as he took up the 
odd trick at the conclusion of a 
hand; " that could not have been 
played better, I flatter myself ; — 
impossible to have made another 
trick." 

'^^ Miller ought to have trumped 
the diamond, oughtn't he, sir?" 
said the old lady. 

Mr. Pickwick nodded assent. 

*' Ought I, though?" said the un- 
fortunate, with a doubtful appeal 
to his partner. 

"You ought, sir," said the fat 
gentleman, in an awful voice. 

" Very sorry," said the crest- 
fallen Miller. 

"Much use that," growled the 
fat gentleman. 

' ' Two by honors makes us 
eight," said Mr. Pickwick. 

Another hand. "Can you one?" 
inquired the old lady. 

"I can," replied Mr. Pickwick. 
" Double, single, and the rub." 

' ' Never was such luck, ' ' said Mr. 
Miller. 

"Never was such cards," said 
the fat gentleman. 

A solemn silence. Mr. Pickwick 
humorous, the old lady serious, 
the fat gentleman captious, and 
Mr. Miller timorous. 

"Another double," said the old 
lady, triumphantly, making a mem- 
orandum of the circumstance by 



OI,D LEADS 



285 



OLD LEADS 



placing one sixpence and a battered 
half-penny under the candlestick. 

"A double, sir," said Mr. Pick- 
Tvick. 

"Quite aware of the fact, sir," 
said the fat gentleman, sharply. 

Another game, with a similar 
result, was followed by a revoke 
from the unlucky Miller; on which 
the fat gentleman burst into a 
state of high personal excitement 
which lasted until the conclusion 
of the game, when he retired into a 
corner and remained perfectly mute 
for one hour and twenty-seven 
minutes; at the end of which time 
he emerged from his retirement, 
and offered Mr. Pickwick a pinch 
of snuff, with the air of a man who 
had made up his mind to a Christian 
forgiveness of injuries sustained. 
The old lady's bearing decidedly 
improved, and the unlucky Miller 
felt as much out of his element as 
a dolphin in a sentry-box. 

Old Leads. — The first system of 
leads devised for the game of whist. 
It had its beginnings in the days of 



Hoyle, but was much improved by 
subsequent players and authorities, 
especially by Thomas Mathews. 
The old leads are distinguished for 
their naturalness and simplicity, 
and many who have once adopted 
them find it hard to discard them 
for any other system. They show 
accurately the position of the 
high cards in the hand, but are de- 
ficient in the important matter of 
indicating to partner also the num- 
ber of cards in any given suit, to 
remedy which defect the more sci- 
entific and elaborate American leads 
were devised. 

The first general principle on 
which the early whist authorities 
were agreed was that the best leads 
were from sequences of three or 
more. Being without sequences, 
Paj'ue advised a lead from the most 
numerous suit; in other words, the 
longest. Mathews agrees with this, 
but must be strong in trumps before 
leading from the most numerous. 
His table of leads, the earliest 
which gives the leads in detail, was 
as follows: 



In Plain Suits. 


In Trumps. 


Lead Ace. 


Lead Ace. 


" Ace. 


" King. 


" Ace. 


" Small card. 


" Ace. 


" Ace. 


" Ace. 


" Small card. 


" Ace. 


" Small card. 


" King. 


" King. 


" King. 


" King. 


" Ten. 


" Ten. 


" Queen. 


" Queen. 


" Queen. 


" Queen, 



Ace, king, jack, and three small . 
Ace, king, jack, and two small . . 
Ace, king, and three small . . . . 
Ace, queen, jack, and two small 
Ace, queen, ten, and two small . . 

Ace and four small 

King, queen, ten, and one small . 
King, cjueen, and two small . . . . 
King, jack, ten, and one small . . 
Queen, jack, nine, and two small . 
Queen, jack, and one small . . . . 
From all others, lead a small card. 



Thus the leads remained substan- 
tially until 1835, after the rise of 
short whist in England, and they 
are given as above in " Major A.'s" 
book on the new five-point game, 
which is not to be wondered at, as 
he simply adapted Mathews to 



"short whist." Between this pe- 
riod and the time when "Caven- 
dish, ' ' Clay, and Pole first began to 
write on whist, a change was made 
in the ace-lead. It was decided to 
lead the king originally,when hold- 
ing both ace and king. To-day, the 



OLD LEADS 



286 



OLD LKADS 



advocates of the old leads also 
accept the lead of the penultimate 
and antepenultimate, from suits of 
five and six respectively in which 
there is no high-card combination, 
and from which, by the American 
leads, the fourth best is led. In 
fact, many adherents of the old 
leads accept the fourth-best lead 
itself, and all of them admit that 



the trump leads, under the system 
of American leads, is an improve- 
ment, and their leading players 
practice these trump leads. This, 
however, marks the dividing line 
between the players of old leads 
and those who practice the Ameri- 
can leads. In plain suits the old 
leads, as at present in vogue, may 
be briefly stated as follows: 



Holding * 



I,EAD 



Followed with 



Ace, king, queen, jack 

Ace, king, queen 

Ace, king 

Ace, queen, jack, and one other 

Ace, queen, jack, and two others 

Ace, queen, jack, ten 

Ace and four or more others 

icing, queen, jack, ten (no others) .... 

King, queen, jack, and one small 

King, queen, jack, and two or more others 

King, queen 

King, jack, ten 

Queen, jack, ten 

Any other combination 



King. 
King. 
King. 
Ace . 
Ace . 
Ace . 
Ace . 
King. 

King. 
Jack . 



Ten . . 

Queen . 
4th best 



Jack. 

Queen. 

Ace. 

Queen. 

Jack. 

Ten. 

Fourth best. 

Ten. 

/Small, if king wins. 

1 Jack, if king loses. 

J King, with five in suit. 

\ Queen, with more than five. 

j Fourth best, if king wins. 

t Queen, if king loses. 

I Fourth best, if ten wins, 

t King, if ten loses. 

j Jack, with four in suit. 

I Ten, with five in suit. 



* Unless specified, number of suit does not vary the play. 



It is fair to say that while the 
American-leads system of Trist and 
"Cavendish" is to a large extent 
based upon and in harmony with 
old leads, and while it embodies in 
the fourth-best rule an extension 
and application, in somewhat dif- 
ferent and better form, of the pen- 
ultimate and antepenultimate ideas 
of "Cavendish" and Drayson, the 
old leads themselves, as now prac- 
ticed, owe something also to the 
American leads. Advocates of the 
old-leads system are generally 
averse to the many additional in- 
formatory signals devised and used 
by those who believe in American 
leads and the long-suit game as the 
best means of playing whist in 



partnership. Many advocates of 
the old leads despise even the time- 
honored signal for trumps. Others 
are more liberal. 

There never was, and perhaps never 
will be, iu any game, any system of play 
which so thoroughly and so consistently 
fulfilled the purposes for which it was in- 
tended as the old leads at whist — Ji. F. 
Foster [5. C], Whist, June, 1894. 

The advocates of the old leads object to 
the lead of the ace from ace, king, and 
three or more small ones, because that 
lead does not at once inform the partner 
of the position of the king. They object 
to the lead of the queen from either ace, 
king, queen, and two or more others, or 
king, queen, and three or more others, 
because it is confusing, it being often im- 
possible to tell when a queen is led 
whether it is either of these combina- 
tions, or from queen, jack, ten. They 
object to the lead of the jack from ace. 



OMITTING PLAYING 



287 



OPPOSITION 



king, queen, jack, and one or more oth- 
ers, because the jack does not at once 
show the presence of the ace, and they 
object to making the king show exactly 
four cards in suit, because they believe it 
important to lead it regardless of number 
in suit to show the presence of the card 
next to it. * * * In favor of the code 
of old leads it is urged that they show 
more accurately than any other systeta by 
the first card led what other high cards 
the hand contains. * * * A very strong 
point made is the fact that the old system 
presents but a single queen lead — viz., 
queen, jack, ten — while the American 
leads require the queen to be led from 
three different combinations. [A defect 
remedied by the Hamilton modifica- 
tion.] TheopjDonents of the old system 
argue that, while it may have been good 
enough for the players of the past^ whist 
of to-day has advanced beyond it, and 
that it ought to be possible, by the original 
lead of a high card, to always give more 
information than merely what high cards 
are held in the hand. * * * The an- 
swer that the supporters of the old leads 
make to this argument is, that the most 
accurate information in regard to the high 
cards is of more importance than any- 
thing else — that a partner, if he is a keen 
player, will find out the information as to 
number in suit soon enough for all prac- 
tical purposes. — Milton C. Work [L. A.//.], 
''Whist of To-day y 

Omitting Playing to a Trick. — 

In the EnglisTi code, section 69, it 
is provided that if a player omits 
playing to a former trick, and his 
error is not discovered before he has 
played to the next, the adversaries 
may claim a new deal. Should 
they prefer to have the deal stand 
good, the surplus card at the end 
of the hand is considered to have 
been played to the imperfect trick, 
but does not constitute a revoke. 

In the American code, section 19, 
it is provided that *'if any player 
has a surplus card by reason of an 
omission to play to a trick, his ad- 
versaries can exercise" the privi- 
lege of a new deal " only after he 
has played to the trick following 
the one in which such omission oc- 
curred." 

Open Game. — The open game is 
the game of the strong hand. 



There is no reason for employing 
methods of concealment or artifice 
when you have a goodly number 
of trumps and good suits, and you 
have reason to believe your part- 
ner is similarly favored. Even the 
most radical advocates of short-suit 
leads admit that under those cir- 
cumstances, the truthful, scientific, 
long-suit game is the best. 

I have satisfied myself that at least one 
trick in ten is gained in the long run by 
playing the open game, the two partners 
working together against two adversaries 
working separately. — R. A. Procior[L.O.]. 

When the indications show that your 
partner has a reasonably strong hand, or 
when you have such yourself, play the 
open game. Be absolutely truthful in 
your partner's suits and in your own. 
Nothing is more bewildering and dis- 
couraging than a partner who plays false 
cards and irregular leads with a strong 
hand— R. K J^oster [S. O.J, "Whist Tac- 
tics." 

Opening. — The opening play; 
the plan upon which the game is 
begun; the opening lead. 

Opening Lead. — The original 
lead with which a hand is opened; 
also, the first lead with which a suit 
is opened. 

Opponent. — An adversary at 
whist; one of the players opposed 
to yourself and partner. In dupli- 
cate whist, the player who plays or 
overplays the same hands which 
you hold; also, the one who occu- 
pies the same position that you 
occupy, but at another table, and 
whose play is compared with yours. 

Opposition. — Opposition is the 
chief feature of the arrangement of 
individuals, by schedule, in play- 
ing duplicate whist. Each individ- 
ual player should be placed in 
opposition to each other individual 
an equal number of times. (See, 
also, " Meeting and Opposing. " ) 

Opposition must never for a moment be 
lost sight of. Any schedule arranged 



OPTIONAL LEADS 



288 



ORIGINAL LEAD 



without keeping this point in view is 
worthless, no matter how the partners 
and adversaries may be arranged. — R. F. 
Foster \_S. 0.], "Duplicate IVkist," 18^4. 

Optional Trump - Showing 
Leads. — Leads by means of which 
the leader may or may not indicate 
trump strength in his hand, at his 
option. A way of doing this was 
devised by Milton C. Work, in 
order to meet certain objections 
urged against his trump-showing 
leads {q. v.), and was first pub- 
lished by him in 1896. He takes 
the system of old leads {q. v.) as 
the standard for his purpose, and 
the meaning of the leads is faith- 
fully observed, except when the 
leader desires to show trump 
strength. Then, for this purpose, 
he departs from the king lead of 
the old system to the lead of either 
ace or queen, as the contents of his 
hand may warrant. 

The argument in favor of this system is 
that if, in the opinion of the leader, he is 
placed with a hand in which it will do 
more good than harm to announce trump 
strength, he can do it; while, on the other 
hand, if he has trump strength, but does 
not desire to announce it, he is not bound 
to do so; and the adversaries cannot play 
him with certainty for trump weakness, 
merely because the strength has not been 
announced. The principal objections to 
this system are the uncertainty in regard 
to the trump strength which necessarily 
exists in the majority of cases, and the 
absence of the elaborate information in 
regard to length in suit given by the 
American leads. — Milton C. fVork [L. A. 
If.], " IVhist of To-day:' 

Original Fourth Best. — The 

fourth-best card of a suit as at first 
held in the hand before a card of 
the suit is played. A phrase first 
employed in the second maxim 
of American leads. (See, also, 
"Fourth Best") 

After an experience of fourteen years, 
I cannot agree with "Cavendish" in the 
modification of American leads adopted 
by him of following the ace with fourth 
best remaining in hand, and I still 
adhere to the follow with original fourth 



best, as formulated when those leads 
■were first introduced; in which position, 
I am pleased to say, I am sustained by so 
able a writer as Mr. C. D. P. Hamilton. — 
N. B. Trist \L. A.], Harper's lVeekly,July 
4, 1896. 



Original Lead. — The first lead 
after the cards have been dealt; 
also, the lead with which any 
player opens his hand. 

This play forms the rock upon 
which the greatest number of whist- 
players break asunder, or part com- 
pany. Upon one original lead all 
are agreed, however, and that 
is, having overwhelming trump 
strength, you lead trumps first. 
Then comes the rub, the opening 
lead from your best plain suit. The 
advocates of the old leads esteem 
suits containing high-card sequen- 
ces the very best, but many of them 
also play the long-suit game and 
lead from their longest suit, irre- 
spective of sequences. The advo- 
cates of American leads generally 
open from the long suit; this is the 
play of " Cavendish," Drayson, 
Pole, Trist, Ames, Hamilton, Coffin, 
and the modern scientific school. 
Then come the advocates of short- 
suit play, of various degrees of radi- 
calness, the most radical preferring 
at all times to lead originally from 
a short suit (one of less than four 
cards), just as the radical long- 
suiter prefers the long suit. Be- 
tween the two extremes there are 
many players who take into con- 
sideration their hand first, and then 
apply whatever leads, long or short 
suit, they think best adapted to it. 
Here there is a difference in method 
again, the liberal long-suiter play- 
ing accordirfg to a system of forced 
leads {q. v.), which is a comple- 
ment of the long-suit game, and 
the liberal short-suiter playing the 
Howell system fundamentally; or 
perhaps the common-sense game 
of Foster, to a certain extent, but 



ORIGINAL PLAY 



289 ORNDORI^If, THOMAS C. 



not ignoring frequent opportunities 
to establish and bring in a long 
suit, which involves the highest 
form of whist strategy. (See, also, 
"Long-Suit Game," and "Short- 
Suit Game.") 

In a general way, the latest usage 
among long-suit players and ad- 
herents of the American leads, is to 
lead trumps originally, when hold- 
ing five or more; otherwise, lead 
from the longest plain suit, and, 
when holding two equally long 
ones, select the stronger. When 
your longest plain suit contains 
four cards only, with no card 
higher than a nine, and you hold 
at the same time a suit of three 
higher cards, in sequence, lead 
from the three-card suit. (See, 
"Forced Leads.") With four 
trumps and only three cards in 
each plain suit, choose the lesser 
evil by leading tnmips. 

The first or original lead should, in al- 
most every case, be from your numeri- 
cally strong suit.— yl. IV. Dravson, [L+ 
A+], "The Art of Practical VVhistr 

Let your first lead be from your most 
numerous suit in your hand, or at least 
from a suit of not less than four cards. — 
William Pole [Z,. ^-h], "Philosophy of 
Whist." 

The great advantage of having the 
original lead is, that you can develop the 
game in any direction vou may select. — 
A. W. Drayson [L+A+], "The Art of 
Practical Whist." 

There are only six^ original leads 
[American leads system] with which 
the game may be properly opened. * * 
These leads are the ace, king, queen, 
jack, ten, and fourth best. — C. £. Coffin [L. 
A.], "Gistof HTiist." 

That the opening play of a hand should 
generally be made from five or more 
trumps, or from the longest plain suit 
held by the first player, and that the 
original lead by each subsequent player 
should be subject to the same rule (ex- 
cept in so far as it should be modified by 
the results of the preceding play), was 
an established principle in the days of 
Hoyle. — Emery Boardman [L+A .] ,"'Win- 
ning Whist.'"'' 

OrFginal Play.— The first play of 
a deal in duplicate whist. The 

19 



hands are preserved separately in 
trays provided for that purpose, 
and are then overplayed, or played 
in duplicate. 

Orndorff, Thomas C. — Inventor 
of the Orndorff method of playing 
twenty-four whist hands in dupli- 
cate by two teams of four players 
each, which was tried at the first 
congress of the American Whist 
League, at Milwaukee, in 1891, and 
was among the very earliest at- 
tempts to provide a system for 
the equitable movements of the 
players and trays, which has since 
been elaborated into schedules 
covering any number of tables or 
players. Mr. Orndorff 's schedule, 
although confined to two teams of 
four, was highly commended. N. 
B. Trist said of it: "I believe it 
will make the best average skill as 
near perfect as possible, by chang- 
ing, as you do, the relative position 
of the players at every hand. ' ' Mr. 
Orndorff 's ideas were set forth as 
follows: "That it is possible for 
some players to remember hands 
in their overplay, as has been de- 
monstrated, is a great disadvan- 
tage. The fact that methods con- 
fined to four plaj-ers are limited in 
their use, thus unfitting them for 
team contests; that in their use the 
scoring of tricks won is often incor- 
rect, showing them to be unrelia- 
ble, and that the trump card is not 
exposed, thereby depriving the 
game of one of its essential points, 
makes it desirable that a method 
be secured that will be free from 
the objections named." In his 
method two teams of four are en- 
gaged. Twenty-four hands in du- 
plicate, or forty-eight in all, are 
played in each contest. No player 
overplays the same hand. The 
trump card is turned at each deal. 
Two trays and two packs of cards 
only are used. The team scoring 



ORNDORFF, THOMAS C. 290 " OUIDA'S " TRIBUTE 



over 312 tricks wins the contest. 
Each player has four of the oppos- 
ing team to play against, and three 
of his own team to play with. He 
therefore plays twelve times against 
each of the opposing team, and eight 
times with his own team. He plays 
six times in each position - dealer, 
first, second, and third hand. He 
plays through each one of the op- 
posing teams six times, and in turn 
is played through by each one of 
the opposing team six times. He 
plays at each table twelve times. 
In a letter, under date of July 31, 
1897, Mr. OrndorflF says: " By nu- 
merous changes in the method of 
play, the system has been generally 
adopted, but with many variations; 
so many, in fact, that one would 
hardly recognize the original sys- 
tem. ' ' 

Mr. Orndorff was born at Zanes- 
ville, O., September 15, 1840; en- 
tered the service of the Adams 
Express Company in i860, and that 
of the United States Ordnance De- 
partment in 1863; for five years 
from the close of the war was with 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 
Company; located in Worcester, 
Mass., in 1882, where he has since 
been engaged in the manufacture 
of military cartridge belts. He was 
a delegate to the first congress of 
the American Whist I^eague, repre- 
senting New England, with Messrs. 
Barney and Sturdy. At the second 
congress he was made a director of 
the I^eague. 

Mr. Orndorff 's system was given a fair 
test, and it was a great success. It is, in 
our opinion, the best method yet devised 
for playing duplicate whist in teams of 
four against four. By this method a 
record of the play is preserved, and each 
player of each team plays an equal num- 
ber of hands with each player of his own 
team as a partner. In this way the rela- 
tive strength of the contesting teams is 
shown by the total number of points 
scored. The strength of the players as 
pairs is made evident, as is also the indi- 



vidual rank of the contestants. — C. S. 
Boutcher [L. A.}, " IVhist Sketches," i8gz. 

Otis, T- E. — A well-known player 
and writer on whist subjects, who 
for two years also taught whist 
professionally. It was while suffer- 
ing from physical disability, such 
as obliged him to give up mercan- 
tile pursuits for a time. In order to 
occupy his mind, he gave instruc- 
tions in the game, to the great 
benefit of a large number of pupils. 
In 1897 he returned to active busi- 
ness life as general manager of 
the Guaranty Development Com- 
pany, of New York, and treasurer 
of the Davidson Box Company, and 
whist teaching is now with him a 
matter of leisure, and confined 
chiefly to the training of the team 
of the New Jersey Whist Club, of 
which he is captain, 

Mr. Otis is forty-three years of 
age, and has resided in New York 
and Brooklyn nearly all his life, his 
present home being at East Orange, 
N. J. He is a graduate of the Poly- 
technic School, of Brooklyn. He 
was one of the organizers of the 
Knickerbocker Whist Club, of New 
York; the Orange Whist Club; the 
New Jersey Whist Club; and the 
New Jersey Whist Association, 
being at present president of the 
latter. He is also a member of the 
Orange Whist Club and the Brook- 
lyn Whist Club. For two years Mr. 
Otis has held the position of whist 
editor of the Newark News, and as 
such, as well as by his contributions 
to Whist, he became widely known 
among the whist-players of this 
country. 

"OuJda's" Tribute to the 
Game. — Among the many authors 
who have spoken in praise of whist 
as a highly intellectual game, is 
"Ouida," the novelist, who says in 
"Chandos" (chapter 4): "A man 



OUT 



291 



PAINE, CASSIUS M. 



who has trained his intellect to per- 
fection in whist has trained it to be 
capable of achieving anything that 
the world can offer. A campaign 
does not need more combination; a 
cabinet does not require more ad- 
dress; an astronomer- royal does not 
solve finer problems; a continental 
diplomatist does not prove greater 
tact." 

Out. — The cards that have been 
played are said to be out. 

Out of Turn, Playing. — See, 
"Error, Cards Played in." 

Overplay. — ^The second or dupli- 
cate play of a deal in duplicate 
whist; the replay. 

Overtrump. — To trump over; to 
cover a trump with a higher trump. 
It is important to know when to 
overtrump and when to let the ad- 
versary have the trick. The former 
is advisable when you have no good 
suit and are playing for immediate 
tricks, or when you desire the lead 
for any purpose. Do not over- 
trump, however, with a good suit, 
for in that case it is very important 
to play your trumps in a manner 
that may extract the trumps of the 
adversaries, and bring in your long 
cards. 

With a good suit, overtrumping is bad 
play, for while there is anj' hope for your 
suit it is very important to keep your 
trumps intact. — R. F. Foster [S-O^l," Whist 
Tactics." 

Overtrumping is usually safe if the left- 
hand adversary is strong in trumps, and 
is always best if the partner vi^ishes that 
trumps should be played. If, after the 
successful overtrump, a trump can be led, 
the result is usually advantageous. — G. 
IV. Pettes [L.A. />.], ''American Whist Il- 
lustrated." 

Only the experienced whist-player has 
the strength to resist the temptation to 
overtrump; the novice invariably takes 
the bait, and hy doing so may ruin a great 
game. The veteran calmly examines the 



situation in all its phases, and often to 
his advantage. He reasons that if he 
overtrumps he must lead something, and 
whether he can lead to advantage is a 
matter of concern. — C. D. P. Hamilton. 
[L. A.], "Modern Scientific Whist." 

Cases often happen where it is not ad- 
visable to overtrump. Most of these de- 
pend upon the fall of the cards and on 
inferences from the play, and cannot be 
generalized. But there is one case in 
which it is never right to overtrump, viz., 
when three cards remain in each hand 
and one player holds the second and 
third-best trumps, with one of which he 
trumps the card led. If the player to his 
left has the best and fourth-best trumps, 
he can never gain anything by over- 
trumping, and may lose a trick. — "Cav- 
endish " \L. A.}, "Laws and Principles of 
Whist." 

Pack. — The fifty-two cards used 
in playing whist. By old writers 
on the game the pack was variously- 
called a pair of cards, a stock, or a 
deck. Pack is the term now gen- 
erally used. A faulty pack is one 
which is imperfect. (See, ' ' Imper- 
fect Pack.") 

Packet. — A subdivision of a pack 
of cards made in cutting or in gath- 
ering up the tricks at table during 
play. 

Paine, Cassius M. — ^The foun- 
der, editor, and (at present) sole 
proprietor of the only journal in 
the world devoted exclusively to 
whist; a leading advocate of the 
" Cavendish "-Trist school, and the 
leading inventor of apparatus used 
in playing duplicate whist. 

Mr. Paine was born in Milwau- 
kee, Wis., October 12, 1859. His 
father was Hortensius J. Paine, of 
James H. Paine & Sons, counsel- 
lors-at-law, who achieved distinction 
in ante-bellum days by reason of 
their uncompromising abolition 
principles. The family came to 
Wisconsin from Ohio, and the 
senior member of the firm origi- 
nally from Connecticut. Mr. Paine's 
mother was a daughter of Horatio 



PAINE, CASSIUS M. 



292 



PAIR, A. 



N. Joy, a farmer, wlio came to Wis- 
consin in 1833 from New York 
State. Hortensius Paine died in 
1865, leaving a widow and three 
children, of whom Cassius was the 
second. From this period his life 
was spent on a farm until he was 
twelve years old, when he began 
his business career as messenger in 
a bank. He had received but a 
common-school education, but as 
banking hours were short, and the 
boy studiously inclined, he found 
opportunity to further improve his 
mind. At the age of twenty-three 
he engaged in business for himself, 
and has been actively occupied in 
commercial pursuits ever since, his 
chief business at present being that 
of a grain merchant. 

Mr. Paine first became interested 
in the game of whist about the 
year 1885, when he joined the Mil- 
waukee Whist Club. In the fall of 
1890 he was elected president of the 
club, and it was during his admin- 
istration that the first American 
whist congress was held at Milwau- 
kee, in 1891. Mr. Paine was one 
of the first to take up duplicate 
whist, obtaining his cue from John 
T. Mitchell, of Chicago. He con- 
ducted the first duplicate contest 
of moment between clubs, in Janu- 
V ary, 1890, when the Milwaukee and 
Evanston teams played a match of 
twelve tables. It was while mak- 
ing preparations for this match 
that he discovered the idea which 
shortly afterwards was elaborated 
by J. J-i- Sabring, of Kalama- 
zoo, Mich., and led to the manu- 
facture of the duplicate whist 
method now known as the Kala- 
mazoo system. 

Immediately after the whist con- 
gress, and largely with a view of 
sustaining interest in the League, 
which was a matter of great pride 
to the Milwaukee Whist Club, the 
journal Whist was founded by 



Eugene S. Elliott, Cassius M. 
Paine, and George W. Hall. Mr. 
Hall died the October following, 
and the enterprise was continued 
by Mr. Elliott and Mr. Paine until 
1896, when Mr. Paine acquired the 
entire interest. 

Mr. Paine was elected in 1895 to 
the presidency of the Milwaukee 
Chamber of Commerce, a body of 
six hundred of Milwaukee's most 
prominent citizens, in which office 
he served two terms. He is also 
president of the Milwaukee Ethical 
Society. When asked to define his 
present position in regard to the 
play of whist, he said, in a letter 
under date of November 30, 1897: 
' ' I am a staunch advocate of 
' Cavendish's' maxims, but I have 
always believed in paying great 
regard to the development of the 
deal, and the personality of the 
players; and these considerations 
often induce me to pursue a differ- 
ent course from that which a hide- 
bound book-player might follow. " 

Mr. Paine is a very conscientious edi- 
tor. He sa3'S it has always been his first 
thought to publish all the news, as he 
believes variety to be the only thing that 
will hold a large class of readers, and that 
if a subscriber finds what he likes in a 
publication, he is usually satisfied, even 
if some things appear which do not par- 
ticularly interest him. In the discussion 
of important topics, Mr. Paine expresses 
his opinions suggestively rather than dic- 
tatorially, and encourages whist-players 
to investigate and to think for themselves, 
which he finds induces them to partici- 
pate in discussions on moot points. He 
has little fear for the solid principles of 
the game, and thinks that the public is 
discriminating, and will not long be im- 
posed on by false theories. While an 
editor may direct and suggest, the public 
must approve, and its verdict is the final 
test.—/?. F. Foster IS. C], Monthly Illus- 
trator. 

Pair, A. — The two players sitting 
north and south, or east and west, 
at duplicate whist. Two partners 
constitute a pair. Duplicate whist 
scores are arranged for individ- 



PAIR, A 



293 



PARTNER 



uals, pairs teams of four or more, 
etc. When pairs form the basis 
of the match play, each pair plays 
together throughout the sitting, 
never changing partners, but mov- 
ing in such a manner as to be op- 
posed an equal number of times to 
each of the other pairs. 

The need of a more satisfactory 
method of keeping the scores for 
pairs, especially in tourneys or for 
a season's play, has been strongly 
felt. The usual way is to keep a 
record of the points made and de- 
cide the standing of each pair by 
means of its plus or minus score; 
but this has been found unsatisfac- 
tory, especially in clubs, because 
the pairs were soon so far separa- 
ted that those away behind became 
discouraged. Another method has 
been tried by some: that of keep- 
ing a record of games won or lost, 
and deciding the standing of the 
pairs thereby. But a plus frac- 
tional margin in this case, it is 
objected, has too great weight. 
The latest suggestion (made by 
John C. Meredith, of Kansas City, 
Mo.,) is, that a record of both 
points and games be kept, and 
"that the number of points, plus 
or minus, be multiplied by 60 and 
divided by 100, and the number of 
games won or lost multiplied by 40 
and divided by 100, and the sum 
total taken as the standing of the 
pair in the tourney." 

Another difficulty in the play of 
pairs is the effect which the in- 
equality of the sides has on the 
score. In some clubs the whist 
committees equalize the sides as far 
as possible by their knowledge of 
the players. In the Kansas City 
Whist Club, during 1897, the po- 
sition of the players was decided 
by their standing in the tourney, 
as follows: The pair standing high- 
est was placed north and south; 
next highest, east and west; third 



highest, north and south; and so 
on until all the pairs were placed. 
When the schedule of play for the 
evening placed a pair on the wrong 
side, the next highest pair took its 
place. When the standing of two 
pairs was equal, and they were 
scheduled to play at the same table, 
their positions were decided by lot. 
This is declared unsatisfactory, be- 
cause the standing of the pairs in 
the early part of the tourney de- 
pends too much on whether they 
have played the strong or weak 
teams in the tourney. In com- 
menting on this, Mr. Meredith 
says: "I suppose we shall never 
have a perfect game of duplicate 
until some one invents a pack of 
duplicate cards so arranged that 
the same hands can be played by 
your adversaries, but in such form 
that they will not be recognized." 
The editor of Whist fears that " the 
matter of equalizing the sides pre- 
sents a problem which will ever 
remain insoluble." 

Partie. — The same players play- 
ing two rubbers consecutively, or, 
should it be necessary, a third, to 
decide which has the best of the 
three. 

Partner. — One who plays with, 
another player, and, with the latter, 
against two other players. Part- 
ners sit facing each other at the 
table, with an adversary on each 
side. One partner should not de- 
ceive another by his play, but 
should have due regard for the 
other's hand, affording him all the 
help he can, and utilizing, as far as 
possible, all his resources for the 
common good. Each should try to 
play both hands as one. The one 
who has the best hand, and the 
most likely chance of bringing in a 
long suit, indicates it at once by 
his first lead or two, and then 



PARTNER 



294 



PARTNER 



the other, unless equally stroug, 
promptly sacrifices his hand iu 
building up and assisting partner's 
game. A player must not make 
the mistake of always trying to 
take the lead in the partnership. 
Be sure you have the best hand, or 
at least as good a hand as partner, 
before ignoring his claims. Do not 
insist upon playing a doubtful or 
disastrous game with your own piti- 
ful resources when you could turn 
in and help improve his splendid 
opportunities. Nothing could be 
m.ore exasperating to him, to say 
nothing of the effect your conduct 
has upon the score. Next to the 
bumblepuppist who plays in bliss- 
ful ignorance of the existence of 
partner, ranks the new style of 
bumblepuppist who has no use 
for him except as a vassal to 
do his bidding and work for his 
glory. 

Every good whist book is full of 
maxims for the guidance of part- 
ners in their mutual play. Do not 
forget to return partner's lead, after 
indicating your own strong suit; 
but if you hold the best card in his 
suit, lead it to him at the first op- 
portunity, even before opening 
your own suit. Do not fail to re- 
spond to his trump signal, unless 
you have the weightiest of reasons. 
Give him all the information you 
can consistent with proper play. 
Force him if you are strong in 
trumps, and thereby enable him to 
make tricks with his trumps. Do 
not force him if you are weak in 
trumps, unless either of the adver- 
saries have shown trump strength, 
or he has shown a desire to be 
forced. Get rid of the commanding 
card in his suit, so as not to block 
his game. 

with a strong trump hand, play your 
own game; with a weak trump hand, 
play vour partner's game. — '' Cavendish" 
iL. A.]. 



Remember always that you and your 
partner have twenty-six cards to play for 
the common cause, of which you have but 
thirteen— Milioti C. Work \^L. A.H.I. 

Remember that your partner is equally 
interested with you, and do not play your 
own hand without regard to his. — Ftsker 
Ames {L. A.}, "/Radical Guide to IV/iist." 

Partner's weakness, when exposed, 
gives entire authority to manage your 
play with little or no regard to him, and 
will particularly alter three things: the 
second-hand play, the discard, and the 
management of trumps. — JV. T. Horr [L. 
A.], lVhist,Jan7iary, 1893. 

The fine player will scarcely have asked 
for a better partner than one who, by 
careful attention to rule, has given to him 
every possible indication of the position 
of the cards, and has enabled him, so to 
speak, to play twenty-six cards instead 
of thirteen.— yawzifj Clay \L. 0-f]. 

If I were asked what I regarded as the 
most valuable working quality in a part- 
ner, I should answer: Readiness in deter- 
mining whether an aggressive game, 
aiming at the bringing in of a long suit, 
should be entered on, or a defensive pol- 
icy pursued. — R. A . Proctor [Z,. Oi\ . 

You and your partner play against two 
other partners. It is twenty-six cards 
against twenty-six when the partners 
play to mutually assist one another. It is 
thirteen cards against twenty-six when 
each partner plays for his own hand. — A. 
W. Drayson [L+A+1, "The Art of Prac- 
tical Whist.'''' 

When the partner of the original leader 
wins the first trick, he may do any one of 
four things: (i) I^ead trumps if he has 
five or more, or four with an established 
suit and a card of re-entry; (2) lead back 
the best card of the leader's suit, if he 
holds it, before introducing his own; (3) 
lead his own suit, if it is worth trying to 
establish; (4) return the leader's suit, 
with the lowest, if he has three or more 
remaining; with the higher if only two, 
no matter what they are. When the orig- 
inal lead is a trump, the partner should 
always return it if he has one.- J?. F. Fos- 
ter {S. O.], "Johnson's Universal Cyclopce- 
dia,"" iSgs. 

t. E. Otis writes as follows in the New- 
ark News: " Observe the following sim- 
ple rule, and it will greatly aid you in 
knowing when to play your partner's 
hand instead of your own: When you 
win your partner's lead and are not 
strong enough in trumps to lead them, 
return your partner's suit, unless you 
have won it with a card as low as the 
jack and have none higher of that suit in 
your hand, or when you have an estab- 
lished stiit, or one which can be estab- 



PARTNER, A BAD 



295 



PARTNER'S HAND 



lished in the first round." * * * with 
all of the above Philadelphia whisters 
are heartily in accord, except the sugges- 
tion that when you win your partner's 
suit with a jack you should not return it. 
Under these circumstances your partner 
holds either the ace and queen, or the 
king. The opponent to your right holds 
the face cards your partner does not. If 
your partner has the two face cards, it is 
most advantageous to return the suit. If 
the adversary holds them, it is even yet 
apt to be the best thing you can do, since, 
if you do not, your left-hand adversary 
will later, and nothing will be gained by 
the omission on your part; while, on the 
other hand, you will have delayed estab- 
lishing your partner's suit, and been at 
the disadvantage of opening a new one. 
It seems a good rule to always return 
your partner's suit, unless you are strong 
enough to lead trump, or hold a suit that 
is sure to be established in one round, or 
is headed bv the queen-jack-ten combi- 
nation.— yl/iWo?; C. Work IL. A. H:\, Phil- 
adelphia Press, November 24, iSgy. 

Partner, a Bad. — A bad partner 
is one who is either naturally an 
inferior player, or one whose whist 
education has been neglected or 
perverted. When his condition is 
utterly hopeless, he is generally de- 
scribed as a bumblepuppist {q. v.). 
The only safe way to play with a 
bad partner is to ignore him and 
play your own hand, watching in 
the meanwhile if there is method 
in his badness. It may be that he 
makes the same bad moves every 
time in an}' given situation, and 
even from these earmarks some 
valuable inferences may be drawn. 
In the meantime do not needlessly 
expose your own hand to the ad- 
versaries by trying to convey any 
information to him. You have an 
unscientific and difiScult game to 
play, but try to play it without 
losing your temper. 

With a bad partner, what should influ- 
ence you in selecting a suit to lead from ? 
That suit which is best for your hand, 
considered on its merits exclusively. — 
Arthur Caynpbell- Walker [L. O.]. 

The excitable player is one of the most 
dangerous partners that you can sit op- 

Eosite to. You can never predict what 
lunders he may not commit. — A. W. 



Drayson \L-\-A-\-\, "Ari of Practical 
Whist." 

When you are unfortunately tied to an 
untaught partner, especiallj; if at the 
.same time you are pitted against observ- 
ant adversaries, you should expose your 
hand as little as possible, particularly in 
respect of minor details. — "Cavendish" 
[L. A.], '■Laws and Principles 0/ Whist." 

I am confident I should not have had a 
gray hair in my head these ten years to 
come if it were not for that wretch who 
refused to lead back my trump, in order 
that he might make one miserable trick 
by a ruff. The ''second murderer," too, 
who never will lead twice for the .same 
suit, has aged me more than all my gout. 
As to the iatuous imbecile that, when he 
plays a card, always looks at his partner, 
and never once at the board, there is not 
a club in Kurope without some dozens of 
them. — Anon. 

One of these bores is the "if you had" 
partner, who constantly greets you with 
"if you had only done so and so we 
should have made so and so." My favorite 
retort to the "if you had" partner is to 
ask if he has ever heard the story of 
" your uncle and your aunt." If he has, 
he does not want to hear it again, and is 
silent. If he has not, and innocently 
falls into the trap by expressing a desire 
to hear it, I say, in a solemn voice: " If 
your aunt had been a man, she would 
have been your uncle." — "Cavendish" [L. 
A.], "Card-Table Talk." 

Partner's Hand. — The principle 
that partners should play their 
hands in such a manner as to ren- 
der each other the most efficient aid, 
is one that was recognized from the 
earliest times. ' ' Study your part- 
ner's hand," was one of the prin- 
ciples of the Folkestone school, 
which preceded Ho3'le. "The 
more clearly you demonstrate your 
hand to your partner the better," 
says Mathews, in 1804. " Your 
play should be such as to give youf 
partner an insight into your hand," 
is the advice which Admiral Eur- 
ney gives, in 1823. " Major A.," 
writing in 1835, has this to say: 
" The good player plays his part- 
ner's hand and his own, or twenty- 
six cards;" and General de Vautr^, 
in 1S40, uses a similar expre.ssion, 
when he says: "I teach the mode 



PARTNERSHIP 



296 



PATENTS 



of playing witli twenty-six cards, 
and not with thirteen." "Let 
your play be as intelligible to a 
good partner as you can make it," 
writes " Cselebs" in 185 1. " Caven- 
dish," Pole, and other leaders of 
the modern scientific school elab- 
orated the idea, until by means of 
the American leads and other le- 
gitimate conventions such perfect 
information can be conveyed be- 
tween expert partners, that their 
hands may in truth be said to be 
one. 

Play as if partner's hand belongs to 
you, and your hand belongs to your part- 
ner. — Fisher Ames \L. A^^ '■^ Practical 
Guide to Whist.'''' 

In whist each player is to consider his 
partner's hand as well as his own, and to 
make the most of the combined hands 
each partner must play a game which the 
other understands. — R. A. Proctor \L.Oi\. 

What is the most important general 
rule to be borne in mind by a whist- 
player? That he must consider his part- 
ner's hand as equally important with his 
own, and, if necessary, sacrifice his own 
for the good of the partnership. — Arthur 
Campbell- Walker [L. O.]. 

A good whist-player takes delight in 
planning for the play of his partner's 
hand, knowing that such play is a com- 
pliment to his skill. To be able to read 
your partner' s hand, and play to make 
his cards, is whist of the highest order. — 
C. D. P. Hamilton \L. A.], "Modern 
Scientific Whists 

Partnership. — The idea of part- 
nership in the game, and playing 
both hands as one, which is made 
one of the fundamental principles 
of his philosophy of whist by Dr. 
Pole, was foreshadowed by the 
earlier writers on whist, and strong- 
ly emphasized b}' General de Vau- 
tr6, in France, 1843, and a German 
authority, Ludvdg von Coeckel- 
bergle-Diitzele, whose " Rationelle 
Whist" (rational whist) appeared 
at Vienna in the same year. It was 
also popularly inculcated in a set 
of rhymed rules published in 
France, about 1854, by "Un G6n- 



^ral d'Artillerie." The following 
is an extract from von Coeckelber- 
gle-Diitzele's work: "In order to 
make the best and most advanta- 
geous use of your own as well as 1 
of your partner's hand, you must I 
endeavor to find out what his cards * 
are, and to afi"ord him similar infor- 
mation as to your ov/n. Both these 
objects are effected by what is 
called the language of the cards 
{Kartensprache) , or the art of sig- 
naling (Signalkunst) . The cards 
selected to be played serve, by their 
relative values, as telegraphic 
signs, by which the two partners 
carry on a reciprocal communica- 
tion, and convey indications as to 
what cards they hold, as well as 
suggestions of their respective 
views and wishes. By this means 1 
they are enabled to give better sup- i 
port to each other, to calculate 
more easily the chances of the 
game, and to anticipate more cor- 
rectly the effect of any particular 
play. ' ' 

It might be supposed that as the part- 1 
nership was so obvious, the combination f 
of the hands would be a natural conse- 
quence (and indeed a distinct notion of 
it was given by the Crown Coffee-House 
students), but it was only by the earnest 
study of the club players and of the Little 
School, after a century and a quarter's 
existence of the simple Hoyle game, that 
the combination principle became fully 
established and applied. — William Pole 
[-£.. A-\-'\, "Evolution of Whist." 

Partner's Suit. — The best plain 
suit in partner's hand; his long 
suit, which it is desirable to estab- 
lish ; the first plain suit led from by 
him, in case he plays the long-suit 
game. 

Pass. — When a player makes no 
effort to take a trick, although able 
to do so, he is said to pass. To 
pass a trick is to allow it to go to 
your adversary. 

Patents.— See, "Whist Patents." 



PAYNE, GEORGE 



297 



PEMBRIDGE ' 



Payne, George. — A distinguished 
English whist-player, who died Sep- 
tember 2, 1878, at the age of seventy- 
five years. Charles Mossop says of 
him: "No doubt he was a good 
player in his prime. All the world 
said so. In our day he was a good 
player, but not a fine player. We 
do not think that he was in the first 
rank, but age had begun to tell be- 
fore we saw him play. Winning or 
losing, he was always genial and 
kind. He was a strong opponent 
and a good partner." 

Payne, William. — The author of 
the second book on whist ever pub- 
lished. It is thought he was a 
teacher of mathematics. His work 
came out in London in 1770, shortly 
after Hoyle's death, and was enti- 
tled, " Maxims for Pla5'ing the 
Game of Whist, with All Necessary 
Calculations, and the L,aws of the 
Game." Although it appeared 
anonymously, it was referred to as 
"Payne's Maxims." Its contents 
were well arranged. Some of the 
"maxims" were new, and, in Dr. 
Pole's opinion, "foreshadowed a 
more modern phase of game." 
In the preface Payne says: "The 
game of whist is so happily com- 
pounded betwixt chance and skill 
that it is generally esteemed the 
most curious and entertaining of 
the cards, and is therefore become 
a favorite pastime to persons of the 
first consequence, and of the most 
distinguished abilities. The great 
variety of hands, and critical cases, 
arising from such a number of 
cards, renders the game so nice 
and difiicult that much time and 
practice has heretofore been neces- 
sary to the obtaining a tolerable 
degree of knowledge in it. The 
following maxims were begun by 
way of memorandum for private 
use, and are published with a design 
to instruct beginners, to assist the 



moderate proficient, and, in gen- 
eral, to put the players more upon 
equality by disclosing the secrets 
of the game." The "maxims" 
were incorporated into the so-called 
"improved" editions of Hoyle, 
published thereafter. 

Payne was the first to do two 
very important things in his work. 
He arranged the rules, or maxims, 
under their proper heads, as 
"leader," "second hand," "third 
hand," "leading trumps," etc., 
and he added to each rule a state- 
ment giving his reason or justifi- 
cation. 

Peculiarities of Players. — A 

player may not only have individu- 
ality and mannerisms, shown in his 
way of playing, but he may have 
deeper rooted peculiarities in the 
play itself. He may adhere to one 
system or another, or a combina- 
tion of both; he may play a system 
of his own, or abjure all system 
and play bumblepuppy. These are 
a few of the peculiarities which it 
is necessary to become acquainted 
with as soon as possible in sitting 
down with such a player for a part- 
ner. (See, also, "Mannerisms.") 

Nothing is so wearisome and worrying 
to your partner, and indeed to the whole 
table, as that eternal pondering over your 
hand, or partially drawins:^ out several 
cards before you play. — " Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel B:' [L. O.]. 

After sitting down at the table, you 
should infer as quickly as possible in 
what style of game you are involved, and 
the peculiarities of your partner and op- 
ponents. It watchful, you may help a 
bad partner to make tricks in spite of 
himself and his bad play; and a little ob- 
servation may reveal some method in the 
madness of an adversary's game. With 
strangers always begin by playing a very 
careful and conventionally accurate 
game, watching for signs of appreciation 
and reciprocity from them. — R. F. Foster 

[s. a]. 

** Pern bridge." — A pseudonym 
under which John Petch Hewby, 



" PEMBRIDGB ' 



298 



' PEMBRIDGB " 



B. A. Oxon., M. R. C. S., wrote 
much upon the subject of whist. 
He was the eldest son of William 
Hewby, gentleman, of Ripon and 
York. He was graduated from 
Worcester College, Oxford, with the 
degree of B. A., in 1S59, and was 
educated as a surgeon at St. 
George's Hospital, London, and 
became a member of the Royal 
College of Surgeons in 1864. He 
was a keen and satirical writer, but 
mixed so much humor with his 
satire that his essays on whist will 
long be enjoyed even by those who 
radically disagree with him in the- 
ory. His " Whist, or Bumble- 
puppy ?' ' brought the latter word 
into such prominence as a term for 
bad play that the " Centtiry" and 
"Standard" dictionaries placed it 
in their vocabularies, quoting him 
as their authority, and the future 
editions of the various dictionaries 
will all be obliged to recognize the 
term. The book, published in Lon- 
don, 1880 (two editions), and in 
Boston in 1883, is as full of humor 
as its title. It consists of a series 
of so-called lectures on how not to 
play whist. A revised and enlarged 
edition appeared in 1895. Another 
volume, "The Decline and Fall of 
Whist," published in London in 
1884, is also written in a peculiarly 
bright and attractive vein. Al- 
though a firm advocate of the old 
school of play, and a bitter oppo- 
nent of the "American leads," 
' ' Pembridge' ' had the admiration 
and respect of the entire whist 
world. He died February i, 1896, 
of thoracic aneurism, and was sixty- 
one years of age, as appears from 
the following memoranda regard- 
ing himself which he furnished at 
the request of Whist, and which 
was published in that journal for 
March, 1895: 

" I was born sixty years ago of 
stern and puritan parents who had 



a rooted antipathy to all games, 
and no pack of cards was ever 
allowed to cross their gloomy 
threshold ; but as the twig is bent 
the tree is not always inclined, for 
under these unfavorable circum- 
stances I have played whist pretty 
regularly for over forty years, and 
during the last thirty have won — 
or lost — more than sixty thousand 
rubbers. 

"As a humble member of the 
school of 'Cam,' 'Mogul,' F. H. 
Lewis, and Mossop — in addition to 
' Whist, or Bumblepupp3' ?' and 
' The Decline and Fall of Whist'— 
in the Westminster Papers, The 
Field, and other periodicals, I have 
made numerous attempts to leave 
my footprints on the sands of time. 
Even if introduced — in defiance of 
common sense and the Queen's 
English — as an extension of prin- 
ciple, I have been ready to adopt 
any convention which appeared 
conducive to trick -making; but 
firmly believing with Clay, that 
' no rules are without an excep- 
tion' (even the twig and the tree), 
' and few more open to exceptional 
cases than rules for whist,' and 
with my very old friend ' Cam,' 
' that there is no such thing as an 
absolute never or always,^ I con- 
sider it absurd to lay down hard 
and fast rules embracing all kinds 
of hands, or to make minute and 
elaborate regulations for a state of 
things which may occur once in a 
blue moon. Good plaj'ers do not 
require them; to the duffer they 
are a mockery, a delusion, and a 
snare. ' ' 

If, then, we designate the subject of 
this sketch as a first-class doubter, we 
imply nothing of reproach; in the doubts 
of .such thinkers as John Fetch Hewby is 
to be found the confirmation of many 
truths. Mr. Hewby is by nature a con- 
troversialist. He loves a fight, some- 
times, perhaps, "not wisely but too well.'' 
To this characteristic is largely due his 
opposition to whist innovations, which 



PENAIvTY 



299 



PENULTIMATE) 



must be of a high order of merit to win 
his approbation. He is a leading repre- 
sentative of a school of whist critics that 
would have made life miserable for " Cav- 
endish," if he had not been equally as 
fond of a row as his critics. — J-Vhist 
[L. A.], March. 1893. 

Many persons will learn with regret of 
the death of John Fetch Hewby, better 
known as " Pembridge," who wrote 
"Whist, or Bumblepuppy?" "The De- 
cline and Fall of Whist," and contributed 
to the IP'estminsier Papers some of their 
best articles on his favorite game. He 
was a curious combination of bad luck 
and good play. So unfortunate was he — 
for periods of five years each, he be- 
lieved — that he frequented a small club 
where they played threepenny poiuts; 
just one-tenth of the popular English 
stake, which is half-a-crown. He was 
bitterly opposed to American leads, plain- 
suit echoes, and all the alleged improve- 
ments of "modern" whist. — R. F. Foster 
[5. C] , New York Sun, March i, i8g6. 



Penalty. — A fine or punishment 
imposed for breaking the laws of 
whist. The penalties under the 
English code are severer than those 
prescribed by the American code. 
For instance, the penalty for lead- 
ing out of turn is by the latter code 
reduced from the double penalty 
of a call or lead to the single pen- 
alty of a lead; and the penalty for 
a revoke is reduced from three to 
two tricks to be taken from the re- 
voking players. (See, "American 
and English Laws.") 

No player should purposely incur a 
penalty becavise he is willing; to pay it, 
nor should he make a second revoke in 
order to conceal one previously made. — 
Etiquette of Whist {American Code). 

Play strictly or not at all, and, if you in- 
cur a penalty, pay it with a good grace, 
and never dream of hinting that any 
player, keeping strictly within the law, is 
a sharp practitioner. — C. Mossop [i^-f-C], 
Westminster Papers. May i, i8j8. 

At the end of law 39, American code: 
" If the wrong adversar3' demands a pen- 
alty, or a wrong penalty is demanded, 
none can be enforced." The above is an 
unwritten law of the English code as far 
as the wrong penalty is concerned. — 
A. W. Dray son [L+A+], ''Whist Laws 
and WJiist Decisions.'''' 



In all cases where a penaltj' has been 
incurred the offender must await the de- 
cision of the adversaries. If either of 
them, with or without his partner's con- 
sent, demands a penalty to which thej' 
are entitled, such decision is final. If the 
wrong adversary demands a penalty, or a 
wrong penalty is demanded, none can be 
enforced. — Laws of Whist {American 
Code), Section jg. 

There is no greater breach of etiquette 
than for an adversary to attempt to claim 
a penalty to which he is not entitled. 
Such a proceeding must be assumed to be 
due to ignorance only. The penalty for 
such an incorrect claim is now very justly 
decided to be that the original offender is 
released from all punishment for his of- 
fense. To play a game during many 
years without making one's self ac- 
quainted with the laws which govern this 
game is not an unusual proceeding. — A. 
W. Dray son [L+A+l, "Whist Laws and 
Whist Decisions. ' ' 

Penultimate. — The lowest card 
but one of a suit; a former name 
for a conventional lead from a five- 
card suit, first advocated by ' ' Cav- 
endish," but now superseded by 
the fourth best {q. v.). 

"Cavendish," in an interesting 
article on the origin of American 
leads (see Whist, January, 1894), 
tells how he first obtained his idea 
of the penultimate lead by noticing 
that the old-fashioned players al- 
ways led either the highest or low- 
est of their suit. This led him to 
make several suggestions to the 
Little Whist School {q. v.), and 
that body decided upon the play 
whereby from an intermediate se- 
quence of three middling cards the 
lowest of the sequence, instead of 
the lowest of the suit, was led. 
James Cla}^ to whom the matter 
was submitted, did not give his ap- 
proval. Several years later, " Cav- 
endish " renewed the discussion at 
the County Club, in Albemarle 
street, and in the course of his ex- 
periments he arrived at this point 
of inquiry: "Where is the lead 
from intermediate sequences to 
stop? If the lead is right from ten, 
nine, eight, or from nine, eight, 



PERCEPTION 



300 PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 



seven, is it wrong from eight, seven, 
six? I finally convinced myself," 
he says, " that no line could be 
drawn, and that if the rule of play 
were to be followed it must include 
all intermediate sequences, by, as 
I then called it, extension of prin- 
ciple. Next, I got stuck again over 
th-e sequence of five, four, three. 
These being in sequence with the 
two, ought I to lead the three or 
the two, as there was no ititer- 
mediaie sequence. Talking it over 
with a friend at the County Club, 
he said, ' Why, Jones, you show 
five, anyway, by leading the three.' 
' Yes, ' I replied, ' and you have 
helped me to hit it. You ought to 
lead the penultimate oifiv&,whether 
you have an intermediate sequence 
or not.'' " Clay subsequently gave 
the lead his adherence, and it came 
into general use, although not with- 
out opposition from the more con- 
servative players. 

Trumping with the penultimate. — Many 
players believe it good policy, when hold- 
ing four or more trumps, to trump with 
the lowest but one, in order to show their 
partner that they can take the force again 
several times, or to show their original 
holding, should they or he lead trumps 
later.— i?. i^ Foster \S. a], ''Whist Tac- 
tics." 

Perception. — In whist, the abil- 
ity to perceive what is in partner's 
or the adversaries' hands, from the 
fall of the cards; the power to draw 
correct inferences from the play of 
any given cards. Quick and cor- 
rect perception, sometimes amount- 
ing almost to intuition, is one of 
the invariable attributes of a player 
of the first rank. 

Perception Problems. — Prob- 
lems, exercises, or puzzles, intended 
to test and strengthen the percep- 
tive powers of whist-players. A 
perception problem consists of a 
partially exposed and partially 
played hand or deal, of which the 



student is required to locate and 
supply the proper play of the re- 
maining cards, by means of infer- 
ences drawn from that portion of 
the play which is made known; 
also, to give the reason for his play 
at every trick. The solving of 
problems of this kind was first 
brought into popularity in this 
country by Charles M. Clay {q. v.), 
of Roxbury, Mass., although earlier 
examples of "placing cards at 
whist," as it was called, are not 
wanting. Proctor, in his " How to 
Play Whist," reproduces one from 
the Westminster Papers, in part as 
follows: 

B's Hand. 

4t ID, 9, 6, 5 (trumps). 
^ A, Q, 4, 2. 
4> A, ID, 8. 

O Q,6. 

The first four tricks are as follows, the 
underscored card winning the trick, the 
card below it being the next one led: 





A 


Y 


B 


Z 


1 

2 
3 
4- 


♦ 6 

^ 9 
8 
J ♦ 


* J 

^ 5 
J 
A 4k 


* A 


« 3 

^10 


•^ 2 
QO 


40 
7 4k 


5 4k 





After these four tricks have been played, 
B is able to place every card, supposing 
that all the players have followed the 
usual rules of play. 

" What we have said about whist- 
leads and two general rules, one for 
second, the other for third player, 
sufiices to give a solution of this 
problem," remarks the editor of 
the Westminster Papers. "These 
are, first, that second player, if he 
has a sequence of two high cards 
and one small one, plays the lowest 
of the sequence second hand on a 
small card led; secondly, that third 
in hand plays highest if he has any 
card higher than (and not in se- 



PBRCEPTION PROBLEMS 301 PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 



quence with) his partner's lead, 
and no sound finesse open to him, 
but otherwise plays his lowest." 
Proctor points out that Z might 
hold the heart king from anything 
that appears from the fourth round. 
In general, the problem is not to 
be compared with those of Charles 
M. Clay. 

Mr. Clay first began contribut- 
ing perception problems to Whist, 
beginning with the November, 
1893, issue. The hand was one 
actually dealt, and after four tricks 
had been played Mr. Clay was 
able to read all the hands of the 
players, and after the fifth trick 
he practically placed all the cards. 
In response to the publication of 
the problem, forty answers were 
received, but only one correct one, 
that of C. Hatch, of _ Norwalk, 
Conn., who succeeded in naming 
every card. (See Whist, February, 
1894). Mr. Clay believes that the 
study of perception problems is of 
more value to the average player 
than dummy problems, and makes 
frequent use of them in assisting 
friends to a better knowledge of 
whist. His published contributions 
illustrate every important phase of 
actual whist play. Being a master 
in constructing problems of this 
kind, it is but natural that he 
should be an adept at solving them; 
and this fact was demonstrated in 
the whist match by correspondence 
{q. V. ) instituted by R. F. Foster. 
At the suggestion of H. S. Stevens, 
of the University Club, Chicago, a 
prize was oflFered to the player who 
would be able to correctly place the 
most cards, after the completion of 
the ninth trick, in the hands played 
in the match. Mr. Stevens was not 
aware that among the players was 
the leading whist perceptionist in 
the world. As might have been 
expected, Mr. Clay found this little 
addition to the tourney very enjoy- 



able. He correctly placed 237 cards 
out of 324, giving both suit and 
size exactly, and his reasons. He 
also correctly placed seventy suit 
cards, in thirty of which he was 
unable to give the exact size, and 
in forty of which he stated the 
wrong size. Only seventeen out of 
the 324 cards were misplaced by 
him, and in only two instances did 
he misplace the command. That 
this was a remarkable performance 
may further be judged from the 
fact that some eighty-odd false cards 
were played in the first nine rounds 
of the twenty-eight hands. Dr. 
Richard Lennox, of Brooklyn, 
came next in the contest, placing 
62 per cent.; E. C. Howell, third, 
with 56 per cent. ; H. B. French, of 
Philadelphia, fourth, with 52 per 
cent.; and George Tatnall, of Wil- 
mington, Del., fifth, with 51 per 
cent. 

In response to a request to point 
out what he considers his best two 
problems, Mr. Clay informs us that 
one of the best, although not the 
very best in his estimation, ap- 
peared originally in Whist for Oc- 
tober-November, 1896. We give it 
herewith, as a representative of 
its kind: 

"At the American Whist Club, of 
Boston," says Mr. Clay, "the in- 
closed hand at whist was played. 
When east led five of spades at 
trick five, south exclaimed, ' I 
can read and place all the rest of 
the cards, substantially! ' Upon 
this being doubted, the play was 
stopped, and south wrote down 
his reading of the hands, which 
proved to be correct. I send it as 
an interesting case of whist per- 
ception in actual play. South was 
well aware that east's play could 
be interpreted in different ways, 
but that makes it all the more in- 
teresting, perhaps, to determine the 
correct one." 



PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 302 PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 



The Hands. 

^ 7> 6, 4. 

C? 4- 

* Q- J. 10, 9. 7- 6. 

Q, J, 9- 



# K, J, 10, 8, 2. 
(? K, Q, 9, 8, 7. 

* 3- 
8,2. 




♦ 5- 

^ A, J, 10, 5. 

4k A, K. 

A, K, 6, 5, 4, 3. 



Trump turned, four of hearts; 
east to lead. 



u 


North. 


Bast. 


South. 


West. 


1 

2 
S 

4- 
5 


9 
J 
4k 6 

* 7 


AO 


7 
100 

* 2 

* 4 


SO 
20 
4k 3 
8 ^ 


KO 


A A 


* K 


5 « 



Score: N-S., i; ^-W, 12. 

Inferences and analysis by Mr. 
Clay: 

Trick 2. — The six, five, four, and 
three of diamonds are with east. 
The queen is yet doubtful between 
west and north. West has called 
for trumps. 

Trick 4. — West has not queen of 
diamonds, or he M'ould have dis- 
carded it instead of eight of spades, 
because, if he holds it, neither 
north nor south has another dia- 
mond, and it would surely block 
east's suit. Hence, west held origi- 



nally ten hearts and spades, both of 
which must have been strong suits 
to justify his original call when so 
weak in diamonds and clubs. He 
probably held five trumps, with at 
least two honors, and five spades. 
In this case the spades must be 
king, jack, ten, eight, and one 
more small. 

Trick 5. — Why did not east lead 
trumps to his partner's call ? Either 
(i) because he had none, or (2) 
because he was so strong. 

Let us examine each in detail: 
If he had none, his hand must 
have been six diamonds, five or 
six clubs, and two or one spades. 

In this case, north has four or 
five trumps with one or two honors. 
But if east had held this hand, he 
would have known that they had 
commanding strength in all the 
suits, and certainly would not have 
led out both ace and king of clubs, 
but would have led spades at trick 
four to put his partner in. But the 
ace, followed by the king, is some- 
times led to show no more. Assum- 
ing this, east must have held six 



PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 303 PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 



diamonds, two clubs, four hearts, 
and one spade. The probabilities 
are decidedly in favor of the latter 
reading. 

East, then, can trump spades and 
clubs, and sees that west can trump 
diamonds and clubs, hence he dis- 
regards west's signal and plays for 
a double-ruff. 

But to justify him in not trying 
trumps once, both his trumps and 
west's must be high ones, to pre- 
vent overtrumping in diamonds 
and spades. 

Therefore, north holds one small 
heart, queen of diamonds, queen, 
jack, ten, nine of clubs, and three 
small spades. 

My only chance to win a trick is 
with the ace of spades, hence I 
must play it on east's five. 

In addition to the above, Mr. Clay 
sends us what he considers his very 
best problem. Each different in its 
way, the two illustrate the subject 
of whist perception in a most ad- 
mirable manner: 

SouTH's Hand. 

♦ K, J, 10. 
'^Q, 2. 

4k A, K, 8, 4, 2. 
10, 9, 8. 

The ace of spades is turned by north, 
and east leads. The underscored card 
wins the trick and the one under it is led 
next: 



u 


North. 


:east. 


South, 


West. 


1 

2 

3 

4 
5 
6 


2 
^ 6 
2 4k 


*Q 

* 9 

♦ 10 

60 
6 « 


4 K 


* 5 

* 6 

* 7 
^ K 


* A 


♦ 4. 

^ Q 
8 
104k 


(5 7 
KO 


J 
3 4k 


S 4k 







South's hand and the play of the first 
six tricks are given, and the problem is to 



read as many cards as possible, and play 
for north and south to make the most 
possible out of the hands. 

Mr. Clay has kindly written out 
and fully annoted the play and so- 
lution for us, as follows: 

Trick I. — East has left jack, ten, 
with one or more low clubs. The 
three is with either east or west; if 
west has it, he is either calling for 
trumps or unblocking. North's 
suit is hearts. 

Trick 2. — "What shall south play 
at trick two ? Ordinarily he would 
lead heart queen to his partner's 
declared suit, and, as the cards lie, 
this would be the best play here. 
But he reasons as follows: "North's 
discard of diamond two shows that 
he is not strong enough to signal 
for trumps. Had he been unwill- 
ing to be forced, he would proba- 
bly have discarded a higher card. 
He certainly would have discarded 
to show four trumps, if he held 
them, and the make-up of his hand 
would allow. Had it been my 
original lead, I should consider it 
better to go on with clubs and give 
north another discard than to lead 
queen of hearts to a suit and hand 
as yet unknown. 

"However the hand be played, 
east must be left with two winning 
clubs, which can be killed only by 
north's trumps. 

" Only in the remote contingency 
of our taking nearly all the tricks 
in all the other suits can this be 
prevented, and the diamonds are 
apparently against us." South, 
therefore, goes on with club ace. 

East has left jack, ten of clubs, 
and west the seven, three. North 
can hardly be out of diamonds, as 
well as of clubs. He has, then, a 
high diamond which he does not 
wish to unguard, or ace which he 
does not wish to blank, hence does 
not discard another diamond. East 
has no suit of more than four. 



PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 304 PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 



Trick 3. — North, missing both 
three and two of clubs, we can place 
that suit exactly. He has not more 
than three trumps left. 

Trick 4. — East has either jack 
heart and one low, or jack alone, or 
no more. North's suit is probably 
ace, nine, eight, seven, and he held 
originally five hearts. Therefore 
he must have held originally either 
three or four trumps, and either 
five or four diamonds. The five, 
four, three of diamonds lie, one 
with east and two with west. 

Trick 5. — West's jack of dia- 
monds is a short lead, hence north 
has the ace, and he held four origi- 
nally, or his diamond suit would 
have been better than his heart, 
and he would have discarded hearts 
first. East has queen, seven of dia- 
monds. Of the five, four, three, 
north has one and east two. This 
gives north exactly four trumps. 

Trick 6. — As each player holds 
five cards of plain suits, two trumps 
are to be given to each. North 
turned the ace, and his other is 
higher than the eight. East's six 
is his lowest, and the five and four 
are with west. If east had held the 
fourchette of nine, seven, six, he 
would have played the nine on 
north's eight. So he has queen, 
seven, and north has ace, nine. 
The cards are now all placed. 

Trick 7. — South sees that to make 
the most of his and his partner's 
trumps, north must have a chance 
to ruff and lead trumps through 
east. A club lead will give this 
opportunity, and establish south's 
thirteenth. On the sixth trick, west 
could not cover south's ten of 
trumps, so north knows that three 
honors lie between south and east; 
and if east had held king, or two 
honors, he would not have played 
the six with the ace turned to his 
right. Even if he cannot read the 
tenace in south's hand, north can 



see that south wants trumps led 
through east. He further reasons 
that, if he reads south correctly, 
the strongest hand that can be held 
against him is queen, seven of 
spades; queen, seven of diamonds; 
jack of clubs, and jack and one low 
heart, by east. And, even if all 
this strength is with east, the weak- 
est hand that south can hold is 
king, jack of spades, two of clubs, 
ten, nine of diamonds, and one 
low heart. Granting this worst 
possible situation, they can win 
every other trick if he trumps with 
the ace of spades, and then puts 
south in with the nine, that he may 
draw east's last trump and force a 
discard with the two of clubs. 

Trick 8. — North leads ace of dia- 
monds, to leave east's queen un- 
guarded, if he has it, foreseeing the 
forced discard on south's two of 
clubs. If south has the queen, 
north's play cannot lose, for he can 
read seven of diamonds, at least, 
with east. Should south have only 
one small heart it would be dan- 
gerous to draw it, and prevent his 
leading that suit later. 

Trick II. — East must now either 
discard queen of diamonds or un- 
guard jack of hearts. Whichever 
way he plays south plays accord- 
ingly, and north and south win 
every other trick. Summary of the 
last half of the play: 



05 


North. 


East. 


South. 


West. 


7 

8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


A « 


* J 

7 
7 « 
Q# 

QO 
C? 4 
^ J 


* 8 
90 
J * 


43 

30 

4 * 

5 « 
40 

^ 3 
^J* 5 


AO 


9 « 

5 
<2? 8 
9? 9 
^ A 


K « 


* 2 


100 
^ 2 



Score: N-S, 12; E-W, i. 



PERCEPTION PROBI^EMS 305 PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 



Mr. Clay having led the way, the 
construction of whist perception 
problems, as well as their solution, 
became popular. Among those 
who contributed such problems to 
Whist during 1894, 1895, and 1896, 
we find the names of C. B. With- 
erle, of St. Paul, Minn. ; Perry Trum- 
bull, of Chicago; H. E. Greene, 
of Crawfordsville, Ind. ; E. H. 
Hooker, of Milwaukee; and C. D. 
P. Hamilton, of Easton, Pa. 
Among the prize-winners in solving 
them were: E. C. Howell, C. M. 
Clay, W. C. Coe, of Chicago; J. E. 
Russell, Jr., of Greenwich, Conn.; 
James S. Peckham, of Newport, 
R. I. ; W. E. Hickox, of Newton- 
ville, Mass. ; and James A. Hutch- 
ison, of Brockville, Canada. 

Mr. Witherle contributed two 
problems, and his second one (ap- 
pearing in Whist for July, 1894) won 
the admiration of experts every- 
where, as the finest example of its 
kindyetproduced. It was asfollows: 
South' s Hand. 

♦ 10. 

CO 10. 

4 A, J, 9, 8, 2. 

J- 10, 9, 8. 7, 3- 

Trump: Jack of clubs, turned by south. 

Partial play of the deal was as follows, 

west leading. The underscored card 

takes the trick; card under it is led next: 



to 


North. 


East. 


South. 


West. 


1 

2 
3 

4 

5 


AO 
CO 2 
4. K 


♦ 4. 
CO 4 

♦ 5 

♦ 6 
CO 6 


70 
C0\O 

♦ 8 

* 2 


KO 
CO 7 
* 3 

CO 8 


♦ 10 


CO 3 



Required — Inferences, and play of the 
remaining- cards. 

In determining the best answer, the 
first point of judging merit will be the 
naming of the cards correctly as actually 
distributed in the deal, or the nearest ap- 
proach thereto. The second point of 
merit will be the best notes of the play. 

20 



That the nut was a hard one to 
crack may be inferred from some 
of the letters received and pub- 
lished in the succeeding number of 
Whist. Said one aggrieved cor- 
respondent: ' ' This is called ' whist 
perception,' and yet it is impossible 
to locate the spade suit, except by 
mere guesswork. We are given 
the location of the ten-spot in the 
hand of south, but no play of the 
suit in the tricks exposed. Now, 
whilst it is easy to place the num- 
ber of the suit held in each of the 
three unknown hands, it is impossi- 
ble to name the value of the cards 
held by each. Would it not be just 
as sensible to offer a prize for the 
nearest guess at the number of 
seeds in a pumpkin ? What sort of 
perception is required in a guessing 
contest?" There was a great sur- 
prise in store for " R. I,. M." when 
the correct answer was published, 
and he found that all the important 
cards necessary to the best play of 
the deal by north and south could in 
fact be located by good whist per- 
ception. Another correspondent 
wished to know whether it was 
necessary to take American leads 
as a guide in solving the problem. 
He was informed that " a problem 
based on the simplest principles of 
American leads would not engage 
the attention of our best analysts. 
In order to prove interesting, there 
must be grounds for radical depart- 
ure from what at first sight might 
appear the natural order of play. 
The leads are only one factor in the 
game of whist; the drop of the 
cards, whether indicating good or 
bad play, is a great factor, and 
there are many other features to 
tax the vigilance of the student. 
To succeed he must examine every 
consideration, and then draw the 
most rational conclusions. " It was 
also intimated that the only way 
that south can read north's hand, 



PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 306 PERCEPTION PROBLEMS 



in the problem, is by knowing or as- 
suming that north has read south's 
hand. Another great feature (not 
mentioned in the analysis) is that 
south trumps at trick five, in order to 
get rid of what would prove a super- 
fluous trump and finally lose a trick. 
Out of twenty-two answers re- 
ceived in all, only three were cor- 
rect. These were sent in by John 
H. Briggs, of St. Paul, Minn.; Wil- 
liam Hudson, of the same city; and 
C. Hatch, of Norwalk, Conn. The 
latter was awarded the prize, and 
Whist, in giving his solution, com- 
mented as follows upon the prob- 
lem: "This is without exception 
the finest perception problem that 
we have ever seen, and was given 
our readers to illustrate what can 
be accomplished when there is per- 
fect confidence between partners. 
Most players, when partner makes 
an unusual play, are too apt to im- 
mediately jump at the conclusion 
that he is making a mistake. In 
this case south gave north credit for 
having a reason for his unusual 
play; he stopped to infer what that 
reason might be, and came to the 
conclusion that such a play on 
north's part would only be justified 
by his having the entire command 
of spades and hearts. He therefore 
willingly abandoned his own game 
and played for partner. The result 
is a remarkably well-played hand." 
Charles M. Clay paid this tribute to 
the problem, before the solution 
was made known: "I consider it 
the finest problem I have ever seen. 
Its unusual merit consists, it seems 
to me, not merely in reading the 
cards, but in making north and 
south read each other's plans and 
strategy. It is whist of the very 
highest order, and requires a master 
of the game alike for its conception 
and its solution. I shall watch 
with much interest to see how many 
solve it correctly." 



Mr. Hatch's solution follows: 


1 


North. 


Bast. 


South. 


West. 


5 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
IS 


J ♦ 


3 ♦ 
5 * 
7 « 
9 « 

^ J 

^ Q 

* 7 

*Q 


* 9 


^ 5 
2 Hk 

4 « 
6 « 
8 « 
^ 9 
2 
6 
QO 


10 ♦ 
3 
80 
90 
100 
J 
* J 


A t^ 


K « 


Q ♦ 


^ A 


<^ K 


50 
40 


* A 





Score: N-S, 12; E-W, i. 

Trick I. — West begins the play 
with the king of diamonds, show- 
ing queen and two below it. North 
reads jack, ten, nine, eight, and 
one smaller than the seven of dia- 
monds with south, and notes his 
call for trumps. South locates two 
small diamonds with north. 

Trick 2. — East opens his hand 
with the four of hearts, and is evi- 
dently not very strong in the suit. 
South plays the ten, west the seven, 
north the deuce. South credits 
north with strength in both the 
heart and spade suits, and notes 
that he does not "echo" to his 
' ' call. " He infers from west's drop 
of the seven that he is unblocking. 

Trick 3. — South leads his fourth- 
best trump, the eight of clubs; 
west drops the three, north the 
king, and east the five. The deuce 
of clubs is marked with south. 

Trick 4. — North returns the ten 
of trumps; east drops the six, south 
the deuce, and west discards the 
eight of hearts. The queen and 
seven of clubs are marked in east's 
hand, and the nine and a small 
heart with west. West must have 
two hearts remaining, for it would 
be bad play to retain but one when 
it is evident to him that, with his 



PERMANENT TRUMP 



307 



PERMUTATION 



weak hand, lie must play for his 
partner's, and that it will require 
at least another round to clear it. 
West is marked with four spades. 
South perceives that if north has 
the three of hearts he can read 
every player's holdings in that suit, 
and also determine the number of 
spades held bjj^ each. 

Trick 5. — North leads the three 
of hearts, east plays the six. The 
lead of the three of hearts is very 
informatory to south. It reveals 
the fact that north has located all 
the hearts, that east and west have 
each four spades, south but one, 
and no heart. 

Now, what interpretation should 
south put on the evident intention 
of north to force him at this stage 
of the game? Does not north say: 
" Partner, abandon any attempt to 
bring in diamonds; pla}' my 
game; accept the force; lead a 
spade, which must be my suit, and 
I will assume the responsibility for 
the result." 

No other reasoning can justify to 
south his partner's radical departure 
from south's original scheme of 
bringing in his own suit. 

Acting on this conclusion, south 
leads a spade, after trumping the 
heart, and finds that his partner 
holds the ace, king, queen, jack, 
and the ace, king of hearts. The 
subsequent play is simple. North 
wins the trick with the jack of 
spades, and leads successively the 
ace, king, queen, and the ace and 
king of hearts, upon which south 
discards all his diamonds, leaving 
him at the twelfth trick with 
the ace-jack tenace over east's 
queen and seven of clubs, and 
north and south win all the tricks 
but one. 

Permanent Trump. — See, "De- 
clared Trump," and "National 
Trump. ' ' 



Permutation. — In mathematics, 
the arrangement of things in every 
possible order. Permutation has 
been found useful in whist analysis, 
in determining the value of certain 
hands or play. In Whist for March, 
1897, a writer who signs himself 
" D. R. W. " advocates permutation 
as a means of settling such ques- 
tions. He says: 

"The careful and conscientious 
play of open hands, preferably un- 
der the supervision of advocates of 
each side of a controversy, is far 
more valuable than competitive 
^\a.Y or ex cathedra opinions. There 
are many reasons why this paradox- 
ical fact is true. The principal 
reason is that the margin of gain 
or loss arising from disputed modes 
of play is very much smaller than 
the range in the score due to what 
Drayson calls 'clerical errors,' and 
unskillful end play. 

"Speaking broadly, the main 
elements that affect the score of 
any given hand are the relative 
distributions of trump strength, 
plain-suit strength, and tenace 
strength. If an experimenter sys- 
tematically alters the positions of 
three hands of a given deal, so as 
to distribute these elements in as 
many different ways as possible 
with regard to the remaining hand, 
results derived from that deal are 
far more reliable, more truly typical 
of an infinite number of deals, 
than results derived from the same 
number of experiments made at 
random. 

" Let A be the hand of the orig- 
inal leader, in an experimental 
deal, and let Y, B, and Z represent 
the other three hands. These three 
hands can occupy six, and only six, 
positions with relation to one 
another and to the hand of the 
original leader. This scheme of 
six positions or permutations was 
given in the December number of 



PERMUTATION 



308 



PERMUTATION 



Whist, and is here repeated for 
convenience: 

Y z B 

A (i) B A (2) Y A (3) Z 
Z B Y 



Y 

A (4) Z 
B 



B 

A (5) Y 
Z 



Z 

A (6) B 
Y 



" Mathematicians tell us that any- 
one of these situations is precisely 
as likely as any other. Note that 
the three non-leading hands rotate 
in the direction of the hands of a 
watch, up to the fourth permuta- 
tion, when A's adversaries exchange 
hands, and the rotation takes place 
as before. Observing this facili- 
tates the use of the method. 

" Suppose two whist books are to 
be compared. The investigator 
' crams' on the two books till he 
feels competent to play each sys- 
tem, emphasizing in his mind the 
points of difference between the 
authors. He deals a pack of cards 
into four open hands, makes A and 
his partner play first one system 
and then the other, carefully and 
conscientiously, according to the 
development, the adversaries alter- 
nating with . the rival system. He 
records the tricks gained by A and 
his partner under each system, ro- 
tates the three non-leading hands 
into the position indicated by the 
second permutation above, plays 
the hands twice as before, and so 
on, until the twelve trials are com- 
pleted. These experiments are to 
be repeated with other shufflings 
until one system of play shows it- 
self a sure gainer. Permutational 
trials would ordinarily be convinc- 
ing, whereas the same number or a 
much larger number of unsystem- 
atic trials would be merely persua- 
sive at best. At any crucial point 
where two modes of play require a 
different card to be played, from 
any given hand, the greater efl&cacy 



of one card over the other is usually 
made too prominent, or not promi- 
nent enough, by reason of some 
accidental peculiarity of strength 
or weakness in the hand of partner 
or adversary. When the hands of I 
partner and adversaries are made 1 
to occupy all possible relations to 
one another, the difficulty is min- 
imized. 

' ' The twelve trials necessary to 
' permute ' an ordinary hand take 
about two hours. Permutation is 
a practical arbitrator of great value, 
and will solve almost any disputed 
point of play, not only in whist, 
but also in any other scientific card 
game." 

Commenting on the above, R. F. 
Foster, the well-known whist ex- 
pert and author, makes the fol- 
lowing discouraging comments: 
' ' In his suggestions for permuting 
whist hands, in order to analyze 
them, ' D. R. W. ' entirely over- 
looks a very important factor 
in the result, the turn-up trump. 
There is nothing new about his 
idea, as he will find if he will 
turn to page 120 of my 'Whist 
Strategy,' in which I give the 
result of my permutation of the 
forty illustrative hands in ' Caven- 
dish.' That was done in 1889, 
eight years ago. I have since found 
such permutation of no use for 
general purposes, because it brings 
about positions which are not in 
accord vnth mathematical expecta- 
tion. If it were the dealer's hand 
that remained untouched, and the 
three others that were permuted, 
there might be something in it; 
but your correspondent overlooks 
the fact that the moment he de- 
prives the dealer of his turn-up 
trump, or, what amounts to the 
same thing, gives his entire hand 
to some other player, he upsets all 
the conditions governing the orig- 
inal lead. 





'"'^■' io 2isn::i£iT 



9sO .eiM 





ritRMUTATlC 



is Tif-rp :i- u.ited for 



-r the other is usually 

iiinent, or not promi- 

hv rea«on of some 



A(x; V 



one o; 

as lik' 

r-1 11»' 



\nstellus tljal 
■ ilions is i 
other. r> 
iling hauda roiaie 
. f the hands of a 



her, the 



. value, 
>■ > . >■.■ ain'.^.i.-.i. ail v >ii,sput.ed 
play, not only in whist, 
:u any other scientific card 



obserT^achers of Whist.' , ^ ^ ^, 

:■( tlu' r.uui'i:^ '. .)mmenting on the above, R. P. 

■ two whist books are to Foster, tlie well-known whist ex- 

d. The investigator pert and author, makes the fol- 

Lillian?©. tMdehooks till iMrs. WMSHfenry Newbold, ^c>™"ie>its: 

;. -u to nlayeachsvs- " In his ^ ; permuting 

' 'lis mind tlu' svhist ha.r.o^, ..i vrj^..;.i■ to atialyze 

Mt&.tvTe<;H.tliWidreUc9;i. 'D. R. W.' entirely over- 

'■ 1 -\',i-; i, -: V very important factor 

■ ':V.t turn-up trump. 

Miss Frances S. Dallamv -r-bout his 

•~ !ie will 

Whist 

-ive the 

ion of the 

■Q, 

;.d 

or no Ubc ior 

: .ecause it brings 

lich are not in 

matical expecta- 



Mrs. 



Mrs. Gep^ (leB. Keim. 



dish.' That 



ngs 



th 



be uicrely pv;ic.u-- 
anv crucial T)oint 



t:. 
an 



. erning the orig- 



1 



PERSONAL SKIIvI/ 



309 PETTES, GEORGE W. 



" It is well-known that the aver- 
age distribution of the trumps is 
3.060 for each of the non-dealers, 
and 3.820 for the dealer. But if 
the hands are permuted, the orig- 
inal leader, A, instead of having to 
consider the advisability of leading 
up to a player that will hold an 
average of 3.820 trumps will be 
leading up to an average of 3. 166 
only, if the dealer's hand is given 
to B andY two-thirds of the time." 

To this " D. R. W." issues a re- 
joinder in Whist (July, 1897), in 
which he disclaims that his idea 
was intended to be advanced as 
new, and then proceeds to maintain 
his position as follows : " It is easy 
to test two whist books, or two 
rival modes of play, and allow for 
the turning of a trump. This al- 
lowance is a special application of 
the method, and is made by mere- 
ly calling A the dealer instead of 
the original leader, letting him re- 
tain the dealer's hand and the 
turn-up during the experiment, 
and alwavs leading originally from 
the hand at A's left. * * * The 
committee on system of play are 
respectfully assured that there is 
more in it than in competitive 
play, 'jawbone,' and guess com- 
bined, if the experiments be jointly 
made by advocates of two substan- 
tially different systems of play, be- 
fore a fair-minded referee." 

Personal Skill.— See, " Skill," 

Peter. — See, " Trump Signal. " 

Peterborough, Lord. — A famous 
gamester, whose losses at whist, on 
a certain night in the year 1810, 
or thereabouts, are popularly said 
to have given rise to short whist. 
The incident occurred in one of 
the fashionable English clubs. 
Lord Peterborough had suffered 
bad luck and lost a large sum of 



money. The hour was late, but in 
order to give the loser an opportu- 
nity to recoup himself (or, per- 
haps, to lose still quicker), it was 
proposed to cut the game down 
from ten to five points. The result 
was so gratifying, although we are 
not informed to which side, that 
short whist was born then and 
there, and soon spread with amaz- 
ing rapidity. 

We are not informed how IvOrd Peter- 
borough personally was pleased with the 
new game, since, because of the dimidi- 
ating process, he might have been de- 
prived of his guineas more speedily than 
before; but it matters not. So that money 
changed hands rapidly, the Englishmen 
were delighted.— C IV. Pettes \_L. A. P.'\, 
''^American IVkist Illustrated." 

Pettes, George W. — The leader 
of what was by him named the 
"American" school of whist, which 
had many followers up to the time 
when Trist and "Cavendish" in- 
troduced American leads, where- 
upon the ' ' Cavendish' ' school 
became the American school of 
play. Mr. Pettes himself accepted 
the American leads, but insisted 
upon retaining certain modifica- 
tions peculiar to himself, as follows; 
Leading the ace also from ace, 
queen, ten, nine, and from ace, 
jack, ten, nine; leading queen from 
queen, jack, and two below the 
seven, and from queen, jack, nine, 
and two or more; leading jack from 
jack, ten, nine, and one or more, 
and from jack, ten, and two small; 
leading the ten from ace, king, 
queen, jack, ten; from king, queen, 
jack, ten, and one or more, and 
from king, jack, ten, and one or 
more; treating the nine as a high 
card, and leading it from king, 
jack, nine, with or without others 
(excepting ace and queen). All of 
these have since fallen into disuse. 

George William Pettes was born 
in Providence, R. I,, August 8, 



PETTES, GEORGE W. 



310 PETTES, GEORGE W. 



1821, and was the only son of Dr. 
Joseph Bass and Susan (Lawrence) 
Pettes. Under the instruction of 
Principal Hartshorn, head of one 
of the noted schools of the city, he 
was fitted for Brown University, 
which he entered two years in ad- 
vance of his class. About this time 
a temporary trouble with his eye- 
sight obliged him to relinquish his 
studies, but the cultivation of his 
inherited literary tastes and gifts 
did not end with his college days. 
He entered business life for a time, 
but not finding it congenial he ap- 
plied himself to literature and jour- 
nalism. He was at different times 
connected, editorially and other- 
wise, with the Boston dailies, and 
was also a frequent contributor to 
other journals in New England and 
the West. His first engagement 
was with the Daily Bee, a leading 
paper of Boston at that time, and 
he served as its editor for a number 
of years. At the age of forty he 
had attained considerable celebrity, 
and entered the lecture field. He 
was considered a graceful poet and 
pleasant speaker. In 1878 he was 
back at newspaper work, as an 
editorial writer on the staff of the 
Boston Daily Advertiser. On re- 
tiring from that paper he resumed 
the quiet literary life for which he 
so much longed, and continued his 
favorite study of whist. As a result 
he published in October, 1880. the 
first original book on whist written 
by an American author. It was 
called "American Whist," and 
eight editions of it, all told, of 
various sizes, have been issued. 
His next work, " Whist Universal," 
appeared in August, 1887, and ran 
through four editions. Then came 
"American Whist Illustrated," in 

1890, of which ten editions have 
been published. Of ' ' Whist in 
Diagrams," which appeared in 

1891, we are informed, but one edi- 



tion was sold. As can readily be 
seen from the above enumeration, 
Mr. Pettes, by means of his books, 
exerted a widespread influence on 
the game in this country, and this 
was supplemented by his writings 
in the daily press, in which he was 
the first to establish a regular whist 
department. He edited such de- 
partments in the Boston Herald, 
Boston Transcript, and Chicago 
Inter-Ocean. He did not sign his 
full name to his articles, nor in his 
books, using his initials, ' ' G. W. 
P.," which thus became a sort of 
norn de plume. 

Although standing on high 
ground and maintaining views con- 
sidered rather arbitrary by many of 
his critics, Mr. Pettes was, person- 
ally, a genial, large-hearted, and 
companionable man. His death 
occurred suddenly on March 18, 
1892, and was due to heart disease. 
His last article on whist, written 
for the Chicago Inter-Ocean, was 
received at the office of that paper 
a few hours before the telegraphic 
announcement of his decease. 

Whether discussing financial topics or 
his favorite pastime, -whist, he was al- 
ways interesting. He was best known 
for his intelligent and judicious discus- 
sion of this noblest of all games. Whist 
is suggestive of English drawing-rooms, 
and for a long time the authorities of the 
game were English. The idea of a distinc- 
tively American whist vrould have been 
scouted and sneered at, much as Sydney 
Smith sneered at American books But 
within a few years there has not only 
come to be an American whist, bvit it has 
gradually arrived at the honor of being 
conceded by the best whist-players of Eu- 
rope, as well as our own country, to be a 
decided improvement upon any other. No 
man in America did more to make whist 
popular than the late George W. Pettes. 
— Chicago Inter-Ocean, March, i8gz. 

Mr. Pettes was the most voluminous 
writer on the .game, and largely caused 
the popularity it now enjoys. Possessed 
of wonderful diction, his writings sparkle 
with the brilliance of genius and force 
applause, while riveting the attention of 
thinking minds. He was a vigorous con- 
troversialist, with an ability to give and 



PETTES, GEORGE W. 31 1 PHENOMENAL HANDS 



take hard knocks that, provoking the 
admiration of those who differed with 
him, endeared him to his friends. * * * 
However defective his methods may have 
been, he believed he was right, and, be- 
lieving so, defended his position with all 
the vigor of a master mind. A thinker 
himself, his incisive logic, ready wit, and 
pungent sarcasm stimulated to thought, 
all the more when he could not convince; 
and for this American whist men owe 
him an undying debt of gratitude. — 
Cassius M. Paine [L.A.], IVhist, April, 
1892. 

He was devoted to the game in all of the 
higher resources it contains, and would 
admit no middle ground, no trifling with 
or perversion of its resources for mere 
careless pastime. He was inflexible in 
this regard, and in his views of the proper 
whist system, and, in many cases, he es- 
tranged clubs and players through his 
unbending will upon points at issue. But 
in all regards he was sincere in his views, 
and at all times prepared to maintain 
them. His system is logical and defensi- 
ble, but it is considered unnecessarily de- 
tailed, too minutely elaborated, and 
therefore unnecessarily intricate, by the 
body of better rank players. Mr. Pettes 
was himself a strong player, but a 
stronger whist analyst. His analyses of 
exceptional hands and plays, or in fact 
of any whist play, coup, or situation, were 
masterly and very rarely at fault, even 
when there was partisan controversy. 
* * * His strong personality and posi- 
tiveness marked all of his current writ- 
ings, and he neither favored friend nor 
feared opponent, and he was ready at all 
times to do battle for his favorite theo- 
ries. His very antagonisms have done a 
great deal to build up and unify whist in- 
terests through the discussions they have 
aroused. * * * in his personal rela- 
tions Mr. Pettes was very genial and com- 
panionable. He spent a w^eek here in 
the summer of* 1890 at Paxinosa Inn, and 
the whist played there between him and 
his partner, George W. Parker, and the 
Easton players is a matter of record. 
There were frequent sittings, too, before 
and afterwards, between them in Boston. 
The relations between Mr. Pettes and the 
Easton players were always cordial, and 
their meetings were looked forward to 
with mutual pleasure. — C. S. Boutcher {L. 
yl.], Easton Free Press, March ig, i8g2. 

It is very much to be regretted that so 
able a writer as Mr. Pettes should have 
started out with a false principle, and 
should have spent ten years and four vol- 
umes building upon a bad foundation. 
His theory of whist was that the mere 
winning or losing of the tricks was quite 
unimportant, and that the manner in 
which the cards were played, the informa- 



tion conveyed by their fall, and the abil- 
ity of a player to distinguish the position 
of the trey from the location of the deuce, 
went to make up the highest order of 
whist. Winning or losing had nothing to 
do with it; yet his universal penalty for 
any infraction of the rules was the loss of 
a point. A careful study of his published 
works, and the whist column he edited 
for two years in the Boston Herald, forces 
one to the conclusion that Mr. Pettes was 
one of the most self-deceived men that 
ever took up the pen as a writer on the 
game. He was a worshiper of Descha- 
pelles, and published hands alleged to 
have been played by him in which the 
French master was made to use American 
leads, although he died forty years before 
they were invented. He was a great ad- 
mirer of Trist, but, strange to say, bit- 
terly opposed to " Cavendish." His whist 
gods were number-showing leads, plain- 
suit echoes,unblocking, fantastic finesses, 
and extraordinary coups and underplays. 
No better indication of his whist views 
can be given than the fact that he did 
everything in his power to discourage du- 
plicate, because that form of the game was 
based on the principle that with equal 
cards the winners of the most tricks were 
considered the better players. This Pet- 
tes would never admit. He insisted that 
two men might play their cards so beau- 
tifully as to stamp them as whist geniuses 
of the highest order, and yet lose twenty 
or thirty tricks in forty-eight hands. He 
claimed the only test of whist ability was 
to submit the recorded play to an expert 
for judgment, and he naively added that 
he was the only person living capable of 
rendering such judgment. And let it be 
said to his credit that he preached what 
he practiced, for during the entire exist- 
ence of the Deschapelles Club, which he 
organized in Boston, and of which he was 
the leading spirit, he always had the low- 
est score, although he played the best 
whist.— ,^. F. Foster [S. O.}, Monthly Il- 
lustrator, iSgy. 

Phenomenal Hands. — When we 
remember that there is one chance 
out of 158,750,000,000 that the 
dealer may hold thirteen trumps 
in a hand at whist, and that the 
chance of each of the other three 
players also holding thirteen cards 
of a suit is much more remote, the 
following certificate becomes a most 
interesting document: 

Brooklyn, June 25, 1894. 
This is to certify that in a game of whist 
played between the four gentlemen below 
named, at the Montauk Club,of Brooklyn, 



PHENOMENAI, HANDS 31 2 PHENO MEN AI. HANDS 



on Monday evening, June 25, 1894, Mr. 
Anderson dealt the cards from a well- 
shuffled pack, turned the trey of spades, 
dealt Mr. Young thirteen hearts, Mr. 
Lyles thirteen clubs, Mr. Hodenpyl thir- 
teen diamonds, and himself twelve 
spades. 

[Signed] Theodore D. Anderson, 
James E. Young, 
J. H. Lyles, 
A. J. G. Hodenpyl. 
Witnesses: J. M. Rider, W. Stratton, M. 
D., W. P. Callaghan, George A. La Vie. 

It is asserted that a hand of this 
kind was also dealt at the United 
Service Club, at Calcutta, India, in 
January (some accounts have it 
February), 1888. Those at the table 
were Mr. Justice Norris and three 
ph3'sicians, and the occurrence was 
duly vouched for by all present. 

W. P. Courtney, in his " English 
Whist and Whist-Players," tells 
of a Mrs. Sperme, an English lady, 
residing at Naples, who dealt her- 
self thirteen trumps, and was terror- 
stricken lest she should be accused 
of cheating. Another instance of 
thirteen trumps being dealt was 
recorded in Bell's Life, London, 
during February, 1863. Still an- 
other in the Westminster Papers 
for December, 1873. 

Phenomenal hands at whist are 
not confined to the above kind, 
however. Some are extraordinary 
for their poorness, and in order to 
see just how far luck runs that way. 
Whist, in November, 1892, offered 
a prize of twenty-five dollars to the 
person having, during actual play, 
been dealt the lowest possible hand, 
or Yarborough. By this was un- 
derstood the lowest four cards of 
one suit, and the lowest three cards 
of each of the other suits. The 
offer of the prize held good for a 
year, but no one was able to lay 
claim to it. 

J.J. Shea, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, 
in Whist for November, 1897, gives 
the following as an illustration of 
the doctrine of chance: "Twelve 



deals were had, the cards regularly 
shuffled, cut and dealt; the turned 
trump in eight hands was the deuce 
of hearts, and in the ninth the three 
of the same suit. The gentlemen 
present were Messrs. Binkley and 
Wilbur, of the Omaha Club, and 
Waterman and the writer, of the 
Council Bluffs Club." He further 
declares that, at the Omaha Club, 
on Wednesday evening, Septem- 
ber 29, 1897, a hand was dealt in 
which each player held a complete 
sequence from ace to deuce, in the 
four suits. North dealt and turned 
the three of diamonds. The distri- 
bution, which is so very remarkable 
that it almost seems pre-arranged, 
was as follows: 



West. 



North. 



♦ 3, 7, J. 


♦ 4, 8, Q. 


^ 4, 8, Q. 


^ A, K, 9, 5 


* A, K, 9, 5. 


A 2, 6, 10. 


2, 6, 10. 


3, 7, J. 


East. 


South. 


♦ A, K, 9, 5. 


4k 2, 6, 10. 


'^ 2, 6, 10. 


^ 3, 7, J. 


* 3, 7. J. 


♦ 4, 8, Q. 


4, 8, Q. 


A, K, 9, 5 



At the Union Club of Boulogne, 
France, some years ago, the dealer 
dealt the twenty-six red cards to 
himself and partner, and all the 
black cards to their opponents. 

N. B. Trist stated, in 1895, that 
Mrs. John B. Donally, of New 
Orleans, had performed the rare 
feat of taking all thirteen tricks 
of a deal with her own hand, in a 
game played in that city. This is 
most remarkable, as it is seldom 
that a slam is made without some 
help from partner. 

W. P. Courtney relates that, upon 
one occasion, his partner, at the 
Reform Club, London, held but one 
trump each time in three hands 
in succession, and each time the 



PHILADEI/PHIA CUP 



313 



PICKWICK " AT WHIST 



trump was a niue. (See, also, 
" Duke of Cumberland's Famous 
Hand," " Vienna Coup," and "Yar- 
borough.") 

Among the numerous letters which I 
receive about whist, instances of unusual 
distribution of cards are not infreqiient; 
as, for example, that A dealt himselt thir- 
teen trumps; or had three consecutive 
hands without a trump; or that B and C 
had all the trumps between them. These 
letters are generally accompanied by a 
permission to publish the iacts (which 
are well authenticated), or by the ques- 
tion whether such a case ever happened 
befoi'e, and sometimes by a request to 
calculate the odds against such an occur- 
rence. The obvious reply is that one 
named hand or combination is no more 
improbable than another, and that curi- 
ous hands, which illustrate no principle 
of play, are not worth the trouble of cal- 
culating. — '^Cavendish'''' \L. A.\, '^' Card- 
Table Talk:' 

Philadelphia Cup. — A massive 
silver loving-cup presented to the 
Woman's Whist League by Mrs. 
John Price Wetherill, of Philadel- 
phia. It is the championship pair 
trophy of the League, to be com- 
peted for at each annual congress, 
and under the rules it becomes the 
permanent property of any pair of 
League players who win it three 
times. It was offered for competi- 
tion at the first congress, in Phila- 
delphia, April, 1897, and was at 
that time won by Mrs. Bradt and 
Mrs. Richardson, of the Cavendish 
Club, of Boston. 

Philosophical Game. — A term 
first applied to whist by William 
Pole, in his "Philosophy of Whist;" 
the modern scientific game {q. v.). 

"Piano Hand." — A hand at 
whist which is easily played and 
likely, in a duplicate match, to pro- 
duce the same score at each table; 
a hand which presents no opportu- 
nities for exceptional or brilliant 
play, but runs its course smoothly 
to the end. 



At this style of game [supporting-card 
leads] " piano hands" — another name for 
excessive dullness and waste of time — are 
much less numerous than under the long- 
suit routine. — E. C. Howell [S. JT.] , " Whtst 
Openings." 

" Pickwick " at Whist. — It was 

"sick whist" (to quote Charles 
Lamb's phrase) which the immortal 
Mr. Pickwick played at Dingley 
Dell, with old Mrs. Wardle for his 
partner (see, "Old-Fashioned Whist- 
Party" ); but it was a very different 
kind of whist that he experienced 
at the hands of Lady Snuphanuph, 
Mrs. Colonel Wugsby, and Miss 
Bolo, "three thorough-paced female 
card-players," who engaged him in 
a rubber in the assembly rooms at 
Bath. They were so desperately 
sharp that they quite frightened 
him. If he played a wrong card, 
Miss Bolo looked a small armory 
of daggers. If he stopped to con- 
sider which was the right one, 
Lady Snuphanuph would throw 
herself back in her chair and smile, 
with a mingled glance of impa- 
tience and pity, to Mrs. Colonel 
Wugsby, at which Mrs. Colo7iel 
Wugsby would shrug up her shoul- 
ders and cough, as much as to say 
she wondered whether he would 
ever begin. Then at the end of 
every hand Miss Bolo would in- 
quire, with a dismal countenance 
and a reproachful sigh, why Mr. 
Pickwick had not returned that 
diamond, or led the club, or 
roughed the spade, or finessed the 
heart, or led through the honor, or 
brought out the ace, or played up 
to the king. 

In reply to all these grave 
questions the harassed Pickwick 
could find ho adequate explana- 
tion. The incidents of the game 
had vanished from his mind, and 
he was all at sea. Some of the 
company came over and looked 
over his hands, and their observa- 
tions only made matters worse. 



" PIPING AT WHIST ' 



314 



PI^ACING CARDS 



The cards went against him. He 
played badly, " and when they left 
ojBF, at ten minutes past eleven, 
Miss Bolo rose from the table con- 
sid erably agitated, and went straight 
hoijje in a flood of tears and a 
sed--m-chair. " Mr. Pickwick re- 
tired to his hotel, and "soothed 
his feelings with something hot." 

" Pipir-.g at Whist."— A dis- 
honest practice at whist which was 
in vogue in the early history of the 
game, when it was a tavern game. 
Seymour describes it as follows, in 
1734: " By piping I mean when 
one of the company that does not 
play (which frequently happens) 
sits down in a convenient place to 
smoke a pipe, and so look on, pre- 
tending to amuse himself that way. 
Now the disposing of his fingers on 
the pipe, while smoking, discovers 
the principal cards that are in the 
person's hands he overlooks." 

There is no sounder principle going 
than that it is generally desirable to ac- 
quaint your partner with the state of your 
hand, but it neither follows that you 
should place it face upwards on the table, 
nor avail yourself of those extensions 
known to Hoyle as " piping at whist." — 
^^Pembridge" [jJ-+0.], "Decline and Fall 
of IVhistr 

Pitt Coup. — A coup by means of 
which a player places himself in a 
position to lead through the left- 
hand adversary in a suit in which 
his partner holds a major tenace 
over a minor tenace in the hand of 
the left-hand adversary. It has 
been named the Pitt coup under a 
curious misapprehension. The situ- 
ation was first used as an illustra- 
tion of play, by Mathews, in his 
"Advice to the Young Whist 
Player." An anonymous French 
writer borrowed it in 1855, and 
designated the players as Pitt and 
Burke, partners, against Fox and 
Sheridan, instead of the A-C, B-D 
used by Mathews. Abraham Hay- 
ward, in his article on " Whist and 



Whist-Players," quoted from the 
Frenchman, retaining the latter's 
nomenclature, and from Hayward 
the coup found its way again into 
the Westminster Papers, Foster's 
"Whist Strategy," etc. It will 
thus be seen that Pitt had nothing 
whatever to do with the play. The 
position of the hands, after the 
ninth trick, was this (hearts trump) : 



♦ 8, 7. 


♦ 


^ 7, 4. 


^ 8,6. 


* 


* K, 2. 


— 


— 


East. 


South 


♦ K,Q. 


♦ 


<J? 5,3. 


^ A, 2. 


* 


♦ 6,7. 


— 






West, at trick ten, led the eight 
of spades; north (Burke) discarded 
a club, and South (Pitt) trumped 
with the ace and then led the two, 
thereby giving the lead to his part- 
ner, who took the rest. 

Placing Cards. — To place the 
cards is for each player to draw 
and place before him the card 
played to a trick, in order to show 
some careless or unobservant 
player how they were played, and 
what will be necessary for him to 
do in order to play correctly. (See, 
" Draw of Cards.") 

To place the cards also means to 
name or locate cards held in the 
hands after certain rounds, basing 
the effort upon the knowledge ob- 
tained by the fall of the cards. 
This is a regular feature of " Study 
Whist" {q.v.). (See, also, "Per- 
ception Problems.") 

If you have omitted to notice how the 
cards fell to a trick' ask that they be 
-p\s.c&A.— James Clay [L. 0+]. 

During the correspondence tourney, a 
prize was offered to the player who could 
correctly place the greatest number of 



PI^ACING THE LBAD 



315 



PLAIN-SUIT SIGNAI/ 



the cards remaining in the three other 
hands, after the ninth trick. Jgach com- 
petitor had two or three weeks in which 
to study the situation. Seven out of the 
sixteen tried it. As they each held 
twenty-eight hands, they submitted 
analyses of 196 endings. In sixteen of 
these every card was correctly placed. In 
three, all but one. In twenty-two, all but 
two. In twelve, all but three, In twen- 
ty-four, all but four. In twenty-one, all 
but five; and in the remainder, half or 
less were rightly located; in some cases 
not a single card being named in its ac- 
tual position. The player who won the 
prize, Mr. C. M. Clay, the celebrated com- 
poser of whist perception problems, 
placed 73 per cent, correctly; named the 
right suit, but was unable to give the ex- 
act size of thirty; gave right suit, but 
■wrong size, of forty; and was wrong, 
both as to size and suit, in only .seventeen. 
—R. F. Foster [S. 0.\, "JVhisi Tactics." 



Placing the Lead. 

ing the Lead." 



-See, "Throw- 



Plain Suit. — Any suit which is 
not trump. The best or long plain 
suit is the suit which players of the 
long-suit game try to establish and 
bring in, and which they, as a rule, 
open first, or lead from originally. 
The leads from plain suits differ 
from those in trumps in some im- 
portant particulars, for the reason 
that high cards in trumps, if held 
back, cannot be taken away, 
whereas in plain suits they may be 
trumped. 

It is generally best to lead plain suits as 
trumps, when adversaries' trumps are 
exhausted, or if all the trumps are out, 
holding a re-entry card. — X'ate Wheelock 
iL. A.I, " IVhist Rules." 

Plain-Suit Echo. — An echo by 

means of which strength is indi- 
cated in a plain suit. It is made 
by playing third best on partner's 
original lead; second best on sec- 
ond round; best on third round, 
and retaining the lowest until last. 
Some players restrict the use of this 
echo to four cards exactly, but gen- 
erally it means four or more in suit. 
Some also object to calling it an 



echo, claiming that "unblocking" 
is the better term. This seemed to 
have weight with "Cavendish," 
who, in first announcing it, in 
1885, named his book "Whist De- 
velopments, American Leads, and 
the Plain-Suit Echo," but changed 
the title in later editions to ' ' Un- 
blocking Game." (See, "Unblock- 
ing.") "No one," he remarks in 
a recent letter, " ever said, ' I plain- 
suit echoed;' always, 'I un- 
blocked.'" 

The "four signal" (q. v.), by 
which the possession of four trumps 
is shown, without asking that they 
be led, is made in a somewhat sim- 
ilar manner to the above. The two 
conventions are confusing, except 
in case trumps are exhausted and 
the player cannot possibly be refer- 
ring to trumps. 

The "plain-suit echo" and the "four 
signal" cannot co-exist; they conflict, and 
the play of one neutralizes the other. — C. 
S. Boutcher [L. A.], " IVhist Sketches." 

The value of this echo is much disputed, 
and the adversaries can usually render it 
ineffective by holding up small cards, a 
practice very much in vogue with ad- 
vanced players. — R. F. Foster [S. O.I, 
^'Complete Hoyle." 

Plain-Suit Signal. — A conven- 
tional play by which a player shows 
strength in, and asks his partner to 
lead, a plain suit, the same as he 
would request the lead of trumps. 
It is only made when partner can- 
not possibly mistake it for a trump 
signal — as, for instance, when 
trumps are out, or are being led by 
the opponents, or have been sig- 
naled for by yourself, or refused, 
etc. The plain-suit signal is made 
in the same manner as the trump 
signal, by playing upon a lead an 
unnecessarily high card followed 
by a lower one. A variety of usage 
has crept in in regard to this signal. 
Some players reverse the meaning, 
declare weakness, and request part- 



PLAIN SUITS, CHOICE OP 316 



PLAYED CARDS 



ner to change the suit. Some give 
it one meaning when made on 
partner's lead, and another when 
made on the lead of the adversaries. 

The writer believes it wisest to make 
the play [of the plain-suit signal] always 
show strength. — Milton. C. Work [L. A. 
H.}, "Whist of To-day:' 

Plain Suits, Choice of. — When 
the hand contains more than one 
plain suit, the question, which 
should be originally opened? is 
sometimes very embarrassing, and 
always very important. Milton C. 
Work gives the following table of 
four-card plain-suit leads in the 
order of choice: 

Ace, king, queen, jack. 

Ace, king, queen, and one other. 

King, queen, jack, and one other. 

Queen, jack, ten, and one other. 

Ace, king, and two others. 

Ace, queen, jack, ten. 

King, queen, ten, and one other. 

Ace, queen, jack, and one other. 

Queen, jack, and two others. 

Ace, jack, and two others. 

Ace and three others. 

King, jack, ten, and one other. 

Ace, queen, and two others. 

King, jack, and two others. 

Ace, queen, ten, and one other. 

King, ten, and two others. 

Queen, ten, and two others. 

King, queen, and two others. 

King and three others. 

Queen and three others. 

jack and three others. 

Ten and three others. 

Nine and three others, etc. 

Play. — To play at whist is to 
take one card after another fi-om 
the hand and place it upon the 
table, as required in leading, fol- 
lowing, trumping, or discarding. 
Good or bad play depends upon the 
ability of the player in playing his 
cards to the best advantage. All 
mannerisms should be avoided in 



play. The cards should not be 
played too fast, nor too slow, but at 
the same deliberate, careful pace 
throughout — a trait that was much 
admired in James Clay and other 
great players. 

The man who plays with equally quiet 
consideration the low card or the high 
one, in its proper turn, secures the good 
opinion of the whole table.— ^.y. Mcin- 
tosh [L. A.], "Modern Whist:' 

Play slowly (but do not hesitate), that 
you may be able to watch closely; do not 
allow a trick to be turned without know- 
ing the card each person played. — Kate 
fVheelock [L. A.], " Whist Rules:' 

No rule of play can be devised that may 
not, under certain conditions, occasion 
loss; hence our whist lawgivers are con- 
strained to admit that " bad play" will 
frequently win where " good play" will 
lose. If bad play generally won it would, 
by virtue of its success, be adopted as 
good play; the test, therefore, of good 
play is whether it will generally win. — 
Eugene S: Elliott \L. A.], Whist, May, 

Play, Lines of. — ^The plan or 
tactics followed out in the play of 
a hand, depending upon its peculi- 
arity, strength, or weakness, and 
influenced also to a certain extent 
by the condition of partner's hand, 
or those of the adversaries. 

whist-playing may be generally divided 
into three sorts: Beginner's whist, good 
whist, and refined whist. In the first, the 
cards are played according to suit, and a 
few book rules are blindlyapplied; in the 
second, there is rational pla3'and definite 
aim; in the third, the play is highly skill- 
ful, ijeing based on deep study and thor- 
ough knowledge of intricacies. — "Aqua- 
rius" [Z,. 0.1, "The Hands at Whist:' 

Played Cards. — Cards that have 
been played, and are no longer 
held in the hand. In the English 
game, eight played cards may be 
seen at any one time during the 
progress of the play — four on the 
table not yet turned and quitted, 
and the last trick which has been 
turned. In the American game, 
only the four cards on the table 
may be seen, before they have been 



PLAYERS, KINDS OF 31 7 PLAYING FOR THE ODD 



turned and quitted. A trick once 
turned and quitted cannot be ex- 
amined until the hand has been 
played out. 

Players, Kinds of. — The two 

principal kinds of whist-players are 
the good players and the bad pla}'- 
ers. General A. W. ''Dray son, in 
an appendix to the fourth edition 
of his "Art of Practical Whist," 
has rung the changes on the inter- 
vening types in a most amusing 
manner, and makes out twenty-six 
distinct classes. "A very long ex- 
perience of whist and whist-players 
in various parts of the world," 
says he, ' ' has caused me to come to 
the conclusion that men with pecu- 
liar types of mind exist in every 
country, and these men are mere 
repetitions of each other. In the 
burning plains of India, or amidst 
the snows of Canada, we find indi- 
viduals, who have never met and 
have sever heard of each other, 
yet when they join in a rubber 
of whist they will commit ex- 
actly the same mistakes, will make 
word for word the same excuses, 
and at delicate points in the game 
will err in the same manner. The 
repetition of similar proceedings 
has induced me to group whist- 
players under various heads, and, 
after careful consideration, I can- 
not divide them into fewer than 
twenty-six classes. Each class has 
its specialty, some individuals be- 
longing to two or three of these." 
General Draj'son's classification is 
as follows: 

1. The old-fashioned player. 

2. The young player. 

3. The player who never read a 
book on whist. 

4. The book player. 

5. The player who only plays for 
amusement. 

6. The crafty player. 

7. The great card-holder. 



8. The unlucky player. 

9. The whist authority. 

10. The excitable player, 

11. The too deliberate player. 

12. The man who won't learn. 

13. The man with a bad memory. 

14. The mean player. 

15. The man who takes his pound 
of flesh. 

16. The unobservant player. 

17. The litigious player. 

18. The good bad player. 

19. The bad good player. 

20. The man with the preoccu- 
pied mind. 

21. The popular player. 

22. The unpopular player. 

23. The undependable player. 

24. The superstitious player. 

25. The selfish player. 

26. The inspired player. 

Playing at Playing Whist. — A 

kind of play indulged in by those 
who do not understand the game 
of whist, but imagine they do; 
bumblepuppy {q. v.). 

" Cavendish," in his "Card Essays," 
gives us the story of " The Duffer Max- 
ims," and some anecdotical matter of an 
amusing nature about the talkers. By 
vcay of appendix to sober instruction, we 
have thouajht to introduce the conversa- 
tion verbatim during a single hand of four 
persons seated for the purpose of " play- 
ing whist," as each of them called the 
performance — literally, however, a rol- 
licking exhibition that should be named 
plaj'ing at playing whist. — G. IV. Pettes 
\L. A. P.l, ^^ American IVhist Illustrated." 

Playing Cards. — Cards used in 
playing whist and other games. 
(See, "Card.") 

Playing for the Odd Trick. — 

Playing for the trick or point 
that may be necessary to win or 
save the game ; playing a cautious 
and mainly defensive frame, in 



and mainly defensive game, in 
which you are satisfied to win by a 
small margin, instead of playing a 
great game to make a big score. 



PLAYING OUT OF TURN 318 PLAYING TWO CARDS 



The other method [" playing for the 
odd trick"] comprises the tactics of 
■weakness (concealment, artifice, decep- 
tion). Hereunder comes the taking ad- 
vantage of position, the most common 
instances of which grow out of holding 
in one hand the best and third-best cards 
unplayed of the suit led (the second best 
being in another hand), and kindred sit- 
uations. — Emery Boardman \L -f A.'l, 
"■Winninf^ WhistP 

Playing Out of Turn. — An error 

at whist, which consists in placing 
a card upon the table before it is 
your turn to do so. 

If the third hand plays before the 
second, the fourth hand also may play 
before the second. 

If the third hand has not played, and 
the fourth hand plays before the second, 
the latter may be called upon by the third 
hand to play his highest or lowest card 
of the suit led, or, if he has none, to 
trump or not to trump the trick. — Laws of 
Whist {American Code), Sectionszs and 26. 
(See, also, ":Srror, Cards Played in.") 

•' Playing Pictures." — Playing 
the high cards iu a hand as soon as 
possible, for the sake of making 
tricks, without reference to the sci- 
ence of the game — a failing which 
novices frequently betray. It also 
is a branch of bumblepuppy (q. v.). 

The above must not be con- 
founded with the high-card game, 
which forms part of the Howell 
(short-suit) system, which is played 
with method, and does not consist 
in "playing pictures" from all 
suits at random. 

I remember to have said: " "Why, then, 
it seems my partner and I haven't been 
playing whist at all," to which I received 
reply, " No, sir; vou have been playing 
pictures."— G. IV. Pettes iL. A. />.], 
' ^A merican Wliist Illustrated. ' ' 

Playing the Game. — Taking the 
oflFensive and making as many tricks 
as possible out of a strong hand, 
instead of playing cautiously, as for 
the odd trick. 

To try to obtain a great score is playing 
the game. — Westminster Papers {L-\-0.\. 



Playing to the Score. — Taking 
into consideration at every stage 
the state of the score, and shaping 
your game accordingly; as, for in- 
stance, in playing for the odd trick. 
This is especially necessary in the 
English five-point game, but iu 
American ( seven-point ) whist with- 
out honors the state of the score, 
except toward the close of the 
game, is not so important, and 
players generally try to make as 
many tricks as possible out of 
their hands, especially at duplicate 
whist, in which points, and not 
games, are played for. 

The present writer lays down that the 
relation of the scores is the guide for the 
early lead of trumps, and that playing to 
the score is of fundamental importance, 
and receives the first consideration [the 
game treated of being English or five- 
point whist, with honors] . — Clement 
Davies [Z. A f], ''Modern Whist,-" z886. 

In the American game this is a lost art. 
It is a rare thing to see any one pay the 
slightest attention to the score, or make 
any consequent alteration in his play, 
unless he has had considerable experi- 
ence at the English game. The nearest 
approach to it is leading trumps when the 
score is four to nothing against you. — R. 
F. Foster \S. 0\ '' Whist Strategy," 1&94. 

This method [playing for points] has its 
merits, no doubt; being the only one 
adapted to duplicate play. But it also has 
its defects, and for the true lover of the 
game, its (comparatively speaking) un- 
varied and colorless style of play cannot 
compare with the ever-changing demands 
made upon his skill and judgment when 
playing to the score. — William S. Fenol- 
losa [L.A.~\, Whist, June, /8g2. 

When the play is short whist, it follows 
that constant regard be had to the score, 
which can so easily be affected for the 
benefit of the party who is at one or three. 
* * * The same cards held by a short- 
whist plaj'er, if held by an American 
player, would be very differently played, 
yet the principle of the law of lead is not 
in any wise changed. — G. IV. Pettes [L. A. 
P.], "American Whist Illustrated." 

Playing Two Cards to One 
Trick. — If a plaj^er plays two cards 
to the same trick, and the error is 
discovered before the hand is 
played out, the English code ("sec- 
tion 70) provides that the card may 



POE ON WHIST 



319 



POB ON WHIST 



be restored. If not discovered un- 
til the hand is played out, the 
player in error is liable to all re- 
vokes made in consequence. By 
the American code (section 19), 
the adversaries, on discovering the 
error, may have a new deal, or play 
the hand out without taking into 
account the missing card. 

Poe, Edgar Allan, on Whist. — 

In his fascinating tale of the ' ' Mur- 
ders in the Rue Morgue," Edgar 
Allan Poe pronounces a remarkable 
eulogy upon whist. It is remark- 
able because it shows a keen insight 
into the finer qualities which go to 
make up a great player, and at the 
same time betrays the fact that the 
author had either no practical ac- 
quaintance with the game, or played 
with persons who would hardly be 
called whist-players to-day. If 
they played whist legitimately, no 
observer would be able to draw any 
of the wonderful inferences which 
he mentions from their looks or 
other demonstrations at the table. 
They would needs be very clever 
pantomimists to enable any one to 
guess from their actions the con- 
tents of their hands, after one or 
two rounds. Notwithstanding these 
defects, the passage is worth read- 
ing, and we give it herewith: 

" Whist has long been noted for 
its influence upon what is termed 
the calculating power, and men of 
the highest order of intellect have 
been known to take an apparently 
unaccountable delight in it, while 
eschewing chess as frivolous. Be- 
yond doubt there is nothing of a 
similar nature so greatly tasking 
the faculty of analysis. The best 
chess-player in Christendom may 
be a little more than the best 
player of chess; but proficiency in 
whist implies capacity for success 
in all those more important under- 
takings where mind struggles with 



mind. When I say proficiency, I 
mean that perfection in the game 
which includes a comprehension of 
all the sources whence legitimate 
advantage may be derived. These 
are not only manifold, but multi- 
form, and lie frequently among re- 
cesses of thought altogether inac- 
cessible to the ordinary under- 
standing. To observe attentively 
is to remember distinctly; and, so 
far, the concentrative chess-player 
will do very well at whist; while 
the rules of Hoyle (themselves 
based upon the mere mechanism 
of the game) are sufficiently and 
generally comprehensible. Thus, 
to have a retentive memory, and to 
proceed by 'the book,' are points 
commonly regarded as the sum 
total of good playing. But it is in 
matters beyond the limits of mere 
rule that the skill of the analyst is 
evinced. He makes in silence a 
host of observations and inferences. 
So, perhaps, do his companions; 
and the difference in the extent of 
the information obtained lies not 
so much in the validity of the in- 
ference as in the quality of the ob- 
servation. The necessary knowl- 
edge is that of whal to observe. 
Our player confines himself not at 
all; nor, because the game is the 
object, does he reject deductions 
from things external to the game. 
He examines the countenance of 
his partner, comparing it carefully 
with that of each of his opponents. 
He considers the mode of assort- 
ing the cards in each hand; often 
counting trump by trump and 
honor by honor, through the 
glances bestowed by their holders 
upon each. He notes every varia- 
tion of face as the play progresses, 
gathering a fund of thought from 
the differences in the expression of 
certainty, of surprise, of triumph, 
or chagrin. From the manner of 
gathering up a trick he judges 



POKMS ON WHIST 



320 



POEMS ON WHIST 



whether the person taking it can 
make another in the suit. He 
recognizes what is played through 
feint, by the air with which it is 
thrown upon the table. A casual 
or inadvertent word; the accidental 
dropping or turning of a card, with 
the accompanying anxiety or care- 
lessness in regard to its conceal- 
ment; the counting of the tricks, 
with the order of their arrange- 
ment; embarrassment, hesitation, 
eagerness or trepidation, all afford, 
to his apparently intuitive percep- 
tion, indications of the true state 
of affairs. The first two or three 
rounds having been played, he is 
in full possession of the contents of 
each hand, and thenceforward puts 
down his cards with as absolute 
a precision of purpose as if the rest 
of the party had turned outward 
the faces of their own. The ana- 
lytic power should not be con- 
founded with simple ingenuity; for 
while the analyst is necessarily in- 
genious, the ingenious man is often 
remarkably incapable of analysis. 
The constructive or combining 
power by which the ingenuity is 
usually manifested, and to which 
the phrenologists (I believe errone- 
ously) ha;ve assigned a separate 
organ, supposing it a primitive 
faculty, has been so frequently 
seen in those whose intellect bor- 
dered otherwise upon idiocy, as to 
have attracted general observation 
among writers on morals. Be- 
tween ingenuity and the analytic 
ability, there exists a difference far 
greater, indeed, than that between 
the fancy and the imagination, but 
of a character very strictly analo- 
gous. It will be found, in fact, 
that the ingenious are always fan- 
ciful, and the truly imaginative 
never otherwise than analytic. ' ' 

Poems on Whist. — Many clever, 
and some really good, poems have 



been written on the noble game of 
games since the early and ambi- 
tious effort of Alexander Thomson 
was first given to the world in 1792. 
It was an epic, in twelve cantos, 
and opened with the following 
" Invocation to Hoyle:" 

Whist, then, delightful whist, my theme 

shall be. 
And first I'll try to trace its pedigree. 
And show what sage and comprehensive 

mind 
Gave to the world a pleasure so refined; 
Then shall the verse its various charms 

display. 
Which bear from ev'ry game the palm 

away; 
And, last of all, those rules and maxims 

tell 
Which give the envied pow'r to play it 

well. 
But first (for such the mode) some tuneful 

shade 
Must be invok'd the vent'rous muse to 

aid. 



What pow'r so well can aid her daring 
toil 

As the bright spirit of immortal Hoyle ? 

By whose enlighten'd efforts whist be- 
came 

A sober, serious, scientific game. 



Come, then, my friend, my teacher, and 

my guide. 
Where'er thy shadowy ghost may now 

reside; 
Perhaps (for nature ev'ry change defies, 
Nor even with death our ruling passion 

dies) 
With fond regret it hovers still, unseen, 
Around the tempting boards arrayed in 

green; 
Still with delight its fav'rite game re- 
gards. 
And, tho' it plays no more, o'erlooks the 

cards. 
Come, then, thou glory of Britannia's isle. 
On this attempt propitious deign to smile; 
Let all thy skill th' unerring page inspire. 
And all thy zeal my raptured bosom fire. 

Besides Thomson's lengthy and 
somewhat laborious lines, there 
have come down to us many other 
happy allusions to the game from 
the poets who wrote shortly after 
its birth, and had Hoyle lived in 
Shakespeare's time there can be no 
doubt that the works of that im- 



POEMS ON WHIST 



321 



POEMS ON WHIST 



mortal bard would have contained 
some real instead of imaginary ref- 
erences to it. (See "Shakespeare 
and Whist.") Crabbe thus de- 
scribes a meeting of ardent whist- 
players: 

Pleased, the fresh packs on cloth of green 

they see, 
And, seizing, handle with preluding glee. 
They draw, they sit, they shuffle, cut, and 

deal, 
Like friends assembled, but like foes to 

feel. 

Praed gives, in almost as few 
lines, a pleasant picture of a whist- 
player of the old school: 

Sound was his claret and his head; 

Warm was his double-ale and feelings; 
His partners at the whist club said 

That he was faultless in his dealings; 
He cut the fiercest quarrels short 

With, " Patience, gentlemen, and shuf- 
fle." 

Byron's line, in " Don Juan," 

Troy owes to Homer what whist owes to 
Hoyle, 

is but a line, but an immortal one, 
notwithstanding the fact that some 
admirers of Hoyle do not agree 
with the poet, and claim that whist 
owes much more to Hoyle. There 
are others again who think Byron 
gave Hoyle too much credit. That 
was the opinion of the late G. W. 
Pettes, for instance. But to come 
down to our own day. We find a 
good thing on whist among the 
writings of the late George T. Lani- 
gan, the humorist, whose fun bub- 
bled over in "Fables from the 
World, ' ' and in many fugitive pieces 
in verse which it seems a pity no 
one has ever collected in book 
form. His poem on whist is enti- 
tled "My Partner," and runs as 
follows: 

Who, when I've strength in clubs dis- 
played, 
Makes on the trumps a sweeping raid, 
A.3d leads me up a little spade? — 
My Partner. 

21 



When five trumps in his hand there be, 
Who climbs a doubtful card p. d. 
Q., but aye forces me with three ? — 
My Partner. 

Who, when he has no trumps to play, 
Smiles in a calm exultant way. 
And drops a four, and then a trey? — 
My Partner. 

When foemen hold trumps two and three, 
Who swings four honors at poor me, 
And then asks what the trumps may he ? — 
My Partner. 

Who at the tide of our affairs 
Commanding two suits helpless glares. 
Now holds out mine, and discards 
theirs ? — 

My Partner. 

Who, when I've toiled the game to win, 
And am succeeding, with a grin 
Trumps my long suit and brings his in? — 
My Partner. 

When I hold seven trumps or eight 
And ace-king in each suit, elate, 
Makes a misdeal as sure as fate ? — 
My Partner. 

Who, when we've just squeezed out the 

odd, 
Instead of four by cards, unawed, 
Cries, " Pard, we scooped 'em then!" The 

fraud! 

My Partner. 

The best thing on whist in a 
serious vein that we have met with 
in late years is the very brief but 
memory-haunting poem by Eugene 
Ware, entitled "A Game of Whist." 
We give it a welcome here: 

I,ife is a game of whist. From unseen 
sources 
The cards are shuffled and the hands 
are dealt; 
Blind are our efforts to control the forces 
That, though unseen, are no less 
strongly felt. 

I do not like the way the cards are shuf- 
fled; 
But still I like the game and want to 
play. 
Thus through the long, long night will I, 
unruffled. 
Play what I get until the break of day. 

It is plainly imitated in the fol- 
lowing verses, entitled " I^ife's 
Whist," by Edith Keeley Stockley, 



POEMS ON WHIST 



322 



POEMS ON WHIST 



•wliich we also take pleasure in re- 
producing, if only for the sake of 
the compliment to Mr. Ware: 

I hold a scattered hand in black and red, 
An humble lot — save for a lonely king 
Who, luckless wight, will straightway 
lose his head. 
Nor ace nor trump is here to 'venge the 
deed; 
Yet, soft — my partner may enforcement 
bring! 
I'll make no sign, but boldly take the 
lead — 

For this is whist. 

You hold a hand you do not like, per- 
chance, 
In this great game called Life — nor 
trump, nor ace. 
Nor merry knight to break a gleaming 
lance. 
Yet courage still — behind your part- 
ner's mask 
May gleam the merry smiles of Fortune's 
face. 
Success at last may take " Faint Heart" 
to task 

In this — I,ife's whist. 

Among the many bright con- 
tributors who have enlivened the 
pages of Whist, and helped to 
make it so popular with lovers of 
the game all over the world, are 
some who also possess the gift of 
poesy, and they have liberally 
sung the praises of the great game. 
Chief among these may be men- 
tioned Margaretta Wetherill Wal- 
lace. Her eflforts generally com- 
bine playfulness and seriousness 
in a happy manner. As an ex- 
ample we may quote her ' ' Cross- 
Purposes:" 

Oh, my partner has turned short-suiter, 
I<eading cards I do not understand; 

With his "gambit" and "top of noth- 
ing," 
That cut right into my hand. 

With his singleton, doubleton, sneakers, 
And supporting cards to boot; 

While he falls on his knees and worships 
The Hand that has one Short Suit. 

Now his "gambit" is only a gamble. 
Top of nothing brings nothing to me; 

While I fumble my cards I long and sigh 
For the partner he used to be. 



He says ace and king mean " running," 
But I yearn for the dear fourth best; 

When after a round or two were played 
I could surely place the rest. 

Well! well! this midsummer madness, 

I<ike the silver craze will die; 
Then we'll play our hands together once 
more. 

My dear old partner and I, 

A very clever parody which ap- 
peared in Whist for July, 1897, 
signed "E. B. C," also deserves 
insertion here. It is called ' ' The 
Song of the Fad:" 

with firm untiring wrist, 

With cheeks a luminous red, 
A woman sat at a game of whist, 
Playing as if for bread. 
Work, work, work. 
In the rooms of the warring " Trist;" 
And still with the strength of the con- 
quering Turk 
She played at her game of whist. 

Play, play, play. 
Through all of the afternoon. 

And play, play, play. 
While over her beams the moon. 

Diamond, and heart, and spade, 
Tenace— and eke fourchette. 

Working with soul all undismaj'ed 
To capture " the button" yet. 

With fingers weary and worn. 

With hands that have toiled for bread, 
A man sits sewing the buttons on, 
(Or putting the bov to bed). 
Stitch, stitch, stitch ! 
Pricking with untold shocks 
His fingers brown, as with patient 
frown 
He toils at his wornout socks. f 

Oh ! men with sisters dear ! 

Oh ! men with mothers and wives ! 
iExpect no help from your helpmate fair 
While the science of whist survives. 
Play, play, play, 
Duplicate, compass, all: 
And the "echo" flies, as she swift re- 
plies 
To her partner's lusty " call." ^f 

With firm untiring wrist, 

With eyes alert for the strife, 
A woman sat at a game of whist 

Playing— as if for life. 
Work, work, work ! 
(Oh ! shade of the late Tom Hood 

Forgive me, do, for my theft from you, 
And pray it may do some good !) 



il 



POEMS ON WHIST 



323 



POINTS 



One more notable example in a 
broadly humorous vein we must 
make room for, albeit it is some- 
what lengthy, i)ut as good as it is 
long. It is "A Rubber of Whist," 
by Manley H. Pike, and appeared 
in a recent issue of Puck: 

No pen can describe how a man has to 

suffer 
When, being at whist what experts call 

" a duffer" — 
That is, one possessing small skill in the 

art — he 
Is seized by three players to make up 
their party. 
It's vain 
To explain 
And resist, might and main. 
They urge him and coax him again and 
again; 
For sharper solicitors nowhere exist 
Than those who recruit for a rubber of 
whist. 

They vow they are fully convinced he'll 

do wonders. 
And promise he shall not be blamed for 

his blunders. 
Ignoring reluctance, pooh-poohing re- 
fusal, 
They flatter, encourage, soft-soap, and 
bamboozle. 

" You'll win. 
Sure as sin, 
From the time you begin, 
And cut us all out if you'll only cut in !" 
At last he surrenders — since no turn or 

twist 
Avails to get rid of that rubber of whist. 

All testify toward him the kindest of 

feeling, 
Until he arouses their wrath by misdeal- 
ing; 
He finds that they think it no matter for 

joking, 
And learns what a horrible crime is re- 
voking. 

It's queer 
How austere 
And sublimely severe, 
Yet how very savage their faces appear. 
The language they utter— half spoken, 

half hissed — 
Seems rather bad form for a rubber of 
whist. 

He lives out the game— but he hasn't got 
through it — 

His partner proceeds to completely re- 
view it, 

Bombarding his ears, in a jargon out- 
landish. 

With precepts of Pole and with canons 
of Cavendish. 



"The way 
You should play 
Was as clear as the day. 
But you didn't play so, I'm sorry to 
say, 
If you'd read a line of the teachings of 

Trist, 
We'd surely have captured that rubber of 
whist !" 

Convinced that he's thought a great fool, 

or, at any rate. 
An imbecile, crank, or some sort of de- 
generate. 
Our friend most resolvedly swears it's the 

last time 
He'll ever engage in that heart-breaking 
pastime; 

For, oh ! 
High or low. 
You'll find nothing that's so 
Provoking as playing a game you don't 
kuow. 
I'd sooner encounter a pugilist's fist 
Than meet the hard rubs of a rubber of 
whist ! 

Points. — The number of tricks 
over six in each hand, scored or 
counted for the side making them. 
In the old English game of Hoyle, 
the side first scoring ten by tricks 
and honors won the game. In the 
modern English game, the side first 
gaining five points wins, and extra 
points are also scored for high 
scores made in games, as well as for 
the winning of the rubber. (See, 
" Rubber Points. " ) In the Ameri- 
can game, points are made by cards 
alone, honors not counting, and the 
side that first scores seven wins. 
In duplicate whist the total num- 
ber of points made by either side in 
a match or sitting is recorded, and 
some players score in this manner, 
also, at straight whist in this coun- 
try. 

Points, ten of them make a game; as 
many as are gained by tricks or honors, 
so many points are set up to the score.— 
Edmond Hoyle [C]. 

The term applies to both game and 
rubber; a game at short whist, consisting 
of five points; a rubber, of any number of 
points from one up to eight, inclusive. — 
Sir William Cusack-Smiih [L. O.]. 

Plaj-ing for points and playing for 
games are two entirely distinct ideas at 



POLE, WII/LIAM 



324 



POLB, WILLIAM 



whist, to carry out which very different 
methods of play are necessary. — William 
S. Fenollosa [L. A.}, lVhist,July, i8g2. 

Pole, Wirilam, Mus. Doc, F. 

R. S. — This distinguished and 
scholarly advocate of the modern 
scientific game might properly be 
called the philosopher of whist. 
The books of ' ' Cavendish' ' and 
Clay embodied the chief improve- 
ments which had been made since 
the days of Hoyle, but there was 
something wanting still. This was 
supplied by Dr. Pole in his "Theory 
of the Modern Scientific Game," 
which appeared in December, 1864. 
In this essay the author went deeper 
than all those who had preceded 
him. He emphasized the following 
great underlying principle of the 
game: The more perfect cultiva- 
tion than formerly of the relations 
between partners, so as to eff'ect, as 
far as possible, a combination of the 
hands. He held, also, that the 
only system which adapted itself 
favorably to the combination of the 
hands was the long-suit system — 
that of making tricks by establish- 
ing and bringing in a long suit. 
True, this was one of the well- 
known devices of the Hoyle game, 
but up to this time it had formed only 
a subordinate part in the play of the 
hands, whereas now it was given 
the most prominent position. The 
idea of the partnership game had 
also been previously foreshadowed 
in Bngland and abroad. General 
de Vautre, in his book, " G6nie du 
Whist," published in Paris in 1843, 
had announced that "the author 
teaches the mode of playing with 
twenty-six cards (as he expresses 
it), and not with thirteen, like all 
the rest of the world." Dr. Pole 
went farther than all this: he an- 
alyzed, described, and defined the 
whole system of which these and 
similar points were only a part, and 
evolved out of the scattered ele- 



ments of whist a rational science 
and a cohesive whole. 

Dr. Pole is a civil engineer, re- 
siding in London. He was born in 
Birmingham on April 22, 18 14. In 
1844 he was appointed by the East 
India Company professor of civil 
engineering in Elphinstone Col- 
lege, Bombay. In 1847 he returned 
to London, devoting his chief at- 
tention to the mechanical branch 
of engineering. From 1871 to 1883 
he was consulting engineer for the 
imperial railways of Japan, and on 
his retirement the Mikado' honored 
him with the decoration of the 
third degree ( Knight Commander) 
of the Imperial Order of the Rising 
Sun. He served on the council of 
the Institution of Civil Engineers 
fi-om 1871 to 1885, after which he 
acted as honorary secretary till 
1895. Between 1859 ^.nd 1867 he 
was also professor of civil engineer- 
ing at University College, London, 
and lecturer at the Royal Engineer 
Establishment, Chatham. He has 
done much scientific work for the 
English government. From 1861 
to 1864 he served as a member 
of the committee on iron armor, 
and for some time as a member of 
the committee on the comparative 
merits of the Whitworth and Arm- 
strong S5'stems of artillery. In 1870 
he was employed by the Home 
Office to investigate the question of 
the introduction into the metrop- 
olis of the constant-service system 
of water supply, and he took an 
important part in the subsequent 
proceedings for carrying it into 
eflFect. In 187 1 he was commis- 
sioned by the War Office to report 
on the Martini-Henry breech-load- 
ing rifles. In 1870 he was appointed 
by the Board of Trade as one of the 
metropolitan gas referees, which 
position he still holds. He has 
acted as secretary (in two instances 
under special appointment by the 



POLE, WIIylvIAM 



325 



POLE, WILLIAM 



Queen) to four government com- 
missions of inquiry, namely, from 
1865 to 1867, to the royal commis- 
sion on railways; from 1867 to 1869, 
to that on water supply; from 1882 
to 1884, to that for inquiring into 
the pollution of the Thames; and 
in 1885, to a committee on the sci- 
ence museums at South Kensing- 
ton. In June, 1861, he was elected 
a Fellow of the Royal Society of 
London ; he has served six years on 
the council, and was vice-pres'ident 
in 1876 and 1889. He was elected 
a Fellow of the Royal Society of 
Edinburgh in 1877, and a member 
of the Athenaeum Club, without 
ballot (as a scientific distinction), 
in 1864. 

Dr. Pole has done much literary 
work. In whist his first essay (on 
the ' ' Theory of the Modern Scien- 
tific Game"), as already noticed, 
was published in 1864. It appeared 
anonymously, but in 1870 a new 
edition was published, containing 
the author's name. In 1872 an 
American edition was brought out, 
and up to this writing (1897) there 
have been above twenty English 
editions. His next book on the 
game, " The Philosophy of Whist," 
appeared in London and New York, 
in 1883, and is now ( 1897) in its 
sixth edition, and has greatly 
added to the author's already high 
reputation, as it continues to eluci- 
date, in the most convincing and 
attractive manner, the great theory 
propounded in his first volume. He 
shows that the game which he 
advocates is "a compact and 
consistent logical system, of a 
highly intellectual and philosophi- 
cal character." The second part 
of the book is devoted to the phil- 
osophy of whist probabilities, a 
world of speculation which opens 
up a delightful vista to the scien- 
tific gaze. But undoubtedly the 
author's crowning work appeared 



simultaneously in New York and 
London, in 1895. It is entitled 
"The Evolution of Whist," being 
a still further exposition of his 
theories and views, and a masterful 
review of whist from its earliest 
stages down to the present day. He 
has carefully studied the principles 
and motives which have determined 
the progressive changes of the 
game, and proceeds on the theory 
that the course of whist evolution 
may be likened in many respects 
to the corresponding process in 
biology. In following out this 
analogy, he divides the history of 
whist into several progressive eras, 
each one of which has been distin- 
guished by a particular general 
structure or form of game, and he 
lays stress upon the fact that each 
of these forms has remained in ex- 
istence, and will probably continue 
to survive. Treated in this man- 
ner, whist becomes a most fascinat- 
ing study and a noble science. 

While we are right in classing 
Dr. Pole as friendly to the system 
of American leads, it is a notable 
fact that at one time he seems to 
have doubted the legitimacy of the 
modem signaling principle, and 
he wrote, in the Fortnightly Re- 
view of April, 1879, an argumenta- 
tive monograph on the subject. 
But, doubtless in deference to the 
largely increased popularity of the 
system and the eminence of its sup- 
porters, he did not put forth this 
view in his books on the game. 
And here we may appropriately 
make mention of his own personal 
play. The greatest writer on the 
theory of the game was also a mas- 
ter of its practice in his younger 
days, although in his advanced age 
he no longer feels himself equal 
to his former performances. Miss 
Wheelock recently described to us 
a touching incident which oc- 
curred during her visit to him, in 



POLE, WILLIAM 



326 



POLE, WILLIAM 



London, in 1897. She repeatedly- 
urged him to play a rubber, but in 
vain. At last, taking her hands in 
his, he remarked: " My dear child, 
I am now like a guide-post on the 
highway; I can point the way, but 
I cannot follow it myself." He no 
doubt feared that one of Miss 
Wheelock's ability and reputation 
might feel disappointed in his play, 
and so he steadfastly declined, but 
turning to a piano he played some 
beautiful music for her instead. 
That Dr. Pole has been for many 
years an excellent whist-player, 
however, must be apparent to all, 
when it is stated, that in 20,000 
rubbers played, from 1869 to 1893, 
he won 526 more rubbers than he 
lost, and that the points which he 
•won exceeded by 3104 those which 
he lost. He modestly attributed 
this showing " not to anj' superior 
skill in play, but entirel)' to a 
steady adherence to system." 

In 1889 Dr. Pole wrote the article 
on whist for a new edition of Bohn's 
"Hand-book of Games," and it was 
printed separately. He has also 
published articles on several card 
games in Routledge's " Cyclopedia 
of Card and Table Games," 1891. 
Among these is "Pope's Game of 
Ombre. ' ' Ombre was a fashionable 
game which preceded whist. It 
was obscurely described by Pope in 
his " Rape of the Lock," but Dr. 
Pole unraveled it and wrote a full 
description. 

Besides his writings on whist, 
Dr. Pole has also published a num- 
ber of works on other subjects. 
His quarto treatise on the steam en- 
gine appeared in 1844, and his 
translation of a German work on 
the same subject in 1848. In 1864 
and 1870 he published scientific 
chapters in the lives of Robert 
Stephenson and I. K. Brunei; in 
1872 a treatise on iron; in 1877 the 
life of Sir William Fairbarn, Bart. ; 



and in 1888 the life of Sir William 
Siemens. He has also written many 
papers for scientific and other 
journals, being a contributor to 
several periodicals of the highest 
rank in literature. 

Dr. Pole has also devoted much 
attention to the study of music. 
He took, in i860, the Oxford degree 
of bachelor, and in 1867 that of 
doctor of music, and remains a 
member of St. John's College in 
that university. He was the chief 
adviser of the University of London 
in the establishment of musical de- 
grees in 1877, and afterward held, 
for twelve years, the office of musi- 
cal examiner in that institution. 
He has been a public organ player, 
and was elected an honorary fellow 
of the Royal College of Organists. 
He is the author of a "Treatise on 
the Musical Instruments in the 
Exhibition of 1851;" of the " Story 
of Mozart's Requiem," 1879; ^nd 
*'The Philosophy of Music," 1879. 
He is also the composer of a well- 
known eight-part motet on the 
"Hundredth Psalm." (See, also, 
" Rhyming Rules.") 

Dr. Pole laid down the fundamental 
principles of modern whist, and his work 
will ever remain the cornerstone of the 
game. — JVhist [L. A.], February, i&94- 

Dr. Pole's book, "The Evolution of 
Whist," shows an immense amount of 
research and calm, judicial sifting of 
facts. He is better fitted than any one 
else in the world to write the history of 
whist. — Rochester {N. Y.) Post- Express, 
1896. 

This admirable essay [" Theory of the 
Modern Scientific Game"] , if it stood 
alone as his only contribution to the sci- 
ence, would entitle its author to the 
warmest thanks of every lover of the 
game; but Dr. Pole may justly plume 
himself on the composition of another 
volume of equal value. This is "The 
Philosophy of Whist." — IV. P. Courtney 
LZ+O.], ''English Whist." 

Dr. Pole is so well known as an author- 
ity on the theoretical side of whist-play, 
that it is hardly necessary for us to enter 
into any detail respecting his contribu- 
tions to its literature. * * * These 



PONE 



327 



POSITION 



books [the "Theory of the Modern Sci- 
entific Game," and "The Philosophy of 
Whist"] exhibit the game both theoreti- 
cally and practically in the perfect state 
at which it has arrived during the two 
centuries that have elapsed since whist 
assumed a definite shape and took its 
present name. — '^ Cavendish^' [L. A.'\. 

Pone. — The dealer's right-hand 
adversary, who cuts the cards after 
they have been shuffled. 

The cards having been properly shuf- 
fled, the dealer presents them to the pone 
to be cut.—/?. F. Foster [5. O.]. 

♦'Portland." — A pseudonym 
adopted by the editor of "The 
Whist-Table: a Treasury of Notes 
on the Royal Game, by ' Caven- 
dish,' C. Mossop, A. C. Ewald, 
Charles Hervey, and Other Distin- 
guished Players," a volume of 472 
pages, published in 1894. He is 
James Hogg, of London, a well- 
known English writer and pub- 
lisher. He was born in Edinburgh, 
August II, 1829, where in his youth 
he was associated with his father in 
editing the Weekly Instructor. 
Subsequently he became sole edi- 
tor, with Thomas De Qnincey as his 
chief adviser and contributor. Mr. 
Hogg was his companion and inti- 
mate working associate for nine 
years, while he prepared the col- 
lected edition of his works. After 
De Quincey's death, Mr. Hogg 
published some reminiscences in 
Harper's (February, 1890); uncol- 
lected writings, in two volumes; 
and ' 'De Quincey and his Friends. ' * 
Mr. Hogg founded London Society 
in 1862, and edited that magazine 
until 1887. He has written and 
edited many books, but the "Whist- 
Table" is his only venture in whist. 

Portland Club. — A famous Lon- 
don whist club, which cooperated 
with the Arlington (since called 
the Turf) Club and John Loraine 



Baldwin in revising the English 
laws of whist, i863-'64. The Port- 
land was first located in Blooms- 
bury Square; then it successively 
occupied quarters in Jermyn street, 
Stratford Place, Oxford street, and 
St. James' Square, where it is now 
housed on the north side of the 
square, at the corner of York 
street. 

The Portland was the club most 
frequented by James Clay, and 
here it was that the members of the 
"Little Whist School" {q. v.) had 
access to him. The membership 
of the club, during its many years 
of existence as the whist headquar- 
ters of Europe, embraced some of 
the most eminent players of their 
day. Lord Bentinck, the inventor 
of the trump signal, played there 
as well as at Graham's. "Caven- 
dish" has been a member for many 
years, but has not been regular in 
his attendance for the past two 
years. The fact is, the Portland, 
like many other clubs, has been 
suffering for some time from an at- 
tack of "bridge," and until the 
craze has run its course, true whist 
is in a minority there, to the sor- 
row of whist lovers. 

At the Portland may at this time, as at 
any time since its opening, be observed 
the most skillful of the London card- 
players. A distinguished peer or two of 
great whist distinction still haunt its 
rooms. A law officer of the crown, past 
or present, may now and then be seen 
plajdng a dashing game of whist within 
Its walls.— iJ^^. P. Courtney [L-\-0.'[, "Eng- 
lish H^hist," 1894. 

Portland Rules. — See, "Laws 
of Whist, English Code." 

Position. — The place occupied 
by a player, at the table, such as A, 
B, Y, or Z; sometimes also indi- 
cated by north, south, east, or west 
(especially in duplicate whist). A 
and B are partners against Y and 
Z, and north and south against east 



POST-MORTEM 



328 PRIVATE CONVENTIONS 



and west. These are the primary 
positions at the opening of the 
game or sitting, and if the partners 
are unchanged, they continue until 
the sitting is over. The relative 
positions of the players, after the 
first hand is finished, vary accord- 
ing to the deal and lead, which 
passes around the table in rotation. 
Players become first, second, third, 
or fourth hand in accordance with 
the order in which they play to 
each trick, but their fundamental, 
or partnership, positions are not 
affected thereby, each one remain- 
ing A, B, Y, or Z, although play- 
ing first, second, third, and fourth 
hand on the various tricks. 

Post- Mortem. — A colloquial 
phrase in whist, meaning a discus- 
sion or criticism of a hand or game 
that has just been played. In 
some clubs a special table is set 
aside for this purpose, so that the 
discussion will not interfere with 
the regular play. 

Post-mortems [are] discussions as to 
what might have been at whist; some- 
times called " If you hads." — R. J^. Foster 

[s. a]. 

Talking over the hand after it has been 
played is not uncommoniy called a bad 
habit, and an annoyance. I am firmly 
persuaded it is one of the readiest ways 
of learning whist. — James Clay [L. 0+}. 

Practice. — In order to become a 
fine player you must not only be 
well-grounded in the theory of the 
game, but in its practice. Precepts, 
maxims, a knowledge of the proper 
leads and conventional signals, are 
most desirable, but in order to 
make use of them it is necessary to 
put them constantly into execution. 
Constant and careful practice, if 
possible, with superior players, will 
round out the education of a player. 

Those who care to play whist well must 
study the game, and practice with good 
players. * * * Playing over printed 
games, or hands that you inay have taken 



notes of, is most excellent practice. — 
C. D. P. Hamilt07i. \L. A.}, "Modern Scien- 
tific Whist:' 

'* Preference." — See, "Swedish 
Whist." 

Principles, General. — Although 
the rules of whist are many, the 
underlying principles of the game 
are few and simple. The first gen- 
eral principle is to play to make as 
many tricks as possible. Upon this 
all schools of whist are agreed. 
The next general principle of the 
modern scientific school is this: 
The best way to play whist and win 
tricks is by means of the partner- 
ship game, and this is best pro- 
moted by leading from, establish- 
ing, and bringing in your long suit. 
Another modern principle is that 
free intercommunication between 
partners, by means of conventional 
play, is best calculated to enable 
them to play their hands as one. 

The general principles of the 
short-suit school differ from the 
above mainly in this respect: They 
believe that, unless your long suit 
is especially strong, and the con- 
ditions for bringing it in most fav- 
orable, it is much better to let some 
one else open it than yourself. 

Private Conventions. — Signals 
or arrangements of play privately 
agreed upon, and understood only 
by those employing them. The mod- 
ern game, with its conventional 
leads and signals, caused many play- 
ers to devise new arrangements of 
the cards for their own information, 
and very often it was found that 
teams employed a language of the 
cards which no one else under- 
stood. This naturally led to a dis- 
cussion as to whether the use of 
such arrangements was permissible. 
The controversy began early in 
1894, and lasted until the executive 
committee of the American Whist 



PRIVATE CONVENTIONS 329 PRIVATE CONVENTIONS 



League declared against all pri- 
vate conventions. Its decision was 
affirmed by the League at the fifth 
congress, in June, 1895. At the 
seventh congress, Put-in-Bay, 1897, 
further action was taken emphasiz- 
ing the position of the League, and 
making the employment of private 
conventions a cause for protest in 
matches. The full text of the rule 
of play, as amended, is as follows: 
" The right of contestants to use 
any well-known and established 
method of play, and any original 
method, not given a secret, pre- 
arranged meaning, is acknowl- 
edged; but the American Whist 
League emphatically disapproves 
of private conventions, and defines 
a private convention to be any un- 
usual method of play based upon a 
prior secret agreement. It is the 
right of a contestant to demand of 
his opponents an explanation of 
their system of play at any time, 
except during the play of the 
hand, and their duty to give such 
information promptly and full)'. 
Any infraction of this or any other 
rule of whist etiquette adopted by 
the American Whist League shall 
be cause for protest, to be followed 
by such penalty as the tournament 
committee or umpire may impose. ' ' 

A private convention is a method of 
play which loses its usefulness the mo- 
ment its nature is disclosed to the adver- 
saries.—^. F. Foster [5. C.]. 

I cannot help feeling- that [the question 
of private conventions] is indeed a ques- 
tion, not of usas:e, not of etiquette, but of 
morals. — P.J. Tormey [L. A.]. 

I can see no difference between signals 
made with cards and those given by fin- 
gers or feet, if prompted by the desire to 
gain unfair advantages. — B. L. Richards 
[L. A.], Treasurer American Whist 
League. 

Men of honor, when they play cards 
with one another, more especially in an 
intellectual game like whist, would scorn 
to use a lot of private signals for the pur- 
pose of gaining an advantage. — Theodore 
Schwarz [L. A.]. 



What is a private signal? Taken in its 
widest meaning, a private signal may be 
defined as some act on the part of a player, 
other than the play of certain cards, by 
which he informs his partner what he 
wishes him to do. Such a proceeding un- 
doubtedly is cheating.—.^. W. Drayson 
[Z+^+], Whist, June, i8g7. 

The use of such conventions, the mean- 
ing of which is variable and absolutely 
secret, depending, for example, on an ar- 
bitrary arrangement of suits, I believe 
would destroy the game of whist, or 
greatly lower its rank. * * * These 
methods seem to me beneath the dignity 
of the game, and hardly within the pale 
of honesty. — Fisher Ames [L. A.], Whist, 
August, 189s • 

Let me * * * remark the three chief 
characteristics of a private conventional- 
ity. First, it must be an innovation or 
contravention of established usage. Sec- 
ond, it must be based upon a secret agree- 
ment between partners. Third, it must 
be a secret agreement that cannot be de- 
tected by logical inference drawn from 
the fall of the cards. — Eugene S. Elliott 
[L. A.], Whist, May, J8g4. 

Private conventionalities are wrong, 
essentially wrong, from both the moral 
and legal point of view. They have been 
so regarded by all the authorities from 
Hoyle to Hamilton, confirmed by the ac- 
cumulated wisdom of whist experts for 
over a hundred years. " We must speak 
by the card," and the sentence thus 
spoken must be intelligible alike to all, 
subject only to the diflferences in mental 
capacity.— C E. Coffin \L. Ai\. 

Our opinion on the subject of new sig- 
nals and conventions is that they should 
be encouraged, pro\'ided they are based 
on good whist logic and likely to add to 
the .skill of the game. The true test as 
to whether a new convention is of any 
practical value is — will it gain tricks on 
its own merits? If its success is depend- 
ent on keeping the adversaries in ignor- 
ance of the same, it will prove of no ulti- 
mate value to the game. — Whist \L, A.}, 
April, i8g6. 

Every individual has the right to play 
his cards as he pleases. But I believe it 
to be absolutely unfair for partners to 
agree upon a method of play known only 
to themselves, and expressly designed to 
mislead their adversaries. " Whist is a 
laniBTuage, and every card played an in- 
telligible sentence." Private conventions 
render the language intelligible to but 
one side, falsify the ordinary meaning, 
and are open to the charge of dishonest 
collusion. — Robert H. Weems [L. A .] . 

I do not believe there is a whist-plaver 
in America who will defend such stultify- 
ing and degrading practice. Suppose, 



PRIVATE CONVENTIONS 33° 



PROBABILITIES 



for example, that A-B privately agree 
that thej; will reverse the recognized 
signification of the convetition known as 
the trump request. What is the object of 
the compact? Fraud! A contemptible 
conspiracy, made with the single object 
of reaping unfair advantage. The suc- 
cess or failure of a damnable cabal has no 
bearing. It is no argument in palliation 
of the despicable chicanery to contend 
that such jockeyism will not succeed. 
The marrow of the matter is that the 
secret code is arranged for the single pur- 
pose of reaping advantage due to signals 
issued in such a way that partner — owing 
to th& private understanding — may inter- 
pret, and the adversaries be entrapped 
thereby.— C. i). P. Hamilton [L. A.]. 

There are those who show four trumps 
by the original lead of any card below the 
seven, if from a four-card suit: others 
who simply lead the king or the deuce to 
announce four trumps. Many have pecu- 
liarities of play — and they are all, all hon- 
orable men — who would indignantly 
repudiate the charge of using private 
conventions, who yet do not feel it neces- 
sary or requisite to shout it from the 
housetops, nor to inform their adversaries 
all about them — idiosyncrasies of play 
which are not published in any whist 
book, such as being forced by partner im- 
mediately afterward to lead a trump if 
having an honor, but not otherwise; or, 
taking the first trick in trumps led by 
partner originally, to lead a singleton in- 
stead of returning a trump, as an invita- 
tion to ruflf. Are these private conventions, 
oris it legitimate whist strategy? Isn't 
it difficult to draw the line at just the 
right place? — Anon, IVhist, April, i8g6. 

As may easily be imagined, informatory 
plays did not stop at number-showing 
leads. The naturally inventive American 
mind soon contrived other means. Each 
club had its whist crank, who lay awake 
at night studying up new systems of giv- 
ing information. These were duly ex- 
ploited in the card-room, and after a brief 
trial were described in a letter to IVhist, 
or published in some later edition of a 
text-book. As time went on these con- 
ventionalities increased to such an extent 
that it was impossible to publish them 
all, and still more impossible for any per- 
son to learn the half of them. Many were 
confined to certain localities, or known 
only in the immediate circle in which 
they originated. So great and crying was 
the evil that the officials of the Whist 
League were called upon to legislate 
against it, and at the congre.ss of 1895 
they decreed that all private convention- 
alities were illegal. So far from stopping 
their use, this edict only prompted per- 
sons using such conventionalities to evade 
the spirit of the law by making some pre- 



tence at publication. Take them all in 
all, the.se private conventions have proved 
to be the most malignant cancer that ever 
fastened itself upon the game of whist, 
and many think if the knife is not ap- 
plied to the evil it will certainly kill the i 
game.— J?. J^. Foster \S. O.] , Monthly Illus- j 
trator. 3 

We have here three fairly well-defined 
stages of the application of the " mutual 
understanding" to the communication of 
information between partners. The first 
is absolutely simple, nothing being done 
beyond agreeing to give attention to cer- 
tain rules of normal play, designed i 
either directly to promote trick-making, I 
or to insure regularity and uniformity. * 
The second stage involves what is called 
"signaling;" it implies that something 
special and abnormal is to be communi- 
cated to the partner; but this is of a na- J 
ture arising analogically out of normal I 
play, and is communicated by corre- 7 
spending modes, publicly known and 
agreed to. ' The third, or doubtful stage, 
is an extension of the second to devices 
of an entirely arbitrary character. But I 
there is now this most important fact to I 
be observed, that throughout all these J 
phases of the evolution, even in the last 
named, the mutual understanding has 
been general with all the players. We 
fail entirely to find any case, till now, 
where it has been even proposed to limit 
it to a secret understanding between two 
partners only. * * * Such an arrange- 
ment must be considered as an entire 
contravention or infraction of Paley's 
fundamental ethical principle, that 
neither party should have a surreptitious 
advantage over the other.— IVilliam Pole 
[L. A+f, ''Evolution of Whist." 

Probabilities. — ^The probabilities 
of whist, or the likehhood of any- 
thing connected with the game — 
such as the distribution of certain 
cards in certain hands — happening 
a given number of times, is a sub- 
ject which has engaged the atten- 
tion of many writers on whist, be- 
ginning with Hoyle. 

Chance is the operation of causes 
unknown to us; by calculating and 
averaging a large number of 
chances, we arrive at certain proba- 
bilities which contain more or less 
significance or information that 
may be of use in the conduct of the 
game. For instance, it has been 
calculated by Pole and others that 



PROBABILITIES 



331 



PROBLEMS 



with three, four, or five cards in a 
suit, the chances are better than 
even that the suit will go around 
twice. With three cards in a suit, 
the chances are that it will go 
around three times twenty-eight 
times or thereabouts in a hundred. 
"With four cards in suit the chances 
of it facing around three times are 
about eleven in a hundred. Again, 
Mathews says: "That either player 
has not one named card not in 
your hand is two to one; five to 
four in favor of his having one of 
two; five to two in favor of his hav- 
ing one in three; four to one in 
favor of bis ha\ing one in four." 

Probabilities may be arrived at 
by experience as well as calcula- 
tion. We know, as a matter of 
fact, that with thirteen cards in 
each hand it is impossible to divide 
them into four suits without having 
at least one long suit — i. e., one suit 
of four cards. This is not a proba- 
bility, but a fact, which was given 
due consideration by the origina- 
tors of the long-suit game. When 
we consider, however, whether a 
hand may contain more than one 
long suit, we are at once in the 
domain of probabilities, and we 
may form an opinion based on 
mathematical calculation, or upon 
deductions made from previously 
ascertained facts. Pole, for in- 
stance, computed that the dealer 
should hold an average of 3.82 
trumps, and each of the other three 
players an average of 3.06. In a 
practical experience of 1000 deals 
the dealer's average was found by 
him to be 3.814; that of the first 
hand, 3. no; that of second hand, 
3. 1 19; and that of third hand, 

2.957- 

' ' The doctrine of probabilities, ' ' 
says Emery Boardman, in his ad- 
mirable summary of Pole's calcula- 
tions, ' ' teaches that the dealer 
holds, as an average, twenty-five per 



cent, more trumps than that doc- 
trine concedes to any of the other 
players. It likewise teaches that 
about four times in one hundred 
three of the four hands will be long 
in three of the four suits; that 
about fifty-eight times in one hun- 
dred two hands will be thus long, 
while only about thirty-eight times 
in one hundred will one hand be 
long and the other three short in 
any given suit. From this it fol- 
lows that about four times in one 
hundred any named hand should 
contain three long suits; that about 
fifty-eight times in one hundred 
any specified hand should contain 
two long suits; and about thirty- 
eight times in one hundred one 
long and three short suits. It 
further appears that, in one hun- 
dred deals, each suit of cards 
will be divided into about one 
hundred and sixty-six long and 
two hundred and twenty-nine 
short suits, and, consequently, that 
in the same number of deals each 
hand will contain about one hun- 
dred and sixty-six long and two 
hundred and twenty-nine short 
suits, each hand averaging one and 
two-thirds long suits. With this 
scanty amount of information each 
player is provided, before examin- 
ing his hand, at each deal; and 
from this, and the information de- 
rived from the trump turned, and 
an examination of his own cards, 
must the eldest hand determine the 
opening lead after each deal," 
(See, also, " Chances at Whist") 

Problems. — A whist problem is 
an ingenious arrangement of the 
cards (either founded upon actual 
play or invented for the occasion), 
involving some method of play or 
other question difficult of solution. 
For instance, the cards in a certain 
deal are all indicated in a diagram 
of the hands, and the question is 



PROBLEMS 



332 PROCTOR, RICHARD A. 



how they shall be played so that a 
particular hand will win. It may 
be that some peculiar forms of 
strategy, or a coup or coups, are 
necessary in order to arrive at the 
desired result, and these the solver 
must correctly infer and arrive at 
in order to achieve victory. Fre- 
quently a problem is made up of 
only part of the cards of a deal, 
and five or six tricks complete its 
play. Or, as in whist perception 
problems {q. v.), all the cards of one 
hand are shown, together with the 
first five or six tricks of the play, 
and the student is asked to place the 
rest of the cards and give the cor- 
rect order of their play. 

The late Frederic H. Lewis {g. v.) 
was the first to bring double-dummy 
problems to perfection, and W. H, 
Whitfeld {g. v.) is the greatest liv- 
ing constructor of such problems 
to-day. In perception problems an 
American, Charles M. Clay {g. v.), 
stands at the head. (See, also, 
" Duke of* Cumberland's Famous 
Hand," and " Vienna Coup.") 

A lover of whist has a refuge against 
dull and lonely hours, for the solving of 
whist problems is a most fascinating oc- 
cupation, exercising all one's ability as a 
whist-player, bringing out the subtle 
points of the play, and stimulating inter- 
est in the game. — Harriet A lleti Anderson 
\L. A.I, "Home Magazine," July, i8gs- 

All the trumps are out, A has the lead, 
and wins every trick. How does he do it ? 
A's hand: Diamonds — ace, queen, knave, 
six, five, four, three. Y's hand: Dia- 
monds — king, eight; clubs — ace, king, 
queen, ten, nine. B's hand: Diamonds— 
se%'eH, two; clubs — eight, seven, six, five, 
four. Z's hand: Diamonds — ten, nine; 
hearts — ace, queen, seven, six, five. — 
Westminster Papers [Z.+0.], November z, 
J878. 

Suppose three hands of cards, contain- 
ing three cards in each hand. Let A 
name the trump, and let B choose which 
hand he pleases. A, having his choice 
of either of the two other hands, wins 
two tricks. Clubs are the trumps. First 
hand — ace, king, and six of hearts; second 
hand — queen and ten of hearts, and ten 
of trumps; third hand — nine of hearts, 
and two and three of trumps. The first 



hand wins of the second, the second wins 
of the third, and the third wins of the 
first. — Hoyle [O.], "Treatise on Whist." 

I do not place very much value on the 
capacity which enables a man to work 
out double-dummy problems without fail, 
when I consider the application of this 
capacity for whist. The two cases are 
entirely diflferent, and bring into play 
entirely different mental powers. A 
problem at dummy requires quiet calcu- 
lation; whist-playing requires a quick 
calculation of probabilities from the evi- 
dence before you, and an acute percep- 
tion as to whether this evidence is genu- 
ine or false. — A. W. Drayson [Z-|-^-|-], 
"The Art of Practical Whist." 

Proctor, Richard Anthony. — 

Professor Richard A. Proctor, the 
distinguished astronomer, mathe- 
matician, and whist author, was 
born in Chelsea, England, on 
March 23, 1837, the fourth and 
youngest son of William Proctor, a 
solicitor. His childhood was 
marked by frail health and studi- 
ous tastes. In 1854 he became a 
clerk in the London and Joint 
Stock Bank, but the following year 
the opportunity of a university 
education offered itself, and he en- 
tered the London University, and a 
year later St. John's College, Cam- 
bridge. He was married after com- 
pleting his second university year, 
and graduated as twenty-third 
wrangler in i85o. He then read 
law for a time, but abandoned it 
for science in 1863, and devoted 
himself to the study of astronomy 
and mathematics, as a distraction 
for his overwhelming grief at the 
loss of his eldest child. His first 
contribution to literature was his 
article on the ' ' Colors of Double 
Stars," published in 1865, in the 
Cornhill Magazine, and in the 
same year he published his cele- 
brated monograph on " Saturn and 
his System." The reputation it 
won enabled him to make literature 
his profession, when the failure, in 
1866, of a New Zealand bank, in 
which he was a considerable share- 



PROCTOR, RICHARD A. 333 PROCTOR, RICHARD A. 



holder, left him entirely depeudect 
upon his own earnings. For five 
years, he tells us, he did not take 
one day's holiday, so unceasing 
was his drudgery. His " Hand- 
book of the Stars," published in 
1866, and his " Constellation Sea- 
sons," and "Sun Views of the 
Earth," which followed, helped to 
still further extend his reputation. 
He taught mathematics for a time 
in a private military school at 
Woolwich. In 1873 he accepted a 
proposal for a lecturing tour in the 
United States, resigning an honora- 
ry secretaryship to the Royal As- 
tronomical Society in order to be 
at liberty for the engagement. His 
success as a lecturer was pro- 
nounced from the start, and greatly 
enhanced his popularity. He made 
a second tour of the United States, 
and on the death of his wife, in 
1879, ^^ traveled and lectured in 
Australia. Returning to the United 
States, he was married, in 1881, to 
Mrs. Robert J. Crawley, a widow 
with two children, and settled at 
St, Joseph, Mo., her home. In the 
same year he founded the success- 
ful scientific periodical, Knowledge^ 
in Ivondon, and continued also to 
contribute to other periodicals. 

In 1887 he removed his house- 
hold and his astronomical observa- 
tory to Orange Lake, Florida, and 
in September of the following year 
he was taken ill while on his way 
to England to attend to some busi- 
ness matters. He did not get far- 
ther than New York, his disease 
being there pronounced yellow 
fever, which was then epidemic in 
Florida. He died in the Willard 
Parker Hospital on September 12. 
His malady was, however, pro- 
nounced malarial haemorrhagic fe- 
ver by his friends. The ' ' Diction- 
ary of National Biography' ' says of 
him: 

' ' Among his many gifts that of a 



lucid exposition was the chief, and 
his main work was popularizing 
science as a writer and lecturer. 
Yet he was no mere exponent. The 
highest value attaches to his re- 
searches into the rotation period 
of Mars, and to his demonstration 
of the existence of a resisting me- 
dium in the sun's surroundings by 
its effect on the trajectory of the 
prominences. His grasp of higher 
mathematics was proved by his 
treatise on the Cycloid, and his 
ability as a celestial draughtsman 
by his charting 324,198 stars from 
Argelander's ' Survey of the North- 
ern Heavens' on an equal surface 
projection. Many of his works 
were illustrated with maps drawn 
by himself with admirable clear- 
ness and accuracy. Versatile as 
profound, he wrote in Knowledge 
on miscellaneous subjects under 
several pseudonyms, and was pro- 
ficient in chess, whist, and on the 
piano-forte." 

He wrote and published fifty- 
seven books in all, including his 
celebrated "Other Worlds Than 
Ours," "The Borderland of Sci- 
ence," " Our Place Among Infini- 
ties," "Myths and Marvels of As- 
tronomy," "Other Suns Than 
Ours," and "Half-Hours With the 
Stars." 

His two books on the game, 
"Home Whist," and "How to 
Play Whist," won for him a high 
place as a whist authority. Of the 
latter work he says, in the preface: 
" The following chapters on the 
theory and practice of whist origi- 
nally appeared in Knowledge, and 
there had the advantage of the 
criticisms and suggestions of some 
of the finest exponents of the game. 
These criticisms have, in many 
cases, led to important modifica- 
tions and improvements. The treat- 
ise has no claim to novelty as re- 
gards whist principles; in fact, 



PROCTOR, RICHARD A. 334 



PSEUDONYMS 



outside of the modern signaling 
system, and the absolute rejection 
of the singleton lead, there is very- 
little difference between the whist 
of to-day and the whist of Hoyle 
and Mathews." He was an advo- 
cate of the long-suit game and the 
old system of leads, and while op- 
posed to modern conventions and 
signals, recognized the necessity of 
learning them, in order to play 
whist successfully. 

Mr. Proctor's book contains forty 
games, carefully annotated. Eight of 
these are original, actual hands supplied 
by that fine player, the late F. H. Lewis, 
accompanied by his own interesting and 
valuable notes. The manual is one that 
should be in the hands of every real stu- 
dent of the noble game. — "77j(? Whist 
Table." 

James Innes Minchin, in the Academy 
for 1885 (volume 27, page 128), considers 
that Mr. Proctor's method of treating the 
leads, while not so easy, perhaps, for the 
learner as the author considers it, is one 
well calculated to impress the meaning 
of the leads. The learner, under older 
methods, is apt to consider the proper 
leads empirical, " whereas, in fact, they 
are founded on principles evolved from 
the long experience of whist-players, 
which only personal experience can en- 
able the tyro to grasp." 

He [N. B. Trist] also played a whole 
afternoon with the late Richard A. Proc- 
tor, the celebrated astronomer, a writer 
on whist of some repute, and a genial 
gentleman. His play did not come up to 
Mr. Trist's expectations; he had a sin- 
gular way of sorting his cards by putting 
each suit separately between the fingersof 
his left hand. This habit certainly denoted 
an unsuspicious disposition, for any one 
at the table could count the number of 
cards in suits as sandwiched between his 
digits.— C. 5. Boutcher [L. A.], "Whist 
Sketches," i8g2. 

Richard Anthony Proctor was an en- 
thusiastic whist-player, whose talents at 
the game were not inconsiderable, though 
they might have been enhanced had he 
joined in one of the established clubs of 
London in playing with experts worthy 
of association with him. * * * [He] 
was for some time a supporter of the 
latest developments, and of the ideas of 
the Americans, but he gradually altered 
his position until he rejected them alto- 
gether, with fierce expressions of scorn, 
as "fads."— M'. P. Courtney {L-\-0.], 
"English tVhist." 



Progressive D u pi icate Wh ist. — 

See, " Duplicate Whist, Progres- 
sive." 

Progressive Fours. — Teams of 
four players each, which play 
against each other in a progressive 
duplicate whist match. (See, "Du- 
plicate Whist, Schedules for Play- 
ing.") 

Progressive Pairs. — In a pro- 
gressive duplicate whist match the 
pairs which participate and play, in 
accordance with a schedule ar- 
ranged in a manner which estab- 
lishes records for pairs. (See, 
' ' Duplicate Whist, Schedules for 
Playing.") 

Progressive Whist. — See, 
" Drive Whist." 

Protective Discard. — The dis- 
card from a long suit, in order to 
keep intact the small cards which, 
guard higher cards in weak suits. 

•• Prussian Whist."— One of the 
nineteen or more variations or off- 
shoots of whist which have been 
traced up to date. " Prussian 
whist" is ordinary whist, with this 
difference: The dealer does not 
turn up the last card dealt for 
trump, but the eldest hand, or 
leader, cuts a trump from the still 
pack, which the third hand shuffles 
and presents for that purpose. This 
eliminates from the game the 
knowledge of any trump in the 
hand of the dealer, and the influ- 
ence which such knowledge has on 
the play. 

Pseudonyms of Whist Authors. 

— Fictitious names, abbreviations, 
or initials under which writers on 
whist wrote and published their 
articles or books. Here is a list of 
the more familiar pseudonyms thus 



QUACKENBUSH, EARLE C. 335 



QUEEN 



employed, together with the names 
of the authors who assumed them, 
from the time of Hoyle down to the 
present day: 

"Admiral." — James Burney. 

"Aquarius." — 1,. d'A. Jackson. 

"Bob Short." — Anne Laetitia 
Aikin. 

"Cselebs."— E. A. Carlyon. 

" Cam." — Waller A. Lewis. 

" Captain Crawley." — George F. 
Pardon. 

" Cavendish." — Henry Jones. 

"Five of Clubs."— Richard A. 
Proctor. 

" G. W. P."— George W. Pettes. 

"Lieutenant-Colonel B."— H. C. 
Bunbury. 

" Major A." — Charles B. Coles. 

"Major Tenace." — George W. 
Bailey. 

"Mogul." — Matthias Boyce. 

"Pembridge." — ^John P. Hewby. 

"Portland." — James Hogg. 

"Trump, Jr., A."— William P. 
Fetridge. 

' ' Trumps. ' ' — William Brisbane 
Dick, 

Quackenbush, EarlelC. — A well- 
known teacher of whist in Wash- 
ington, D. C, where he is also one 
of the leading players of the Capi- 
tal Bicycle Club. Mr. Quacken- 
bush was born at Marietta, Ohio, in 
1867, and has played whist from his 
youth up. He began to study the 
game scientifically about the year 
1892, when he joined the above- 
mentioned club. He does not teach 
whist professionally, being engaged 
in the real estate business. He was 
persuaded to take up teaching, as a 
side issue, in 1894, at the solicitation 
of personal friends. 

Quart. — Any four cards in se- 
quence. 

Quart Major. — The highest four 
cards in sequence; the ace, king, 
queen, and jack of any suit. 



Queen. — The third highest card 
in the pack; one of the honors, 
court cards, or face cards. 

According to the old leads, 
queen is led only from queen, jack, 
ten, with or without others, except 
in cases of forced leads, when it is 
also led from queen, jack, and one 
small one; from queen and two 
others, not including jack, and 
from queen and another, whatever 
it may be. 

In the system of American leads, 
the lead of the queen indicates a 
suit of five or more; but the queen- 
leads collectively have been con- 
sidered the least satisfactory, be- 
cause of the uncertainty of the 
information as to character of suit 
conveyed upon the first round. The 
original lead of queen may mean 
any one of three combinations, viz., 
ace, king, queen — more than four 
in suit; king, queen — more than 
four in suit; or queen, jack, ten — 
four or more in suit. The Hamil- 
ton modifications (accepted by 
many first-class players) simplify 
the queen-leads by leading ten in- 
stead of queen from queen, jack, 
ten; and in order to do this they 
take the lead of ten away from the 
king, jack, ten combination and 
lead fourth best from it instead. 
(See, "Hamilton Leads.") 

In the Howell (short-suit) sys- 
tem, the original lead of queen in- 
dicates the supporting-card game, 
and not more than two in suit. 

G. W. Pettes added to the Amer- 
ican leads of queen two more of his 
own, viz., lead queen from queen, 
jack and two below the seven; 
also, from queen, jack, nine, and 
two or more. 

When queen is led originally, the com- 
binations may be ace, king, queen, with 
at least two small; or king, queen, with 
at least three small; or queen, knave, ten, 
with one or more small. In no other case 
is the leader's partner uncertain as to 
which of three combinations has been 



QUINT 



336 



QUITTED 



opened. It has, therefore, been proposed 
— and the proposal is certainly ingenious 
— to lead ten from queen, knave, ten, and 
so to reduce the queen-leads to two. But 
in order to render this action effective the 
lead of ten from king, knave, ten, etc., 
must be dropped, and the lead of fourth 
best substituted. Then, every high-card 
lead will convey definite information to 
partner of one of two alternatives; the 
first lead may often decide between them, 
owing to the fall of the cards, or to the 
cards held by partner in the suit led; in 
default of this, the card chosen for the 
second lead will always decide. — '^Caven- 
dish" [L. A.!], Scribner's Magazine, July, 
1897. 

As far back as February, 1884, " Caven- 
dish" wrote to me as follows: " From 
king, queen, five in suit, might not queen 
be led? If queen wins, continue with 
small. This cannot be queen, knave, ten 
lead, or knave would be the next lead; so 
it must be something else, viz., king, 
queen, more than four in suit. * * * 
This may also necessitate reconsideration 
of leads from ace, king, five in suit. If 
ace is first led, then king-, leader has at 
least three small ones; this lead has often 
been proposed, but at present the best 
players I know think the immediate de- 
monstration of ace, king more important 
than the declaration of number." Al- 
though his conviction grew stronger 
every day that these leads were right, in 
fact, necessary, as adjuncts to the un- 
blocking play, yet so great is his respect 
for British conservatism, that four years 
elapsed before " Cavendish" formally re- 
commended them in print, which he did, 
"in fear and quake" (as he afterwards 
acknowledged) in three Field articles, the 
first appearing May 12, 1888. To his great 
surprise, however, his fears that these in- 
novations would meet with violent oppo- 
sition proved groundless. In the Field of 
December 28, 1889, he says: "I find that 
these leads are adopted all over the king- 
dom, not only by the minority, but by 
players to whom American leads are a 
sealed book, and who never dream of un- 
blocking."— A^. B. Trist \L. A.\, Harper's 
Magazine, March, iSgi. 

Quint. — ^Any five cards in se- 
quence. 

Quitted. — A trick gathered and 
turned down on the table is quitted 
as soon as the fingers are removed 
from it. At duplicate whist, it is 
quitted when each of the four play- 
ers has turned down and removed 
his fingers from the card played 
by him. 



According to the American code 

(section 37), where a trick has been 
turned and quitted it must not 
again be seen until after the hand 
has been played, and a violation of 
this law subjects the offender's side 
to the same penalty as in case of a 
lead out of turn — i. <?., a suit may 
be called from him or his partner 
the first time it is the turn of either 
of them to lead. The English code 
(section 91) allows any player to see 
the last trick turned. Previous to 
the enactment of this code, in 1864, 
however, there seems to have been 
a distinction made between long 
and short whist, in regard to this 
point. At short whist the player 
was not allowed to see the last 
trick. Deschapelles, in his laws, 
said: " You cannot insist upon see- 
ing the last trick upon the principle 
recognized at long whist." 

There has been no real improvement in 
whist since the time of Mathews, and I 
believe there never will be as long as the 
most pernicious custom of allowing a 
man to look at the last trick exists. — 
^'Pembridge" [L-\-0.'\, Westminster Papers, 
December i, 1878. 

The continued existence of the rule 
which allows a player " to see the last 
trick turned" is greatly to be deprecated. 
It tends to foster a spirit of inattention to 
the game, and to discourage the energies 
of the student of the game -who follows 
the fall of the cards with fitting keenness 
of observation. * * * Francis Paget 
Watson, in his treatise on " Short Whist," 
went so far as to say, "You cannot de- 
mand the sight of the last trick at short 
whist; the longs sanctioned it, and con- 
tinue to do so," and Watson justly adds: 
"It is a mockery upon the game, which 
implies the greatest attention as it pro- 
ceeds, and the sooner it is altogether got 
rid of the better."— W^. P. Courtney \L-\- 
O.], "English Whist." 

In the first edition of " The Art of 
Practical Whist" I referred to the great 
annoyance caused by unobservant play- 
ers, who were perpetually w^anting to 
look at the last trick, and I regretted that 
law 91, English code, existed. The first 
club that put a penalty on looking at the 
last trick was, I believe, a whist club at 
Melbourne, Australia. Any player ask- 
ing to look at the last trick was fined six- 
pence. By the American code, law 37, 



'RAILROAD WHIST " 



337 



■ RAILROAD WHIST ■ 



"when a trick has been turned and quitted 
it must not again be seen until after the 
hand has been played. A violation of 
this law subjects the offender's side to the 
same penalty as in case of a lead out of 
turn." This law is a great improvement 
on law 91, English code, aud it is to be 
hoped that means may be found for 
adopting the American law in the Eng- 
lish game. — A. IV. Drayson [L-^A-\-\, 
"Whist Laws and JVhist Decisions." 

" Railroad Whist."— Whist as 

generally played by travelers on 
railroad trains to while away the 
tedium of a journey; whist played 
rapidly and without strict adher- 
ence to the rules and niceties of the 
game. In making up a table on the 
train, a very miscellaneous assort- 
ment of players frequently comes 
to the surface, and the whist played 
consequently does not rank very 
high. In many Instances it is 
downright bumblepuppy, as ' ' Cav- 
endish" discovered, much to his 
amusement, during his first visit 
to this country. He took the trou- 
ble to jot down a hand in which he 
participated on a train between 
Grand Haven and Detroit, August 
8, 1893, and it was published in the 
November number of Whist, to- 
gether with his humorous descrip- 
tion of the scene, as follows: 

Affable Stranger (afterwards Mr. 
North) — Play whist, sir? 

Self — Yes, I play a little, some- 
times. 

A. S. (only two initials) — We 
have three players on board, and — 

Self— Oh ! I shall be pleased to 
make up. 

A. S. — Pleased to meet you, sir. 
My name is North. 

Self (stands up and shakes 
hands) — Pleased to meet you, Mr. 
North. My name is Jones. 

North — Pleased to make your ac- 
quaintance, Mr. Jones. (Self is in- 
troduced to Messrs. East and South. 
Usual formula, handshaking, 
pleased to make your acquaint- 
ance, etc.). We put in a pretty 



tough game, I guess; run long suits, 
play calls and echoes any way. We 
go by G. W. P., most times. We 
do not agree with the latest ' ' Cav- 
endish" notions. 

Self — Oh ! indeed. I am afraid 
I shall be no match for you. (All 
sit down to the table) . Do we cut 
for partners ? 

North — No, play as we are. 

Self — Very good. Shall we cut 
for deal ? 

North — Oh ! no. Any one be- 
gins dealing. I'll deal. (Begins. ) 

Self — Excuse me, I have not cut 
the cards. 

North — We never cut Just take 
the deck as it is. 

Self — I see; saves time. Very 
well ; good idea. ( North completes 
deal and throws down a heart. ) 

[Then follows the hand, in which 
"Cavendish" (west) plays the 
Deschapelles coup. The score is 
love-all; hearts trumps, and east 
leads; the underscored card wins 
the trick, and the card below it is 
the next one led:] 





East. 


South. 


West. 


North. 


I 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


3 * 
5 « 

4.0 
^ J 


9 « 
J « 
KO 

^ 5 
30 

^ 6 

♦ 4. 
50 
90 

* A 


QA 
2 A 

AO 


K A 

A A 
2 

<;? 2 

70 
C? 3 

c?io 

^ Q 
J 

A 7 

A J 
8 
100 


Q? 4 
QO 


60 
^ 8 
^ 9 

6 « 

7 « 
A 2 
*Q 

10 ♦ 


^ K 


^ A 


4 A 
^ 7 
A K 
A 3 
A5 
A 8 


♦ 10 
A 6 
A 9 


8 t^ 





Score: N-S, 4; E-W, 9. 



RAII/ROAD WHIST ' 



338 



REFORM CI,UB 



["Cavendish's" remarks on the 
play follow:] 

Trick 2. — The return of the spade 
is terrible. 

Trick 5. — The return of the dia- 
mond is equally terrible. 

Trick 8. — North's best chance is 
not to trump this trick, but the re- 
sult would be the same. South 
should discard another club. 

Trick 10. — The Deschapelles 
coup. West can count only two 
clubs in his partner's hand. If one 
of these is the queen (as it happens 
to be), and the ace wins the king, 
the spades may be brought in. 

The Deschapelles coup can be 
defeated by a good player, if he re- 
fuses to win in the suit, holding the 
ace. The tactics of the leader are 
to force out a high card by leading 
his highest, irrespective of number. 
The tactics of the adversary should 
be to retain the commanding card 
until the leader's partner is ex- 
hausted. If in the above case south 
lets the king of clubs go he brings 
in the clubs, and the result would 
be, north -south, 6; east- west, 7. If 
south had kept another diamond at 
trick eight he could have brought 
in his partner's diamonds, in case 
of his holding smaller clubs than 
ten, nine. The precise value of 
south 's clubs in actual play is not 
known, as the last two tricks were 
thrown down. 

What is termed " railroad whist" can 
be summed up in one brief sentence: 
" Hurry up and deal, hurrj'up and play." 
— Charles S. Boutcher [Z,. J4.]. 

" Do you play whist, sir?" inquired an 
individual of most respectable appear- 
ance, who, cards in hand, approached a 
gentleman enjoying his cigar at the 
rear of the smoking-car. "Certainly," 
was the reply. "All right. Will you join 
the table? V/e want one more/' "Do 
you all plaj' a good game?" asked the 
gentleman. " Oh, yes; they're all first- 
rate. We always play on the train; some- 
times all the way to New York 1" " I 
would enjoy a good game," said the gen- 
tleman, " but allow me to ask, as there is 



a difference of opinion upon these mat- 
ters, do you play the call and echo, and 
hold the twelfth and thirteenth for a pur- 
pose ?" " The what?" asked the puzzled 
applicant. "Do you sometimes finesse 
ace, knave, or throw the lead to save the 
tenace?" "The which?" "Do you make 
your leads from long suits, and give spe- 
cial attention to the management of 
trumps?" " Oh ! yes, yes ! I understand 
now. We cut for trump, and then chuck 
it into the pack and deal." — G. W. Pettes 
[/.. A. /".], '■'American Whist Illustrated.'" 
It is notorious that railroad whist is 
invariably learned by ear and played by 
main strength, and although its devotees 
aver that in its weakening effects upon 
the mind it is not to be compared to the 
habitual perusal of the evening news- 
papers, yet the fact remains that in its 
present form it has become an intolerable 
nuisance to the rest of the world. Com- 
ment upon the use of " singletons," 
"double ruffs," and false cards (the prin- 
ciple being that you thereby deceive two 
enemies and only one friend) is perhaps 
unnecessary; while so far as a revoke is 
concerned, it is generally agreed that the 
disgrace lies in being caught. In railroad 
whist, or "whiz," as it might more prop- 
erly be called, it is a cardinal axiom to 
play as rapidly as possible, and thereby 
cover up occasional mistakes. * * * 
But this is small beer compared with the 
railroad trump signal. * * * As at 
Waterloo, it is who shall pound the hard- 
est. Given a smoking car, with six games 
of whist in progress, and the " thump" 
signal, as it has been felicitously named, 
becomes a perpetual source of annoyance 
and alarm to timid people and nervous 
old gentlemen. — Harper's Weekly, May 
JO, i8g6. 

Rank. — Size or value; as, the rank 
of the cards at whist. The king, for 
instance, is a larger and more valu- 
able card than the queen, and con- 
sequently ranks higher. 

Re- Entry, Card of. — A card 

which will win a trick, and enable 
the player to regain possession of 
the lead. 

Reform Club. — A famous Lon- 
don club in which whist has flour- 
ished for the past fifty years. It 
was at this club that General Grant 
played and won a rubber against 
some of the finest players of the 



REFUSING A FORCE 339 RETURNING THE LEAD 



day, while being entertained on his 
journey around the world. 

Refusing a Force. — Declining 
to trump a trick when able to do so 
and opportunity offers. It means 
that you want trumps led, or are 
trying to place the lead, or want to 
save the thirteenth trump, with 
which to regain the lead at the 
proper time (having no card of re- 
entry ) and bring in your suit. 

Refusing a force depends on your hand, 
and especially on your partner. It is 
generally received as an axiom that you 
should never refuse a deliberate force 
from a good player.— i?. F. Foster \S. C], 
"Wliist Tactics:' 

Rejoue. — A name for duplicate 
whist, adopted by R. F. Foster, 
but not generally used. 

The theory of duplicate whist, or re- 
joui, as we shall in future call it, is that 
the play of each of the competitors, be 
they clubs, teams, pairs, or individuals, 
shall be contrasted with that of the oth- 
ers, by giving to each the same cards, with 
the same advantages or disadvantages of 
position at the table, an equal number of 
times. — R. F. Foster [S. O.], "Duplicate 
IVliist and IVhist Strategy," 18^4. 

Renounce. — To renounce is not 
to follow suit, but to discard from 
a plain suit instead. A renounce is 
proper if you have none of the suit 
renounced; but having the suit, and 
failing to follow suit from it, consti- 
tutes the revoke. In the English 
game, in order to guard against the 
revoke, a player is allowed to ask 
his partner whether he has any of 
the suit renounced. In the Ameri- 
can game no such question is per- 
mitted, for reasons which are given 
under "Revoke." In duplicate 
whist (law^), a player may ask 
his adversaries if they have any of 
the suit renounced; but the ques- 
tion establishes the revoke, if it is 
his partner who has renounced in 
error. 



When your partner renounces a suit, 
never fail to ask him whether he is sure 
that he has none of it. If he revokes, 
and you have neglected this precaution, 
the iault is as much yours as it is his. — 
James Clay \L. (3+]. 



Returning the Lead. — Leading 
back the suit led, particularly your 
partner's. It is highly iiiiportant 
to inform the latter of your 
strength or weakness in the suit, in 
order that he may calculate how 
many cards in it the adversaries 
hold. It is a universally accepted 
rule to lead him back the lowest, if 
you held originally four or more, 
and the highest if you held origi- 
nally but three. Holding the mas- 
ter card you return it to him first 
of all, irrespective of the number 
you hold. Holding second and 
third best, return the second best. 
Unless you have trump strength 
enough to lead them, or hold the 
master card in partner's suit, it is 
well to lead from your own best 
suit, and thereby indicate it to him, 
before returning his original lead. 

Of course, if partner is making 
a forced lead, or leading from evi- 
dent weakness, you do not return 
his lead, but play your own hand. 

Not a word is said about return- 
ing partner's lead by Hoyle, which 
would seem to indicate that there 
was no general rule in his day, and 
that the idea of partnership in 
the game was not yet fully devel- 
oped. Payne, who published his 
"Maxims" shortly after Hoyle's 
death, gives but three lines to this 
important subject. "Writing in 
1770, he says: "In returning your 
partner's lead, play the best you 
have when you hold but three orig- 
inally. ' ' He does not say what the 
player is to do when holding more 
than three, and "Cavendish" 
thinks that from his curt way of 
putting the matter, no serious value 
was attached to the proposition. 



'4 



RETURNING THE LEAD 34.O RETURNING THE LEAD 



Mathews, in 1804, is also very brief, 
saying: "With three, return the 
highest; with four, the lowest of 
your partner's lead. ' ' Neither does 
he give any reason for this advice. 

It was not until after the middle 
of this century that the theory of 
returned leads, or returning part- 
ner's lead, emerged from this crude 
and unsatisfactory condition. There 
is no reference to it in Bohn's 
" Hand-book of Games," published 
in 1850. "Caelebs," in 1858, has 
the following observation: "With 
less than four originally of part- 
ner's aggressive lead, there is rarely 
any profit in finessing; in any 
event, the next highest should gen- 
erally be returned . " " Cavendish' ' 
interprets this to mean: " Having 
three of partner's suit do not 
finesse, and, having played highest, 
return the higher of the two re- 
maining. The word 'generally,' 
however, shows there was no con- 
stant rule in 1858, even at the Port- 
land Club, from which the author 
dates." 

It remained for " Cavendish" 
(" Laws and Principles of Whist," 
1862) and Clay ("Short Whist," 
1864) to lay down and explain a 
positive rule for the return of part- 
ner's lead. " Cavendish," in Whist 
for April, 1897, in commenting on 
Clay's remarks on the subject, says: 
" He [Clay] gives the rule, return 
highest of three, lowest of four, 
and notes the exception in the case 
of holding the winning card, when 
it is to be returned irrespective of 
number. He then proceeds: ' The 
foregoing is, of all similar rules, to 
my mind the most important for 
the observance of whist-players.' 
He next gives the theory, and ex- 
plains how 'careful attention to 
this rule * * * assists your 
partner to count your hand.' It 
seems strange that up to this period 
writers on whist either ignored 



such an elementary rule altogether, 
or put it as one to be observed in a 
casual sort of way, or stated it 
briefly and without comment. 

" But the rule is not without ex- 
ceptions, and it may be that a per- 
ception of possible exceptions 
induced caution. It is proposed 
now to examine what are believed 
to be all the exceptions. 

"The winning card is of course 
returned without regard to number. 
This is so obvious, if you want to 
win tricks, that it can hardly be 
deemed an exception. 

" Holding second and third best 
and a small one, the return is the 
second best, for two reasons: by 
keeping the high cards, partner's 
suit may be blocked if he led from, 
more than four; or, if partner led 
from a long suit of weak cards, the 
return of the small card may allow 
fourth best and best to make 
against. It is perhaps a stretch of 
language to call this mode of play 
an exception. 

"When partner's lead is small 
from a suit of more than four, if 
you held four originally, including 
cards that may block, return the 
highest. Thus: north's lead is a 
three, second hand plays four; 
south plays king; fourth hand 
plays seven. In the course of play, 
all the trumps come out, and it is 
clear that neither east nor west 
would have been justified in com- 
mencing a trump call in north's 
suit. North may, therefore, be 
credited with the two of his suit, 
and with having led from five. It 
is now south's lead. His original 
holding was king, knave, ten, five. 
He should return the knave. To 
complete the illustration, suppose 
north's original holding was queen, 
eight, six, three, two; that east, 
having played the four, remains 
with ace, nine; that north has no 
card of re-entry out of his own suit; 



RETURNING THE LEAD 341 



REVOKE 



and that south has a card of re- 
entry in a suit east will probably- 
lead. 

"A variant of this is when second 
hand has renounced north's origi- 
nal lead. It may then be right to 
return a strengthening card with 
more thati two of the suit remain- 
ing. This will generally be a ques- 
tion of judgment, and no rule can 
be laid down. 

" When partner's lead is a high 
card, unblocking with four in suit 
commences on the first round. It 
should, nevertheless, be borne in 
mind that the highest of those re- 
maining has to be returned, second 
round. This is such a well-known 
rule of play, that perhaps the word 
' exception' hardly applies. 

" There is one other exception 
which is concerned with the trump 
suit mainly, if not altogether. It 
is this: Having an established suit 
of which partner holds none, if 
partner leads a trump, and you 
have a possible card of re-entry in 
trumps, and not in any other suit, 
with three trumps originally, return 
the small trump. For example: 
North leads say diamonds from ace, 
queen, knave, nine, with or without 
small. All follow suit to the ace. 
To the diamond next led, south 
plays ten (showing he has no more 
diamonds), and fourth hand wins 
with king. Spades being trumps, 
west now leads hearts or clubs; 
south obtains the lead, and leads a 
small trump. North's holding is 
queen, knave, and one small trump; 
he plays knave; west wins with ace, 
and leads either a heart or a club, 
when north wins. North has no 
possible card of re-entry other than 
queen of trumps. It is so necessary 
for north to have the lead after the 
third round of trumps, that he 
should return the small trump. 

"My aversion to rules loaded 
with exceptions is well known. 



But, of the five exceptions noted, 
it is doubtful whether three, being 
rules of play, can properly be 
classed as ' exceptions. ' The other 
two are certainly exceptional, but 
they depend on the fall of the 
cards, and can only occur after the 
whole scheme has been declared. 
All whist-players know well that, at 
late periods of a hand, all rules of 
play may frequently be departed 
from with advantage." (See, also, 
" Four Signal," " Trumps, Return- 
ing," and "Unblocking.") 

On partner's original lead, in plain 
suits, winning with as low a card as a 
queen, avoid (if numerically weak) re- 
turning the suit, unless holding a higher 
card. It is even more desirable to return 
an adversary's lead. — Kate Wheelock 
\L. A.], " IVkist Rules," Second Edition. 

There is scarcely any more obnoxious 
rule at whist than that which many good 
players of their own hands insist upon, 
that partner's lead should almost at once 
be returned. The player who always re- 
turns your lead at ouce, is more annoy- 
ing even than the one who, when the 
right time has come for returning it, in- 
sists on keeping to his own suit. — R. A . 
Proctor [L. O.]. 

Reverse Discard. — A. W. Dray- 
son, in the fifth edition of his " Art 
of Practical Whist," lays down 
this rule: ' ' When discarding and 
wishing to give the opposite mean- 
ing to the usual discard indication, 
reverse the order, that is, signal, 
and it indicates the reverse of the 
usual discard." 

Many of our best players who are not 
using Drayson's * * * reverse dis- 
card, signal to show strength in that suit. 
—Kate Wheelock \,L. A.\ ''Whist Rules," 
I8p6. 

Some players use what is called the re- 
verse discard; a signal in one suit mean- 
ing weakness in it, and an invitation to 
lead another. This avoids the necessity 
for using the good suit for signaling pur- 
poses.—^. i^ Poster [S. C], "Complete 
Hoyle." 

Revoke. — A revoke is a renounce 
in error not corrected in time. It 



REVOKE 



342 



REVOKE 



consists in playing a card of an- 
other suit while holding a card of 
the suit led, and not correcting the 
mistake before the trick is turned. 
To thus hold back a card that 
should be played, and play another 
in its place, subjects the player to 
the heaviest penalty there is in 
whist. The English code is par- 
ticularly severe, entailing a penalty 
of three tricks, which the non-re- 
voking players may exact in any 
one of three different ways. The 
American code proxndes for a pen- 
alty of two tricks to be taken from 
the revoking side and transferred 
to the score of the non-revoking 
players. The revoke must be 
claimed before the cards are cut for 
the next deal. In duplicate whist 
a revoke cannot be claimed after 
the last trick of the deal in which 
it occurred has been turned, and 
the scores of that deal have been 
recorded. 

We have no hesitation in declaring that 
there is no circumstance which tends to 
more confusion in whist than a revoke. 
It is altogether repugnant to the princi- 
ples of the game. This fault requires a 
severe chastisement. — Deschapelles [(?.], 
"Laws,'''' Section 8. 

A. player revokes when he fails to follow 
suit, though able to do so, or when he re- 
fuses to comply with a performable pen- 
alty. The term is generally confined to 
trumping a suit of which the player still 
holds one or more cards. — Val. W. Starnes 
[S. O.], ''Short-Suit Whist." 

Revokes are not half so frequent as 
they were when players relied on their 
partners to help protect them by asking 
if they had no more of the suit. Self-re- 
liance is a much greater protection from 
error than reliance on others. — Cassius 
M. Paine [L. A.], IVhist, December, i8()4. 

I am aware of the fact, however, that 
sometimes people have queer notions 
about the morality of certain things done 
at the card-table. For instance, both 
Deschapelles and Carlyon contended that 
one could not revoke on purpose, but 
after having done so inadvertently it was 
perfectly proper to make a second or third 
revoke in order to conceal the first. — Theo- 
dore Schwarz [L. A .] . 



By the English code, either of three 
penalties may be enacted for a revoke, 
viz.: the non-revoking players may add 
three to their score, they may deduct 
three from the score of the revoking play- 
ers, or they may take three tricks from 
the_ revoking players and add them to 
their own. By the American code, law 
30, there is only one penalty, viz.: the 

transfer of two tricks from the re- 
vokingside to their adversaries." This, 
again, is a considerable reduction of the 
penalty, and in more than one instance 
may be no penalty at all. For example, 
suppose both sides are at the score of 
four. One side wins three by cards, hence 
wins game, the value of the game being 
three; but it is found the other side has 
revoked. The revoking side in no way 
suffer for this revoke, as the adding of 
two tricks makes no difference. This 
would al.so hold good if the revoking 
players were at any other score, and the 
non-revoking players won game without 
the aid of the penalty for the revoke. 
Considering how frequently a revoke 
fails to be discovered, I think the penalty 
should be very severe. — A. W. Drayson 
[L-\-A-'r1, "tVhist Laws and IVhist Deci- 
sions." 

We now come to an important point: 
the penalty for revoking, which General 
Drayson thinks too lenient. That it is 
less severe than the English, results from 
two causes: (i) Because the committee, 
following as they did all through the 
revision, the line of simplification, did 
away with all optional alternative penal- 
ties; (2) because it was decided that 
compensation should be given for the 
withdrawal of the right which a player 
formerly had of asking his partner 
whether he had any of the suit renounced 
by him — a nerve-trying nuisance which 
we were glad to have the opportunity to 
abate. I can well understand, however, 
that this right must stand where the 
short, honor-counting game is played, for 
a detected revoke must, in a majority of 
cases, be equivalent to the loss of the 
game. The committee having decided to 
adopt but one penalty, and that a reduced 
one, the question arose^ which one should 
it be? The one providing for the deduc- 
tion of points from the score of the 
ofienders was dismissed as being bad 
legislation to interfere with vested rights, 
and savoring a little too much, in just 
such a case as given by General Drayson, 
of vindictiveness, by sanctioning the gen- 
erally reprobated act of ' ' striking a fellow 
when he is down," Of the two remain- 
ing penalties (and after serious oppo- 
sition) the one providing for the transfer 
of two tricks was adopted. In my opin- 
ion, much the better penalty would have 
been the adding of two points to the score 



RHEINART, JOHN 



i43 



RHEINART, JOHN 



of the non-oflfending side.— TV. B. Trist 
[L. A.], Whist, August, 1895. 

A revoke is a renounce in error not cor- 
rected in time. A player renounces in 
error when, holding one or more cards of 
the suit led, he play.s a card of a different 
suit. 

A renounce in error may be corrected 
by the player making it, before the trick 
in which it occurs has been turned and 
quitted, unless either he or his partner, 
■whether in his right turn or otherwise, 
has led or played to the following trick, 
or unless his partner has asked whether 
or not he has any of the suit renounced. 

If a player corrects his mistake in time 
to save a revoke, the card improperly 
played by him is liable to be called; any 
player or players, who have played after 
him, may withdraw their cards and sub- 
stitute others; the cards so withdrawn are 
not liable to be called. 

The penalty of revoking is the transfer 
of two tricks from the revoking side to 
their adversaries; it can be enforced for 
as many revokes as occur during the 
hand. The revoking side cannot win the 
game in that hand; if both sides revoke, 
neither can win the game in that hand. 

The revoking player and his partner 
may require the hand, in which the re- 
voke has been made, to be played out, 
and score all points made by them up to 
the score of six. 

At the end of a hand, the claimants of a 
revoke may search all the tricks. If the 
cards have been mixed the claim may be 
urged and proved, if possible; but no 
proof is necessary, and the revoke is es- 
tablished, if, after it has been claimed, 
the accused player or his partner mixes 
the cards before they have been exam- 
ined to the satisfaction of the adversaries. 

The revoke can be claimed at any time 
before the cards have been presented and 
cut for the following deal, but not there- 
after. — Laws of IVhist (Atnertcan Code), 
Sections 28-jj. (See, also, English Code, 
Sections 71-82.) 

Rheinart, John. — A distin- 
guished whist-player and disciple 
of Deschapelles. He was born in 
Alsace-Loraine in iSig.and received 
his education in part at the College 
of Metz. I,ater he attended the 
gymnasium of Treves, and, having 
decided to study for the bar, he be- 
came a student at the law school in 
Paris. He remained in that city 
eighteen years, practicing his 
chosen profession. While a stud ent 
at the law school he accidentally 



happened to cut into a table at whist 
where Deschapelles was one of the 
players, and at once attracted the 
attention of the great master, who, 
conceiving a liking for him, took 
considerable pains in coaching him 
upon the game, and finally was 
wont to choose him as a partner in 
some of his important matches. 
Mr. Rheinart stated in after years 
that he never had any interest in 
the stakes which were played for, 
but that Deschapelles was in the 
habit of making heavy bets upon 
the game. In the course of a i-em- 
iniscence, published in Whist for 
July, 1891, he speaks as follows of 
his first introduction to the game: 
' ' With his permission , I watched 
daily Deschapelles'splay, read what 
he had written on whist, and fre- 
quently asked for information when 
the coup was too mysterious for my 
understanding. In his explanation, 
which he very cheerfully gave, he 
displayed so much clearness, 
shrewdness, and originality that my 
enthusiasm for the game was 
awakened, and I became a whist- 
player. ' ' 

In 1848 Mr. Rheinart became 
involved in French politics to 
an extent which, upon the estab- 
lishment of the empire, made it 
convenient for him to withdraw 
from his native land. He there- 
upon came to America in 1850, and 
returned home in 185 1; but in 1852 
he came again, and settled in Wash- 
ington cotmty, Iowa, where he con- 
tinued the practice of law, becoming 
a leader of the bar of his State and 
amassing a comfortable fortune. 
In 1878 he revisited Paris, as one of 
the United States Commissioners to 
the World's Fair. In 1880 he re- 
tired from the practice of his pro- 
fession and removed to Milwaukee, 
where he became a member of the 
Milwaukee Whist Club. He at 
once took an active and leading 



RHBINART, JOHN 



344 



RHEINART, JOHN 



part in its affairs, and probably did 
more than any other man in bring- 
ing its members up to the high 
standard of play which they held 
in the eighties. With Eugene S. 
Elliott and H. M. Northrup, he 
constituted the first committee on 
amusement of the Milwaukee 
Whist Club, which committee in- 
augurated the first whist tourna- 
ment known to the game, in i8So, 
and this tournament resulted in the 
formation of the American Whist 
League eleven years later, when the 
enthusiasm of the Milwaukee play- 
ers made a national tournament or 
congress possible. The Milwaukee 
Club was, in 1880, the only exclu- 
sive whist club in the world. 

Mr. Rheinart's health failing, he 
removed to California, in 1892, set- 
tling at Los Angeles. There his 
wife died June 24, 1893, and there 
he himself also passed peacefully 
away on April 21, 1894. 

As a partner and follower of Des- 
chapelles, Mr. Rheinart's style of 
play becomes a matter of* special 
interest to whist-players, reflecting 
as it did that of his illustrious 
mentor. Eugene S. Elliott, who 
was intimately associated with him 
in the Milwaukee Whist Club, in- 
forms us that "Mr. Rheinart was 
well up in the modern game, but 
did not hesitate to violate any of its 
rules when occasion required. He 
had," continues Mr. Elliott, "an 
almost perfect whist memory, and 
a remarkably accurate judgment. 
Ordinarily he would lead from his 
long suit, in accordance with mod- 
ern play, though I do not know 
that he was an admirer of the 
fourth-best leads. When playing 
with a partner of that school he 
would ordinarily adopt them, how- 
ever. With a fair suit of trumps, 
and a weak plain suit, a favorite 
lead of his was from knave single- 
ton , or knave and one, and he rarely 



led knave except under such con- 
ditions." 

Charles S. Boutcher, who played 
against him at Milwaukee, in 1891, 
says of him in " Whist Sketches:" 
" Mr. Rheinhart is the Nestor of 
the Milwaukee Club, which accords 
him the rank of its best player. In 
his whist-play he follows the well- 
established principles of the game 
as to the establishment of long 
suits, etc., but he will not tie him- 
self down to the modern require- 
ment of uniformity in the original 
lead. He will deviate when, in his 
judgment, the interest of his hand 
demands it, but his departure in 
this regard is that of the expert, and 
not the tyro, who has no deeper 
purpose than the hope of a ruflf. 
Mr. Rheinart has a rare faculty of 
reading the combinations he is 
contending against, and he exer- 
cises great skill in directing the 
forces in his hand to meet them. 
This insight into strategic situa- 
tions makes him a most formidable 
opponent, and the ordinary player 
who follows conventions, or other- 
wise, has no show in a sitting 
against him. Personally, Mr. 
Rheinart is an accomplished gen- 
tleman to meet, with the courtesy 
of his race, but which with him is 
part of his genial nature, and spon- 
taneous. Apart from his most in- 
terestiiig whist career, he is an affa- 
ble and fascinating man to meet." 

R. F. Foster took down a number 
of hands played at Mr. Rheinart's 
table, at the first congress of the 
American Whist League (Milwau- 
kee, 1891), and one of these hands 
is published, with comments by Mr. 
Boutcher. Hearts are trumps. A 
(W._ W. Wright) and B (John 
Rheinart) are partners, against Y 
(C. D. P. Hamilton) and Z (C. S. 
Boutcher). The underlined card 
wins the trick, and the card under 
it is the next one led: 



RHETNART, JOHN 



345 



RHEINART, JOHN 



M 
u 

■c 

H 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

lO 

11 

12 

13 


♦ 4 

Q? K 


*3 
C? 3 

2 
♦ 6 

AO 


* J 

c;? 5 

KO 


A K 


^ 2 

40 
♦ A 

lOO 

^ 4 


3 

^ 7 


* 5 
SO 
J 

♦ Q 


60 
90 
4 4k 
^ 6 
QO 

6 4> 

7 « 

cr? J 


5 

* 9 

(;?io 

7 
2 « 

8 4k 
J « 


A 2 

♦ lO 

^ Q 


4^ 8 
C? 9 
3 4k 

9 4k 

10 4k 
QA 


* 7 


A 4k 


5 4k 

C? 8 


^ A 





Score: A-B, 6; Y-Z, 7. 

Mr. Boutcher's comments were: 

Trick I. — The original lead of 
the singleton by A is a good illus- 
tration of the tactics so popular 
■with these old-school players of the 
Milwaukee Club. * * * 

Trick 4. — A gets in a little trump. 

Trick 6. — Y reads the queen of 
clubs with B, and the best diamond 
■with A, and the strength of trumps 
against them, as Z showed but four 
by the lead of two. To return the 
trump would be fatal. The lead 
of the diamond, to be taken by Z, 
who in turn must return a club, 
throwing the lead into B's hand, 
that he may lead a club or a spade 
— this was Y's intent. 

Trick 8.— A and B failed to take 
in the situation here, and played as 
Y had hoped they would when at 
trick six he led the five of dia- 
monds. B should unquestionably 
have led the nine of hearts 
through Z, reading the probable 
tenace with A over Z. Y could not 
have strength of trumps, or he 
would most likely have returned 



the trump. Had B led the nine of 
hearts here A-B would have scored 
two by cards. A, however, could 
still have saved the odd trick from 
the wreck had he properly trumped 
with the knave. The six must lose 
if Y had a trump. 

Trick 10. — A should have trumped 
this thirteener, drawn the last trump 
from Z, and trusted to B taking the 
needed trick in spades. 

Trick II. — Z leads the ace of 
spades to make the odd, as A must 
have just one spade. 

A much better example of Mr. 
Rheinart's play, and one that does 
his whist genius greater justice, is 
kindly furnished us by Mr. Foster 
from his records, as one of the very 
best in his collection. It is a 
hand at straight whist, five points 
up, played at the Milwaukee Whist 
Club, April 17, 1891. Rufus Allen 
(A), and Eugene S. Elliott (B) 
were partners against R. F. Foster 
(Y) and John Rheinart (Z). The 
score stood: A-B, 4; Y-Z, o. The 
three of hearts was turned by Z; 
A led, and the play was as follows: 



in 


•c 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


I 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1! 
12 
13 


QO 
♦ 3 

C? 5 
^ Q 


KO 


2 
A K 

^ 4 
^ 9 

3 
A 4 

^ J 

7 

8 

9 

9 A 

10 A 
J A 


50 
A A 


A 6 
^ 2 
^ 6 

2 A 
*Q 


^ A 


^ 3 
AO 

A 10 
3 A 
100 


J 
A J 
^ K 


c:? 7 

8 A 

A 7 


40 
A 5 
A 8 

4 A 

5 A 
KA 


A 2 

6 

6 A 

7 A 
Q A 


A 9 


A A 


cr?io 

^ 8 





Score: Y-Z, 5 by cards and game. 



RHYMING RUI.es 



346 



RHYMING RULES 



Foster's comments on the hand 
are as follows: " B's play of king 
second hand is Milwaukee style. 
Z's trump-lead shows the master. 
At trick six A covers with the im- 
perfect fourchette. At trick eight 
Y knows he must lose a club trick, 
unless Z can get in again to lead 
the club deuce (marked in his 
hand), through A's guarded eight. 
Z's discard of a spade, at trick 
seven, marks him with a possible 
trick in diamonds." 

Concerning Mr. Rheinart's play 
in general, Mr. Foster says: "In 
my opinion, John Rheinart was in 
advance of his time in this coun- 
try, and played what we now know 
as ' common sense' whist. We 
were too much wrapped up in * Cav- 
endish' and American leads to ap- 
preciate him while he was among 
us. ' ' Speaking of him personally, 
Mr. Elliott says: " He was a man of 
rare culture, of wide reading, a 
gentleman by birth, instinct and 
education, and a man who would 
have taken a prominent place in 
any community." 

Rhyming Rules. — There was 
published in France, about 1854, a 
set of whist rules in verse, entitled 
" Principes G^n^raux du Jeu de 
Whist," in which the second rule 
was stated as follows: 

Montrez au partenaire en quoi vous €tes 

fort, 
Et mariez vos jeux d'un mutuel accord. 

These verses were said to have 
been written by a general of artil- 
lery, and it has been sunnisedthat 
it may have been General Baron de 
Vautre, the author of the " G^nie 
du Whist." 

The celebrated English " Rhym- 
ing Rules," by Dr. William Pole, 
were first published as prose max- 
ims, in March, 1864. Thej' were 
printed on a card and entitled, 



"Pocket Precepts." The idea of 
the rhyming form, later adopted, 
was taken from the French compo- 
sition above alluded to. The 
"Rhyming Rules" are published 
in Pole's "Theory of Whist," 
and a still later set of "Whist 
Rhymes" appear in his "Philoso- 
phy of Whist." These exhibit 
the present English game. The 
' ' Rhyming Rules ' ' read as fol- 
lows: 

If you the modern game of whist would 
know, 

From this great principle its precepts 
flow: 

Treat your own hand as to your partner's 
joined, 

And play, not one alone, but both com- 
bined. 

Your first lead makes your partner un- 
derstand 

What is the chief component of your 
hand; 

And hence there is necessity the strong- 
est 

That your first lead be from your suit 
that's longest. 

In this, with ace and king^ lead king^ then 

ace; 
With king and queen, king also has first 

place; 
With ace, queen, knave, lead ace and then 

the queen; 
With ace, four small ones, ace should first 

be seen. 

With queen, knave, ten, you let the queen 
precede; 

In other cases you the lowest lead, 

Ere you return your friend's, your own 
suit play; 

But trumps you must return without de- 
lay. 

When you return your partner's lead, 
take pains 

To lead him back the best your hand con- 
tains, 

If j'ou received 7iot more than three at 
first; 

If you had more, you may return the 
worst. 

But if you hold the master card you're 

bound, 
In most cases, to play it second round. 
Whene' er you want a lead, 'tis seldom 

wrong 
To lead up to the weak, or through the 

strong. 



RHYMING RUIZES 



347 



RHYMING RULES 



If second hand, your lowest should be 

played, 
Unless you mean, "trump signal" to be 

made; 
Or if you've king and queen, or ace ajid 

king, 
Then one of these will be the proper 

thing. 

Mind well the rules for trumps, you'll 

often need them: 
When you hold Jive 'tis alivays right to 

lead them; 
Or if the lead won't come in time to you, 
Then signal to your partner so to do. 

Watch also for your partner s trump re- 
quest, 

To which, with less than four, play out 
your best. 

To lead through honors turned up is bad 
play. 

Unless you want the trump sujt cleared 
away. 

When, second hand, a doubtful trick you 
see, 

Don't trump it if you hold more trumps 
than three; 

But having three or less, trump fear- 
lessly. 

When weak in trumps yourself, don't 

force your friend, 
But always force the adverse strong trump 

hand. 

For sequences, stern custom has decreed 
The lowest you must play, if you don't 

lead. 
When you discard, weak suits you ought 

to choose. 
For strong ones are too valuable to lose. 

Pole's "Rhyming Rules" were 
republished in Mcintosh's "Modern 
Whist" (Utica, N. Y., 1888), " with 
additions and emendations by T. 
D. L. " A revised version , made to 
suit the American game, was pub- 
lished by John T. Mitchell, in Whist 
for November, 1892, and, with fur- 
ther changes, embodied in his book 
on " Duplicate Whist" (1897). Mr. 
Mitchell's version is as follows: 

If you the^w de si^cle garae of whist would 

know. 
From this great principle its precepts 

mostly flow: 
Your first and second leads let partner 

understand, 
Both quantity and quality of suit in hand. 



With ace, king, queen, and knave, the 

lead's the knave or king; 
With ace and king and queen, the queen 

or king's the thing; 
With ace and king, the ace or king — the 

king if four. 
The first of these if you have five in suit 

or more. 

With king and queen and knave, with or 

without the ten. 
With four lead king, with five or more the 

knave lead then; 
With king and queen and two, the king 

should first be seen; 
With king and queen and three, the first 

lead is the queen. 

With queen and knave and ten, with or 

without the nine; 
First lead the ten; with four, the queen is 

next in line; 
But holding five or more, with knave you 

next proceed. 
Though holding four with nine, the nine's 

the second lead. 

With ace and queen and knave, with or 

without the ten, 
The first lead is the ace, with queen you 

follow then, 
If only four in suit; with five, the knave's 

the play; 
Though holding ten alone, follow with 

ten, they say. 

(These secondary leads are on this basis 
played — 

IndiflFerent high cards to tell the tale are 
made; 

The lower of two shows five, the higher 
only four; 

The middle of three shows five, the low- 
est six or more.) 

With ace and six, ace-queen or knave and 

three, lead ace; 
The fourth best is the lead in every other 

case. 
In trumps don't lead high from ace-king, 

ace-queen, ace-knave, king-queen, 
Unless originally six in suit are seen. 

When you your partner's plain-suit lead 
return, take pains 

To lead him back the very best your hand 
contains; 

That is, if you received not more than 
four at first; 

If you had more than that, you may re- 
turn the worst. 

In trumps, you lead him back the best 

with three or less. 
The worst with four or more unless you 

ace possess. 



RHYMING RULES 



348 



RHYMING RULES 



Your partner do not force, if you in 

trumps are weak, 
Unless it is quite plain a force he's tried 

to seek. 

Whene'er you want a lead, you'll find 'tis 

seldom wrong, 
To lead up to the weak, or (sometimes) 

through the strong; 
Still, in the course of play, you often will 

find need 
To twist this rule around so you can 

throw the lead. 

When you discard, cards from weak suits 

you ought to choose. 
For those in strong ones are too valuable 

to lose, 
But should you discard from strong suit 

to guard your hand, 
Then signal with the cards you throw, to 

show command. 

To lead through honors turned is culpably 

bad play. 
Unless you wish to have the trump suit 

cleared away. 
When adversaries try that scheme of 

leading through, 
Don't keep command too long, or else the 

play you'll rue. 

Mind well the rule for trumps, 'tis seldom 

wrong to lead them — 
When you hold five with one, or four with 

honors two; 
Andjif the chance to lead won't come in 

time to you. 
Then you must signal to your partner so 

to do. 

When, second hand, you hold one honor 

and one small, 
Don't jump in with the high unless you 

mean to call; 
And when, in that same place, a doubtful 

trick you see. 
Don't trump it if in trumps you hold 

m.ore cards than three. 

But if you're fourth in hand, don't fail a 
trick to take. 

Because you have four trumps, and one 
long suit to make. 

For sequences, remember, custom has de- 
creed, 

That lowest of them you must play, when 
not your lead. 

Don't get too bad a case of the unblock- 
ing craze 

Or else you'll forfeit tricks in foolishest of 
ways; 

Retain the lowest card of four for the 
fourth round, 

But don't take partners trick unless you 
know your ground. 



In making opening leads, select your suit 

that's longest — 
For cards to bring it in you may require 

your strongest. 
Stick closely to these rules and when you 

"strike your gait," 
You'll not lose many tricks at "straight" 

or "duplicate." 

Another set of very clever rhym- 
ing rules, by Rev. Francis Robert 
Drew, senior mathematical master 
at Malvern College, England, hung 
for many years in the card-rooms 
of the Malvern Club. They were 
headed "Old Bumble's Art of 
Whist," and W. P. Courtney, in his 
"English Whist and Whist Play- 
ers," says they "are worthy of a 
more extensive circulation than 
they have yet received." In 1873 
a small volume, entitled " Whist 
in Rhymes for Modern Times," 
was published in London under the 
name of "A. Thistlewood." The 
author was David Johnson Mac- 
Brair, of Edinburgh, solicitor, who 
died in 1893. On January i, 1876, 
there appeared in the Westminster 
Papers, London, some lines of this 
kind, by F. L. Slous, which had 
been privately printed as early as 
1832. They bore the title, "A 
Quiet Rubber of Whist." Still 
another set of rhyming rules ap- 
peared in New York, in 1S88, in an 
eleven - page booklet, entitled, 
"Whist Rules for Leads in 
Rhyme," by Anna C. Clapp. The 
latest rhyming rules that have 
come under our notice are by Mrs. 
Henry E. Wallace (q. v.), pub- 
lished in a neat folder, under her 
pen name of Margaretta Wetherill 
Wallace. They are entitled "Ameri- 
can Whist Leads in Rhyme," and 
run as follows: 

Lead ace, and follow with the king to 
show 

A suit of five, three cards the queen be- 
low. 

In trumps this play most incorrect would 
be 

If knave were not among the lower 
three. 



RHYMING RULES 



349 



RHYMING RULES 



I,ead ace, and follow after with the queen, 
One small card with the knave will now 

be seen; 
But if the ace is followed by the knave. 
Two small ones with the queen you'll 

surely have. 

Ace, ten, will always show a suit of four. 
The queen and knave exactly, but no 

m^ore. 
I^ad ace again, and follow with fourth 

best. 
Four cards below the ace will then be 

guessed. 

In leading king a suit of four you'll find. 

With ace in front or else the queen be- 
hind. 

In trumps king may be even led from 
three; 

The other cards must then both honors 
be. 

If king goes out and follows with the ace, 
'T will show two small ones only have 

next place; 
And should the king be followed by the 

lady. 
One little card and ace are likely ready. 

But if the ace be missing from your 
hand, 

I,ead king, then queen, and all will un- 
derstand 

That two small cards still in that suit 
remain. 

Be careful how you lead from it again. 

If leading king you next the knave 

should play. 
Both ace and queen may later lead the 

way; 
But should the ace be not your suit 

among. 
Play king, then knave, if you hold queen 

and one. 

When next king leads, he follows with 

the ten. 
This shows exactly queen and knave 

again, 
But should a lower card than ten appear. 
One small card headed by the queen is 

there. 

Her majesty comes forth in manner bold; 
Two cards above and two below you hold. 
She comes from suit of five you will 

divine. 
Unless she's followed by the knave or 

nine. 

You lead her out, and later let ace fall, 
With king, two cards are yours, but both 

are small; 
But should she next be followed by the 

king, 
Three little cards and ace you forth will 

bring. 



Without the ace the play is just the same. 
Lead queen, then king, and three small 

cards remain. 
The queen now bids his majesty farewell; 
Play queen and knave, the ten and one to 

tell. 

First queen, then ten; this will your part- 
ner show, 

With knave, two little cards the ten be- 
low. 

Queen followed by the nine shows knave 
and ten, 

A suit of four you will behold again. 

Queen, followed by a lower card than 

nine, 
With king, two cards below the queen are 

thine. 
Thus by observing closely we descry 
That king is absent when the knave is 

nigh. 

To lead the knave alone you'd hardly 

dare. 
Unless supported by the royal pair. 
This rule to trumps, however, don't 

apply; 
Knave leads when only ten and nine are 

by. 

Knave, followed by the ace, shows king, 

queen, one. 
King takes A's place, and one more card 

is shown. 
But even if the ace should now be lacking, 
Play knave, then king, with queen and 

two cards backing. 

Lead knave, then queen to show a gener- 
ous suit: 

Ace, king, and three indifierent cards to 
boot. 

But even if the ace you now should miss, 

The play would still remain the same as 
this. 

We now are coming to the lead often; 
Ace, queen we lack, but always find the 

men; 
While one or more small cards you also 

hold. 
By second play the number can be told. 

You play the ten, and if the ace should 

fall, 
King next; if not, the lowest card of all. 
If by this play you force the queen, lead 

king 
In hopes that thus the knave to power 

you'll bring. 

To show your friend a suit of five, there'd 

be 
Both king and knave, with others, two or 

three; 
Lead ten, then knave, to show the cards 

have strength. 
The knave here tells us that the suit has 

length. 



RHYMING RULES 



350 



ROTARY DISCARD 



If you a lower card than ten should lead, 

The fourth best it should be, all are 
agreed. 

The number led from, and the combina- 
tion. 

Are only known by later observation. 

Mrs. Wallace has also reduced 
third-hand play and unblocking to 
rhyme, as follows: 

On partner's lead of ace, queen, jack, ten, 

nine. 
With four exactly play third best of 

thine: 
Whene'er his lead shows cards with him 

are found 
His suit protecting three full times 

around. 
Next play the card that's second from the 

top. 
Keep small card last or else his lead you'll 

stop. 
If with unblocking you would also call, 
You do this with the middle cards of all. 

Ace, king, two small, third best on part- 
ner's queen 
On second round let king be surely seen. 
Ace, king, one small, king on the queen 

you place: 
While second time you follow with the 

ace. 
Ace, jack, two small on queen again third 

best, 
Then ace. You'll partner find of king 

possessed. 
Ace, jack. On any card let high one go. 
Ace and two small. On honor led play 

low: 
Except on ten, for then the play is high. 
Keep small oiie to return him by and by. 
Ace, one. The ace upon the jack you 

bring — 
It's too expensive on the queen or king. 

With king, queen, jack, small, jack and 

then the lady. 
If jack you lack for ace third best have 

ready. 
This rule's for honors. If the lead be ten 
Play low. and after send the jack again. 
King, jack, two small, third best on ace, 

then jack. 
But play is low if one small card you lack. 
King, small. On any honor play is low; 
But if the ten is led king has to go. 

Queen, jack, two small. On ace third 

best you play. 
On second round let jack no longer stay. 
Queen and two small. On honor led play 

small. 
But second round the queen must surely 

fall. 



If these few rules you miss or disregard, 
Perhaps you'll block your partner's final 

card. 
Unblocking has another use to heed — 
By it his suit can partner plainly read. 

Rotary Discard. — A mode of 
discarding whereby the four suits 
are given an arbitrary order, and a 
discard from one means strength 
in the next one in order, the idea 
being to enable the player to indi- 
cate his strong suit without weak- 
ening it. This discard was first 
proposed and advocated by P. J. 
Tormey, before the San Francisco 
Whist Club, in an address pub- 
lished in Whist for January, 1895. 
Mr. Tormey took the long familiar 
arrangement of the cards — spades, 
hearts, clubs, diamonds — and sug- 
gested that a player strong in 
hearts, and weak in spades, dis- 
card a spade, thereby declaring 
strength in hearts. If strong in 
clubs, he discards a heart; if strong 
in diamonds, he discards a club; 
and if strong in spades, he discards 
a diamond, and thus, in rotation, 
he is able to indicate strength in 
any suit, at the same time observ- 
ing the maxim, that discards should 
be generally made from weak suits. 
The trump suit is dropped out of 
consideration in the arrangement. 
For example, if hearts are trumps, 
andclubsare your strongest suit, you 
indicate it by discarding a spade. 

The rotary discard has caused 
much discussion since its introduc- 
tion by Mr. Tormey. Many players 
have experimented with it for a 
time, and then dropped it, on the 
ground that it frequently forced a 
discard from a suit which it was 
expensive to touch. Others con- 
tinue to give it their adherence, 
and it is a notable fact that Messrs. 
McCay and Smith, who won the 
pair championship in 1896, em- 
ployed it. ' ' Cavendish' ' condemns 
it as a fad. 



ROTARY DISCARD 



351 



RUBBER 



In the fall of 1897, the team from 
the Philadelphia Whist Club gave 
the rotary discard a trial in the 
matches for the Challenge Trophy, 
but employed it only when unable 
to follow suit on a trump lead made 
by the partner, no other suit hav- 
ing been led. A member of that 
team wrote as follows concerning 
it, in the latter part of November: 
"While my experience is not as 
yet sufficiently extensive to justify 
me in urging it too strongly, yet I 
can say that, so far, I have seen it 
win quite a number of tricks with- 
out having a loss scored against it; 
that I believe in the long run it 
will prove a decided gainer, and 
before we are much older will 
be accepted as conventional. Of 
course it must be understood, that 
I am referring to the adoption of 
the rotary discard only when the 
partner has opened trump as the 
initial lead of the hand, and no 
other suit has been led. If a plain 
suit has been led, even for but one 
round, I believe the use of the 
rotary is unnecessary, as a discard 
from weakness will point the strong 
suit just as accurately, and its ex- 
tension beyond the limit given 
seems to me sure to entail confu- 
sion, misunderstanding, and loss." 

One objection urged against the 
discard is, that by changing the 
order of rotation, by private agree- 
ment, a team might puzzle its op- 
ponents and gain an advantage. 
Such practice woxild, however, be 
as illegal as any other private con- 
vention {g. v.), and subject the 
oflfenders to the same penalty. 

This [discard] is complicated, but as it 
is sometimes used in test matches to puz- 
zle the opponents, it is well to under- 
stand the principle.— JSmnia D. Andrews 
[L. A.],-'Tke.Y yZof IVhisi." 

This discard * * * jj^g had its fol- 
lowers since the fifth congress, and as it 
proclaims both weaknessand strength in 
unequivocal terms, it is certainly entitled 



to respectful consideration. — John T. 
Mitchell \l. ^.], ''Duplicate Whist and 
Modern Leads." 

The rotary discard is beneath notice. 
Take the suits in any agreed on order, 
and discard from the one next to that 
which partner is to lead, jumping the 
trump suit. A short trial will prove the 
inefficiency of this fad. — "Cavendish" [L. 
A .] , Scribner's Magazine, July, i&gj. 

It is simply this: On your discard you 
say, by playing one card only: "In this 
suit I am weak; in the next higher one 
in hand I am strong." This idea is taken 
from a Mexican game. * * * This 
mode of discarding endows your card 
with two- fold in formation. Whether it is 
good or bad whi-st-play, I leave it to bet- 
ter judges than I to adjudicate. — P.J. 
Tormey \L. ^.], Whist, January, iSgs. 

We cannot agree with Mr. Tormey's 
idea that it is always best to discard from 
the weakest suit; in fact, we think this is 
the one point in whist where inference 
should be drawn with great latitude, be- 
cause it is so often necessary to make a 
protective discard. * * * Mr. Tormey's 
plan of discard, iu the order of suits, may 
be easily conceived to make the informa- 
tion more definite, but to be reliable, it 
must be adhered to strictly, and that 
would often impose sacrifices by un- 
guarding short suits, which we think 
would be destructive of good whist. — 
Cassias M . Paine \L.AI\, Whist, January, 
I&95- 

It has been tried by diSerent teams at 
various times, and, as a rule, abandoned 
for the reason that it frequently forced a 
discard from a suit that it was expensive 
to touch. The limited use made of it by 
the Philadelphia team is not liable to 
that objection, however, and it gives to a 
partner with a strong hand the most im- 
portant and accurate information at 
once. It frequently saves him from wast- 
ing a trump by making an extra lead to 
get a second discard, and when the 
length in trumps does not ■warrant an 
extra lead, it saves the trump leader the 
necessity of guessing between two suits as 
to which his partner desires to have led. 
—Milton C. Work [L. A. H.I, Philadel- 
phia Press, November 24, iSgj. 

Round, A. — Every four cards 
played in succession; a trick. 

Rubber. — Two games won out 
of three played in succession. The 
rubber applies only to the English 
five-point game, with honors count- 
ing, and section i of the English 



" RUBBER, A VERY QUIET " 352 " RUFF AND HONOURS ' 



code provides that if the first two 
games are won by the same players, 
the third game is not played. The 
decisive game is called the rubber 
game. The American code substi- 
tutes single games for the rubber. 
(See, also, "American and English 
lyaws.") 

When one game has been won on each 
side, a third is required to decide the 
rubber; if, on the contrary, the two 
games have been won by the same side, 
the rubber is finished, and a fresh one is 
commenced. * * * a rubber means 
two out of three consecutive games. — 
Deschapelles [O.], ^'Laws," Section ^o. 

•♦Rubber, a Very Quiet."— 

James Payn, in his volume, " High 
Spirits," tells the story of four 
players, two men and two elderly 
spinsters, residing in the same 
town, who were wont to meet night 
after night for a quiet rubber at 
whist. Gradually death claims 
them, one after another, but the 
spirit of gentility precludes the sur- 
vivors from admitting to a place 
in the set the local auctioneer and 
undertaker, who, however, hopes 
in spite of every disappointment, 
to be finally received into the 
charmed circle. But every renewal 
of hope only ends in disappoint- 
ment, and at last only one of the 
players is left. She, too, passes 
away, and at her request, her last 
two packs of cards are buried with 
her. Thus ends what the novelist 
has designated as " A Very Quiet 
Rubber." 

Rubber Points. — In the English 
or five-point game, with honors, 
the final count determining win- 
nings or losses is by rubber points. 
The winners of a game count three 
rubber points if they win a treble — 
i. e., if they score five points in 
that game against nothing by their 
adversaries. They mark two rub- 
ber points if they win a double — 



i. e.y if the adversaries have scored 
only one or two points in the game. 
They mark one rubber point if they 
win a single — i. e. , if their adversa- 
ries have scored three or four points 
to their five in the game. The side 
winning the rubber (two out of 
three games) add two more rubber 
points for that achievement. The 
value of all the rubber points is 
next determined by deducting from 
the winners' score whatever rubber 
points may have been made by 
their adversaries. The balance of 
rubber points must be settled for 
by the losers at whatever stake per 
rubber point has previously been 
agreed upon or understood, a sep- 
arate stake upon the rubber itself 
(the best two out of three) being 
sometimes played for. 

Ruff. — To ruflf means to trutnp. 
The word is from the French roujie, 
and at first had the meaning of a 
point at piquet. Next we find it 
used in the old English game re- 
sembling whist, in which it meant 
to discard. Later it obtained its 
present meaning. A cross-ruff 
means to trump alternately, when 
partners lead suits for that purpose. 
(See, "Trump.") 

Never ruff an uncertain card, if strong, 
or omit doing so if weak in trumps. — 
Thomas Mathews [L. O.I, "Advice to the 
Young JVhist-Player," 1804, 

•* Ruff and Honours." — An 

ancient game concerning which 
Charles Cotton, in his " Compleat 
Gamester" (1674), says: " Whist is 
a game not much different from 
this." "Ruff and honours" was 
played with a pack of fifty-two 
cards, the ace ranking the highest. 
There were four players, two being 
partners against the other two. 
Each player received twelve cards; 
the remaining four were left as a 
"stock" on the table, and the top 








Sx^i 





lO-' 



::^?::?f 



VERY QUIET" 352 " RUFF AND HONOURS " 



;-.:^t if the first two 

. -r '-.:■-■ nunip plaj'ers, 

vid. The 

iC rubber 

I code substi- 

-ix the rubb'^r. 

nk:aa and Engi^ 



ni ndversaries have scored 
1: ;.wo points in tbt oMn.f> 
.-.e i-abberpoim 

• ?. ^.. if their ci- 
. '. ; -^r four jjoiiiis 
■ -: The si'le 



hasbeen won on 
mired to decicl 
.•'contrary, the i.., 
1,, von by the sarac r>iue, 

"f -. rd, au'i a fresh one i.« 

t. * A rubber tncanx 

1.1 .>ree consecutive (;:amea. — 

a J. 1 y "Lmvjs," Section ^o. 

''Rubber, a Very Quiet."— 

Jaa-iOS Payn, in his volume, " High 



th,. 

pci 

the i it.-^. Xhc balaucc oi 

ru' . , mtist be settled for 

by t;je loters at whatever stake per 

rubber point has previously been 

agreed upon or understood, a sep- 



Spi-iv^/' WjJy^j;^tj^g\t)f^j^^^l4(^e£-eacls^pon the rubber itself 
piayi^ra, fwcr .u.- .. :i; .. .. .■ ,, y .^^^.. -.^^^^^ 4^.,^ ^^j. q£ three) beiner 



spinsters, residij^^ ModiflCatiOI^i^^^ P^^y^i ^^ 



tow>!, who were 

'light for a qmet ruSjber at; 

Gradually death claims 

' rr; after another, but the 

George WK-,P\ette§>iudes the sur- 

• ' ' V, p- to a r>lace 



Ruff. — To ruflP means to truuip. 
The word is from the French roufle. 



poiRP%t^p 

I'ptN! in the old English game re- 
Mittiii^'^Morlc-''- ^'"">? whist, in ^vJlich it meant 
^ -•'. "^'I>';- i..;. . - r-; . Later it obtained its 



CJharres S: Stre'et; 



-igiiateu && 



"intment, 

into the 

■^wal 

•Int- 

.. -t ihe 

'. passes 

;.■■)• last 

ith 

clist 

Vc.y Quiet 



Rubber PoJm 



that >, . 
adver- 
ber i.r. 



: English 

honors, 

■]g win- 

. ^ .:^ .,* . ■ ;u.cr points. 

of a game count three 

. i f the}' win a treble — 

ore five points in 

* nothing by their 

ark two rub- 

1 a double — 



pi\ j' i/r. A cross-ruff 

ni- P. J. Torm^ernately, when 
pariiici for th.at purpose. 

(See, ' - 

Never ruff an uncertsin card, if strong, 
or omit doing so if '••^••V in trumps. — 
Thomas Moihews [/ .'' •> - ^ ' ' 
Young IVhist-Playfi , 

«« Ruff and Honours." — An 

ancient game concerning which 

Charles Cotton, in his "Compleat 

Gamester" ('1674^ savs: " Whist is 

a game 

this." 

pi...... 

car - 
Til 



the icui<;.::iiug four -..icic left a;; <. 
*'su>ck" on the table, and the toj 



H 



RUFFING GAME 



353 



RUNNING 



one was turned up to determine the 
trump suit. The player holding 
the ace of trumps had the privilege 
of taking the ' ' stock' ' in exchange 
for any four cards in his hand, and 
this operation was called "ruff- 
ing." The score was nine, and 
the party that won most tricks were 
"most forward to win the set." 
Three honors in the hands of part- 
ners were reckoned equivalent to 
two tricks, and four honors to four. 
Pole says: "This came very near 
whist, and was, in fact, whist in an 
imperfect form." 

The gatae of triomphe, or French ruff, 
must not be confused with the Knglish 
game of trump, or ruff-and-honours, the 
predecessor of our national game of 
"whist. Cotton clearly distinguishes be- 
tween the two, calling triomphe French 
ruff (ruff and trump bein^ synonymous), 
and trump English rufi-and-honours. — 
"Cavendish" [L.A.I ^' Card Essays." 

Ruffing Game. — A mode of play 
at whist in which every opportunity 
is taken to make tricks by trump- 
ing. In the Howell (short-suit) 
system the ruffing game is one of 
five forms of strategy employed. It 
is indicated by the original lead of 
an eight, seven, or six-spot from 
generally not more than two in 
suit, and the lead is said to be from 
the "top of nothing." 

This is the usual strategj^ of the begin- 
ner, and it owes its attractiveness to the 
apparent advantage of making your own 
high cards, and of appropriating those of 
your adversary by trumping them. — R. E. 
Foster [5. O.], " Whist Strategy," 1894. 

Rules.— The rules of whist are 
the precepts, maxims, and correct 
principles which govern it, and 
which must be followed in order to 
play correctly. Nearly every rule 
of play has its important excep- 
tions, and it is highly essential that 
a correct knowledge of these be also 
obtained, so that the player may 
know the rules, and when to disre- 

23 



gard them. While the rules may 
be at times disregarded, no such 
latitude is allowed the player so far 
as the laws are concerned. If the 
laws of whist are infringed the pen- 
alty must be paid. A disregard of 
the rules may indirectly bring as 
serious consequences, or more so, 
in the loss of tricks in play. 

The only rule of play which is abso- 
lutely general— play to win.—R. A. Proc- 
tor [L. O.J 

In general, rules of play which are 
loaded with exceptions are almost as bad 
as no rule at s.\l.—" Cavendish" [L. A.], 
" JVhist Developvients." 

Rules are for the majority of cases, not 
for exceptional positions, and a plaj'er is 
good, very good, or of the highest class, 
in proportion to the rapidity and acute- 
ness with which he seizes the occasion 
when rules must be disregarded.— /a»z« 
Clay [L. 0+]. 

A good player ought to be acquainted 
not only with the rules themselves, but 
also with the reasoning on which they 
are foun ded, in order that he may be able 
to judge when they are not applicable as 
well as when they are. — William Pole \L. 
^+], "Philosophy of Whist." 

The masters of the game are those who 
follow the rules when they should, and 
disregard them when common sense, or 
their whist judgment, convinces them 
that they are at a point in play not pro- 
vided for by any set rule. — C. D. P. Ham- 
ilton \L. a\ '■'Modern Scientific Whist." 

Do not abuse the statement made in all 
good whist-books, that rules ought some- 
times to be departed from. This is true; 
but to judge correctly when and how 
such departure should be made is one of 
the attributes of the very best players. — 
William Pole [L. A+], "Philosophy 0/ 
Whist." 

Running. — When players are on 
the defensive, or plajdng a hopeless 
game, they are, in modern par- 
lance, said to be running. 

Some ["common sense"] players play 
the ace from ace, king, and others to in- 
dicate that they are simply "running" 
for what tricks are in sight, and lead the 
king when they hope for a trump signal 
from partner, considering that in such an 
event the whole suit might possibly be 
brought in by the aid of partner's trump 
strength.— «^. A. Potter [5. C], Provi- 
dence Jourtial, August I, iSg/. 



" RUSSIAN BOSTON " 



354 



SAFFORD, A. G. 



'* Russian Boston." — A variety 
of " boston." It contains a distin- 
guishing feature known as " carte 
blanche," which is the same as 
"chicane" in "bridge." The or- 
der of the suits is diamonds, hearts, 
clubs, and spades. Honors are 
counted, and, as in "boston de 
Fontainbleau," a bid known as 
' ' piccolissimo' ' is introduced. 

Safford, A. G. — Author of a val- 
uable series of schedules for dupli- 
cate whist-play, and one of the earli- 
est players to devote his talents to 
the improvement of the duplicate 
game, so far as the arrangement 
and movements of the players were 
concerned. Mr. Saflford was born 
at St. Albans, Vt., August 17, 1844. 
He was educated at the University 
of Vermont, class of 1863, and re- 
ceived the degree of A. M. from 
that institution. He left college in 
1862, and entered the military tele- 
graph corps of the army, serving as 
chief operator of the Department 
of the South, and at the head- 
quarters of General Grant, at City 
Point, Va., during the last year of 
the war. 

After the war Mr. SafFord took up 
the study of law. He was admitted 
to the bar in September, 1867, in 
his native State, and practiced there 
until 1886, when he removed to 
Washington, D. C, where he has 
since resided, and where he was 
solicitor for the Inter-state Com- 
merce Commission from 1890 to 
1896. He was also a member of 
the Senate of Vermont, from 1880 
to 1882. 

Mr. Safford belonged to a whist 
club in St. Albans, Vt., in 1882, 
and, upon removing to Washing- 
ton, joined the Chess, Checkers, 
and Whist Club, the Capital Bicycle 
Club, and the Columbia Athletic 
Club, of that city, and the Manhat- 
tan Athletic Club, of New York, in 



all of which whist has been made 
a special feature during the past 
few years. He attended the first 
congress of the American Whist 
League, Milwaukee, 1891, and was 
until 1896 a member of its board of 
directors. He has played occa- 
sionally in matches for the tro- 
phies of the League, and as a mem- 
ber of the Manhattan Athletic Club 
team played the first match game 
occurring in this country after the 
organization of the League, and 
under its new rules of play, at 
which time his team defeated the 
Hamilton Club team, of Philadel- 
phia. 

It will be remembered that at 
the first congress of the League, 
OrndorfiPs improved schedule for 
teams of four was used for the first 
time. Mr. Saffbrd's attention hav- 
ing been drawn to the duplicate 
game, he quickly saw the necessity 
for correct and equitable methods 
of arranging and moving the 
players, individuals as well as 
pairs, and teams of four. He made 
the subject a study during his spare 
moments, and the first result con- 
sisted of formulas for moving eight, 
twelve, and sixteen players, which 
were published in Whist for Jan- 
uary, 1892, for the benefit of all 
lovers of the game. For five years 
more he continued his labors, and 
in 1897 appeared his series of 
schedules for pairs which he named 
the "comparative system." Mi- 
nute directions are given for the 
movements of the pairs and trays, 
and the final comparative scores 
are quickly ascertained. By the 
" comparative system" the players 
are arranged in pairs, and moved 
about at the different tables in such 
a manner that each pair plays once 
with every other pair as adversa- 
ries, and each pair plays one side 
or the other of every deal, and is 
compared for results with the pair 



SAFFORD, A. G. 



355 



SAFFORD, A. G. 



holding the same cards. To accom- by the following diagram for the 

plish this without duplicating the movement of eight pairs of players, 

cards is the special feature of the four tables, kindly sent us for this 

system, which may be illustrated purpose by Mr. Saflford: 



First. 8 


A— I. 


8 


6 


B— V. 


6 


7 


C— HI. 


7 


4 


D— II. 




I 


3 


2 


5 




2 


8 


7 


4 


7 


I 


3 


I 


5 


6 


Second. 8 


A— II. 


B— VI. 


C— IV. 


D— III. 




2 


4 


3 


6 




3 


8 


X 


5 


I 


2 


4 


2 


6 


7 


Third. 8 


A— III. 


B— VII. 


C-V. 


D— IV. 




3 


5 


4 


7 




4 


8 


2 


6 


2 


3 


S 


3 


7 


I 


Fourth. 8 


A— IV. 


B— I. 


C— VI. 


D— V. 




4 


6 


5 


I 




5 


S 


3 


7 


3 


4 


6 


4 


I 


3 


Fifth. 8 


A— V. 


B— II. 


C— VII. 


D— VI. 




5 


7 


6 


2 




6 


8 


4 


I 


4 


S 


7 


5 


2 


3 


Sixth. 8 


A— VI. 


B— III. 


C— I. 


D— VII. 




6 


I 


7 


3 




7 


8 


5 


2 


5 


6 


I 


6 


3 


4 


Seventh. 8 


A— VII. 


B— IV. 


C-II. 


D-I. 



SAFFORD, A. G. 



356 



SAVING THE GAME 



The Arabic numerals indicate the 
number of the respective pairs, and 
the Roman numerals the number 
of the boards or trays; the tables 
are indicated by the letters "A," 
" B," etc. 

If the plan is examined, it will 
be found that each pair meets every 
other pair as adversaries, and each 
pair has played one side or the 
other of every deal; and only seven 
boards or trays are required. Take 
deal No. i, for example: Pair num- 
ber one plays it north and south, at 
the first formation, against pair 
number eight; pair number six 
plays it north and south, at the 
fourth formation, against pair num- 
ber two; pair number seven plays 
it north and south, at the sixth for- 
mation, against pair number five; 
pair number four plays it north and 
south, at the seventh formation, 
against pair number three. 

It will be seen, therefore, that 
pairs one, six, seven, and four play 
the north and south cards of deal 
No. I, and pairs eight, two, five, 
and three play the east and west 
cards of that deal, and the result 
of the playing of that particular 
deal is determined by comparing 
pairs numbers one, four, six, and 
seven with each other, and the re- 
maining pairs with each other also. 
Further examination of the sched- 
ule will show that each pair plays 
one side or the other of every one of 
the seven deals, and holds the same 
cards with every other pair the 
same number of times. Score- 
cards are prepared, having in the 
left-hand table the location at each 
table of the particular pair for the 
several successive formations, the 
number of the board or tray played 
at that formation, and with a table 
beyond for extending the score of 
the deal, in a space under the num- 
ber of the pair which plays the deal 
the same way as the particular pair. 



Such score-cards are prepared for 
as many as sixty-four players, and 
the formulas may be extended in- 
definitely, so as to include as many 
players as may be gathered to- 
gether, and requiring but one less 
in number of trays to be played 
than there are number of pairs. 

Mr. Safibrd was the first to apply 
numbers to the pairs, and to pro- 
vide for the movement from forma- 
tion to formation, by increasing the 
number of the player or pair play- 
ing at a particular position by one. 
These formulas were published 
from time to time, and Mr. Saf- 
ford's method of designation is now 
generally employed in the making 
of schedules, whether individual, 
pairs, or teams. 

In his whist-play, Mr. SaflFord is 
an advocate of old leads, and of a 
somewhat modified short-suit game. 

Besides those who wrote against the 
system [of American leads] , there were 
those who opposed it in play. A. G. Saf- 
ford, of the Capital Bicycle Club in Wash- 
ington, took with him to the second whist 
congress, held in New York in 1892, a 
team of four men who did not believe in 
informatory leads of any sort. These 
gentlemen were Harry N. I^ow, Jules P. 
Wooten, W. T. Bingham, and L. G. 
Eakins, and they won the championship 
of the American "Whist League, defeat- 
ing fifteen of the strongest teams in the 
world by the most decisive score ever 
made at a tournament, although all their 
adversaries used the informatory sj'stem 
of play.— ie. F. Foster [S. O.], Monthly 
Illustrator, i8g7. 

Saving the Game. — Preventing 
the adversaries from going out that 
hand. To play to save the game 
is the cautious, defensive, often des- 
perate, play of the weak hand. In 
the English five-point game, with 
honors counting, playing to the 
score is highly important, and play- 
ers must constantly be on the alert 
to save the game, if they cannot win 
it. Saving the game is also, to 
some extent, important in the 



SCHOOLS, WHIST IN 357 



SCIENCBORART? 



American seven-point game, hon- 
ors not counting; but in duplicate 
whist, where points, and not games, 
are the essential thing, saving the 
game is an unknown term. 

In England, saving a point is 
another important consideration 
for the losing players. According 
to the rules, if one side wins the 
game before the other side scores a 
point, the winners count a game of 
three points, known as a treble; if 
the losers are one up, the winners 
count a double, or game of two 
points; if the losers manage to get 
three tricks, the winners only count 
a single, or a game of one point. 
Hence, it is important, even though 
losing the game, to obtain one or 
three tricks, if possible. 

Play to save the game; that being as- 
sured, play to win the game. Don't 
speculate with the game to see how many 
tricks you can make, but if you want only 
one trick to save the game, take it as 
earlv as you can, — A.J. Mcintosh \L. AX, 
'■^Modern Whist and Portland Rules," 1888. 

You must lose, in any event, unless 
the deep finesse wins, and if one or more 
of your finesses win you may save the 
game. * * * When the forces against 
you are evidently irresistible, as one hand 
marked with the long trumps and a great 
suit besides, there is no room for finesse. 
If you have the master card, play it, es- 
pecially if it will save the game. — C. D. 
P. Hamilton \L. A^, ^'■Modern Scientific 
Whist." 

Schools, Whist In.— See, "Whist 

as an Educator." 

Schools of Whist. — Divisions 
of whist-players who adhere to the 
teachings of this or that authority 
or instructor. Broadly speaking, 
those who played the old ten-point 
game, honors counting, with little 
or no reference to partnership play, 
were said to belong to the old school 
of Hoyle. Then came the school 
of Payne, of Mathews, of Clay, of 
" Cavendish," of Foster, of Howell, 
and others, each with important 



improvements or changes in play. 
A school of whist sometimes repre- 
sents a distinct system, but various 
schools sometimes grow up on the 
same system or some slight varia- 
tion. (See, "System.") 

Schwarz, Theodore. — Third 
president of the American Whist 
League; was born in Baltimore, 
Md., January 12, 1839. He was the 
son of a physician, who removed to 
Philadelphia during the same year. 
In the latter city Theodore received 
his education, graduating from the 
High School in 1858. In 1874 lie 
located in Chicago, where he has 
been actively engaged in the com- 
mission business ever since. 

His whist career began, under the 
tuition of his father, at an early 
age, and he studied the game with 
all his heart, so that he is to-day 
one of the best-informed whist- 
players in this country, not only in 
regard to the literature of whist, 
but concerning the practice of the 
game in the past and present. He 
took a very active part in the for- 
mation of the American Whist 
League, and was elected corre- 
.sponding secretary at its organiza- 
tion at Milwaukee in 1891, serving 
in that capacity until 1894. He was 
chairman of the committee on laws 
which framed the American code, 
adopted by the League in 1893, and 
has contributed several valuable 
articles on the subject of the laws 
to Whist. He was elected vice- 
president of the League in 1894, 
and president in 1895. 

Mr. Schwarz also took an active 
part in the formation of the Chicago 
Whist Club, and served as its presi- 
dent from 1891 to 1894. He is a 
firm adherent of the long-suit game 
and American leads. 

Science or Art ? — The question. 
Is whist a science or an art? is 



SCIENCE OR ART? 



358 



SCIENCE OR ART? 



answered by Pole: "It is both." 
Foster discerns two kinds of whist- 
players, the scientific and the artis- 
tic, and accords to the latter the 
higher position. It must follow 
that there are, in his estimation, also 
two kinds of whist; in other words, 
that true whist is not a science, 
but an art. Let us consider, then, 
the exact meaning of the words 
"science" and "art," and what 
relation they bear to each other. 
James C. Fernald, in his book of 
synonyms, tells us that "science is 
knowledge reduced to law, and em- 
bodied in system. Art always re- 
lates to something to be done, 
science to something to be known. 
Not only must art be discriminated 
from science, but art in the indus- 
trial or mechanical sense must be 
distinguished from art in the esthe- 
tic sense; the former aims chiefly at 
utility, the latter at beauty. The 
mechanic arts are the province of 
the artisan, the esthetic, or fine 
arts, are the province of the artist; 
all the industrial arts, as of weaving 
or printing, arithmetic or naviga- 
tion, are governed by exact rules. 
Art in the highest esthetic sense, 
while it makes uSe of rules, trans- 
cends all rule; no rules can be given 
for the production of a painting 
like Raphael's ' Transfiguration, ' a 
statue like the Apollo Belvedere, or 
a poem like the 'Iliad.' Science 
does not, like the mechanic arts, 
make production its direct aim, yet 
its possible productive application 
in the arts is a constant stimulus to 
scientific investigation; the science, 
as in the case of chemistry or elec- 
tricity, is urged on to higher devel- 
opment by the demands of the art, 
while the art is perfected by the 
advance of the science. Creative 
art, seeking beauty for its own sake, 
is closely akin to pure science seek- 
ing knowledge for its own sake." 
It seems to us that whist is both 



a science and an art, but it certainly 
is not a mechanical or industrial 
art. Aside from mental training, 
it produces nothing except the 
pleasure of winning and the pain 
of losing, unless we except also the 
"honest" living which the che- 
valiers d'' Industrie were wont to 
make out of it when it was used for 
betting purposes in its palmiest 
days. Whether whist-playing is a 
fine art, such as produces "Iliads" 
and "Apollo Belvederes," and such 
as Mr. Foster is inclined to regard 
it in its highest form, is still a ques- 1 
tion. 

Whist is an art; if in any sense a sci- 
ence, it is certainly not an exact science. 
— '■'Pembridge" [Z.4-0.], '^Decline and Fall 
of Whisty 

Whist is both a science and an art. It 
is a science because its foundations are 
laid on truly scientific principles, on the 
mathematical laws of probabilities, and 
on strictly scientific reasoning directing^ 
their application. It is an art because it 
requires education, practice, judgment, 
and skill in the actual conduct of the 
play. In this, as in many other intellect- 
ual pursuits, it is only by a combination 
of the two that eminence can be obtained. 
Hence, both must be learned. — William 
Pole IL. A +] . 

Whist is an abstract science, which 
treats of the action of fifty-two represen- 
tatives of five mental powers — observance, 
memory, inference, calculation, and judg- 
ment. By practice only with cards it can 
no more be learned than geology can be 
learned by handling minerals; than archi- 
tecture can be learned by planing lumber 
or driving nails. The learner of whist 
must be a student or he can never be an 
actor. Practice is of no avail unless prin- 
ciple controls it.— G^. W. Pettes [L. A. P.I, 
' 'A merican Whist Illustrated. ' ' 

Is whist a science or an art ? A definite 
answer to this question would go far to 
settle some of the most heated controver- 
sies connected with the game. Science 
is generally defined as knowledge put in 
order. * * * Scientific experiment and 
observation, if properly conducted, will 
always give exactly the same results. 
Sixteen parts of sulphur and a hundred 
parts of mercury will always produce 
vermilion, just as a cuttlefish will always 
produce sepia; but a thorough knowledge 
of the scientific principles of painting 
will not make an artist. Even with the 
examples before him, a painter finds it 



SCORE 



359 



SCORE-CARD 



impossible to imitate the works of the 
greatest masters. There is a touch iu 
them that is beyond science, and which 
marks the work as that of an individual 
mind expressing itself through the artis- 
tic use of scientific facts. 

It is so in whist, the principles of which 
clearly belong to the science of experi- 
ment and observation, especially in such 
matters as the leads, the value of cards of 
re-entry, and the importance of tenace. 
But when we come to use these principles 
in actual play, when we come to design 
the mosaic which will be formed by the 
fall of the cards, our scientific knowledge 
is very much like the painter's knowledge 
of the properties of colors. 

There are thousands of persons who 
have mastered every lead and follow, 
every signal and echo, every finesse and 
underplay, yet who will never be whist- 
players in the artistic sense of the word. 
They belong to the scientific school; they 
play the scientific game, and they appear 
totally oblivious to the fact that whist- 
play is an art, not a science, and that 
those who really excel in it are as rare as 
those who have distinguished themselves 
in painting and sculpture. — Ji. F. Foster 
\S. O.], Monthly Illustrator. 

Score. — The score is the record 
of the points made by each side iti 
playing; also, the points thus 
marked or recorded. To score is 
to count or mark the points won 
during the progress of the game, 
and one player on each side usually 
does this for his side. 

In duplicate whist, the total 
number of tricks taken by each 
side is recorded at the end of each 
hand, upon score-cards provided 
for that purpose. The score made 
in the overplay is recorded oppo- 
site that made in the original play, 
in order that a comparison may be 
made and the loss or gain duly as- 
certained. 

The keeping of the score (at 
least at straight whist) is a com- 
paratively simple matter in the 
American game, but in the Eng- 
lish game so many extra points are 
taken into consideration that it 
becomes a more serious task. Be- 
sides the scoring of tricks by cards, 
there is the scoring of honors, four 
or two points, according to the 



number held in excess of those held 
by the adversaries. Tricks, how- 
ever, count before honors, so that 
if, for example, each side is at the 
score of three, and one side makes 
two by honors, the other two by 
cards, the latter wins the game. 
Then there are also the additional 
points for the winners of singles, 
doubles, trebles, and bumpers, and 
the extra rubber points to be duly 
counted and recorded. In America 
none of these things are taken into 
consideration, each side, in straight 
whist, scoring one point for every 
trick taken above six, during the 
play of each hand, and the one first 
scoring seven points winning the 
game. The value of the game is 
determined by deducting the losers' 
score from seven ; the winners win 
by the number of points shown in 
the difference. Some players score 
all the points made by each side 
during a sitting, and at duplicate 
whist this is the rule. (See, also, 
" Playing to the Score.") 

If an erroneous score be proved, such 
mistake can be corrected prior to the 
conclusion of the game in which it oc- 
curred, and such game is not concluded 
until the trump card of the following deal 
has been turned up. — Lxlws of Whist 
{English Code), Section ii. 

If any one, prior to his partner play- 
ing, calls attention in any manner to the 
trick, or to the score, the adversary last 
to play to the trick may recjuire the of- 
fender's partner to play his highest or 
lowest of the suit led, or, if he has none, 
to trump or not to trump the trick. — 
Laws of IVhist {American Code), Section 
3S- 

Score- Book. — A book in which 
scores made at whist are kept for 
future reference. 

Score - Card. — A card upon 
which the total number of tricks 
made by each side, at duplicate 
whist, is recorded in detail. Pro- 
vision is made for a comparison 
of the tricks made by each side on 



SCORING 



360 



SCORING 



the origiual play with those made 
on the dupHcate or overplay, thus 
showing where losses or gains took 
place, and showing, by the totals, 
which side wins. 

Scoring. — The act of recording 
the points won at whist; keeping 
the score. Scoring, at straight 
whist, is done by means of various 
devices, and many ingenious whist- 
markers have been invented for 
the purpose from time to time, one 
of the very best being that devised 
by R. F. Foster. In many clubs 
ordinary poker chips are used for 
the purpose of keeping score, and 
the various numbers of points made 
are indicated by a generally rec- 
ognized manner of arranging the 
chips on the table. The following 
is a plain and convenient method: 



One. 
O 

Four. 
0000 



Two. 
00 

Five. 

o 

00 



Three. 
000 

Six. 

o 
000 



The chip above the line is deemed 
to represent three. It is not neces- 
sary to indicate more than six in 
the seven-point game, as the last 
trick necessary to win is apparent 
without scoring. We may add that 
"Cavendish" endorses the above 
arrangement. In some parts of the 
United States the following method 
has been employed for years, only 
three chips being used, so that there 
are no counters to be taken care 
of on the left of the score-keeper: 
Chips in a straight pile indicate 
none; one chip off pile, one; one 
chip on top of two lying side by side, 
two; three chips in a row, three; 

placed in this manner, Xq four; 
placed in this manner, SL five; 
placed in this manner, qS six. 



According to the American game 
of seven points, honors not count- 
ing, the game is out as soon as 
either side scores seven points; 
the tricks that might be made 
above seven are not taken into 
account, and the value of the game 
is ascertained by deducting the 
loser's score from seven. For ex- 
ample: If one side has three points 
when the other goes out with seven, 
the value of the game iS' four points, 
that being the number shown by 
deducting the losers' score from 
seven. This is in accordance with 
the American code, but some prefer 
to play the last hand out and count 
all tricks made. 

At duplicate whist scoring is done 
by means of score-cards, and upon 
a different basis from scoring at 
straight whist. In the latter every 
trick won in excess of six, each 
hand, is put down. In duplicate 
the correct way is to set down in 
the proper columns the full number 
of tricks won by each side, both in 
the original play and the duplicate 
or overplay. The original and du- 
plicate play of each side are added 
together each deal, and the number 
of tricks taken by the winning side 
in excess of thirteen is placed in 
the gain column. It was pointed 
out in IVhisi for October , 1892, that 
some clubs pursued a different but 
erroneous method ; instead of scor- 
ing the total number of tricks 
taken by both sides, they scored 
only to the winner of each deal the 
number of tricks taken by that side 
in excess of six, as at straight whist. 
This excess was entered in the 
original score column for the first 
play, and in the duplicate score col- 
umn for the overplay — the losers, 
or the side making six or less tricks, 
being scored blank in each case. 
The difference between the true and 
false method amounts to a point in 
some hands; and in a match or sit- 



SCORING 



361 



SCORING 



ting where many hands are played, 
the difference would be consider- 
able, as may easily be ascertained 
by experiment. 

In match play, when large num- 
bers of players are engaged, the 
matter of keeping the score cor- 
rectly for each individual, pair, or 
team of four or more, as the case 
may be, becomes very important; 
and it is especially desirable, where 
the match is one extending over 
several days, that the result of the 
play at each sitting be speedily as- 
certained and announced. This 
need has been especially felt at each 
annual congress of the American 
Whist League, where many contests 
for trophies and championships 
take place. To meet the require- 
ments of the case a number of ways 
of keeping the score have been 
tried, but the most perfect is un- 
doubtedly that invented by P. J. 
Tormey, of San Francisco, and per- 
manently adopted at the seventh 
congress of the League, at Put-in- 
Bay, 1897. Under the Tormey 
method the official score, double 
checked, for the first contest 
(Brooklyn Trophy) was put on the 
bulletin board in exactly eleven 
minutes after the play ended; the 
victors being known in four min- 
utes. At no time, in any other 
match, was the result delayed over 
fifteen minutes. The year previous 
it took almost as many hours. Mr. 
Tormey'smethod of scoring the two- 
table game was also adopted by the 
League in the contest for the Chal- 
lenge Trophy. In former contests 
the method pursued was to record 
the net gains for each team on each 
deal from one to forty-eight. Mr. 
Tormey's way is to record the en- 
tire number of tricks taken by north 
and south of each team, and the 
gains or losses are shown just the 
same, while in addition to this in- 
formation is conveyed as to how the 



hands are running. In a commu- 
nication published in Whist for 
September, 1897, Mr. Tormey gives 
full particulars concerning his 
method. He says: 

" The method of scoring used at 
the seventh congress, at Put-in-Bay, 
called the Tormey system, was first 
introduced to the whist-playing 
public on this coast by the writer 
at the second annual meeting of 
the Pacific Coast Whist Association, 
in the fall of 1895, in the contest 
which took place in the rooms of 
the Trist Duplicate Whist Club, and 
has been used in all our important 
contests ever since. Like many 
other inventions, necessity was the 
mother of it. 

" When the executive committee 
of the American Whist League met 
at St. Louis, in January, 1896, to 
formulate a program of play for 
the sixth congress, held at Man- 
hattan Beach, I suggested to the 
committee to try our way of scoring, 
but the suggestion, somewhat to my 
surprise and amusement, didn't 
even call forth an explanation of 
what the system was, as another 
untried method had the ' call,' and 
was adopted. You know how it 
worked — no announcement being 
made of the result of any contest 
until after noon of the next day; 
and in one instance — the A. W. L. 
Challenge Trophy — not until the 
morning of the second day. 

" The method, if worthy of such 
a name, is very simple, indeed. 
Any club that uses it once will won- 
der why it was never thought of 
before. The modus operandi is as 
follows: Use score-cards made in 
two colors of card board — not thin 
paper — have them made just large 
enough to accommodate whatever 
number of deals you are likely to 
play before moving (a good size is 
about 2>^ by 2% inches), and space 
off for no more than five deals. Use 



SCORING 



362 



SCORING 



one color card for north and south 
players, and the other color for east 
and west; have printed on the top 
edge of the cards, in bold-faced 
type, 'north and south,' 'east 
and west.' To expedite the scor- 
ing, we generally number the 
teams of four, or pairs, always put- 
ting the names of the respective 
clubs, as well as the players' names, 
opposite the number on the tally- 
sheet that we post on the bulletin 
board. A good sample of tally 
sheet will be found on page 251, 
August Whist, Hamilton Club Tro- 
phy. 

' ' Immediately after the play of 
each deal — or frame of deals, if 
more than one is played before pro- 
gressing — have the score-cards col- 
lected, putting them in numerical 
order, beginning at table No. i, 
before handing them to the scorer. 
The collector of these cards should 
always take particular notice to see 
that the total score for each table, 
for both pairs, is thirteen, or a mul- 



tiple of thirteen, according to the 
number of deals played. "When this 
is done pass out new score-cards for 
the next round, and your scorer can 
go on tabulating as the play pro- 
gresses. A few minutes after a 
contest is over the tabulations are 
completed. Like a trial balance, it 
proves itself. The result of each 
contest is announced and bulletined 
in less time after a match ends 
than it takes me to write thi.s. 
We usually take manifold copies 
to have them ready for our press 
committee. 

" Our method of scoring the two- 
table game for the challenge trophy, 
which was adopted by the American 
Whist League at the last congress, 
is also simple. In place of giving 
the gains and losses for each of the 
forty-eight deals of the match, the 
number of tricks taken each deal 
by the north and south players of 
each team is given, and the gains, 
etc. , are carried out in the column 
on the right, as follows: 



Deals 


Trist vs. Jones. 
1234 


5 


6 


7 


8 


Trist 
Gains. 


Jones 
Gains. 


Trist N. and S. 
Jones N. and S. 


.7942 
. -6 7 5 3 


7 
8 


6 
5 


2 
2 


6 
5 


5 


3 



" By this method it is easy to see 
how the deals run, something that 
every whist-player likes to know." 

While considerable progress has 
been made in perfecting the ma- 
chinery for taking and announcing 
the scores at duplicate whist, the 
matter of scoring is itself still in an 
unsettled and unsatisfactory con- 
dition. As between two teams 
only, be they pairs, or fours, or 
more, on a side, it is easy to arrive 
at a conclusion. All that is neces- 
sary is to ascertain which side ob- 
tained the greater number of 
tricks; but when three or more 



such teams engage in a match, the 
question of arriving at a just and 
equitable score is beset with dif- 
ficulties, and while several methods 
have been devised by whist math- 
ematicians of the highest ability, 
each method is found more or less 
defective in some particulars. In 
the earliest system, that of averag- 
ing, introduced by John T. Mitchell 
in progressive duplicate, or compass 
whist, all the north and south scores 
are averaged, and the play of all 
those who sit thus throughout the 
match is gauged by that average; 
at the same time, the scores of the 



SCORING 



363 



SCOTCH WHIST ' 



east and west players are also aver- 
aged, and the play of each player 
sitting thus is marked plus or minus, 
as it rises above or falls below that 
average. While this system is con- 
ceded to be fair in the main, it is 
objected to because "it allows a 
pair to suffer by the errors or share 
in the profits of pairs at different 
tables, or, in brief, to be affected by 
the play over which it has no con- 
trol. ' ' In the Howell and Safford 
systems, the movements differ from 
those at compass whist; sometimes 
the players sit north and south, and 
sometimes they change to east and 
west. In the method of scoring 
these two systems again differ from 
one another, and R. F. Foster, in 
the New York Sun of December 
26, 1897, and subsequent issues, 
claimed to have discovered some 
surprising changes in the relative 
positions of pairs when comput- 
ing the scores first according to 
Howell, and then according to Saf- 
ford. 

Mr. Howell discards the averag- 
ing method in his system for pairs, 
and instead compares each deal 
score with the maximum actually 
made. The pair with the smallest 
loss is the winner, and by averag- 
ing the losses a plus or minus score 
may be computed for each pair. In 
answer to the charge that the move- 
ments under his method are un- 
necessarily complicated, he says, in 
a letter, under date of January 29, 
1898: "That is not true; the move- 
ments are simplified as far as pos- 
sible to bring about the desired 
results, and they are Anrtually the 
same as under the Safford method, 
which differs from mine only in the 
matter of scoring. I have no crit- 
icism to make upon Mr. Safford's 
scoring process except in regard to 
its complexity. It is fair enough, 
but very cumbersome, and I prefer 
a method that is not cumbersome 



and at the same time reasonably 
fair." Both the Howell and Saf- 
ford systems are very popular. 

An idea in scoring which is lately 
finding much favor in match play 
is to decide each contest by the 
number of matches won (counting 
each deal a match), instead of by 
the number of tricks, the trick 
score being used only to decide ties. 
While this is nothing new, the di- 
rectors of the American Whist 
League, at their meeting in Janu- 
ary, 1898, decided to give it a more 
general trial in progressive con- 
tests at the eighth congress of the 
League, at Boston, in July follow- 
ing. It is thought this will tend 
to make the play more conserva- 
tive, as "big swings" (as unusual 
gains in certain hands are called) 
will no longer be important in win- 
ning victories. 

"Scotch Whist." — Scotcli 
whist, or catch-the-ten, is another 
so-called variety of whist. It is 
usually played with a pack of 
thirty-six cards, all below the six 
being excluded. The cards in plain 
suits rank as at whist, but in trumps 
the jack is the highest, the ace 
being next, etc. Any number of 
persons from two to eight can play. 
Each game is complete in itself, 
there being no rubber. The side or 
player first scoring forty-one points 
wins. A special value is attached 
to the following cards of the trump 
suit: The jack, ten points; the ten, 
ten points; the ace, four points; the 
king, three points; and the queen, 
two points. The side making what 
is called cards score as follows, in 
addition to the above: One point 
for each card in excess of either 
party's quota of cards in the tricks 
taken. For instance, suppose four 
are playing, each player's share of 
the thirty-six cards would be nine. 
If two partners take five tricks, or 



SECOND HAND 



364 



SECOND HAND 



twenty cards, they score two for 
cards, that being the number over 
and above their joint quota of eight- 
een cards. The great object of the 
game is to catch the ten of trumps, 
which counts for the player or side 
taking it. 

In criticising " Historical Notes on 
Whist," the editor of a I/jndon paper 
blamed me for saying nothing about 
" Scotch whist." I wrote to him explain- 
ing that Scotch whist, or catch-the-ten, 
was purposely omitted, as it had no more 
resemblance to whist than the Scotch fid- 
dle has to a violin. To my surprise and 
amusement, he inserted my letter in his 
next number. — '^Cavendish" [Z,. AJ], 
"Card-Table Talky 

" Scotch whist" introduces a special 
object in addition to winning tricks — 
catching the ten of trumps; that card and 
the honors having particular values at- 
tached to them. This variety of whist 
may be played by any number of persons 
from two to eight; and its peculiarity is 
that when a small number play, each has 
several distinct hands, which must be 
played in regular order, as if held by 
different players. — R. F. Foster [S. O.J, 
' ' Complete Hoyle. ' ' 

Second Hand. — The player to 
the left of the leader, or first hand ; 
the player who plays the second 
card to a trick. " Y," or " east," 
should always play second hand on 
the first round, or opening, of a 
game, unless otherwise specified. 
As the play progresses, the position 
of second hand varies with it, de- 
pending entirely upon who takes 
a trick and leads another card. 

The directions for the proper 
play of second hand are multi- 
tudinous. Upon one very old and 
fundamental rule all are agreed: 
As a general thing, the second 
hand should play his lowest, unless 
he is going to signal for trumps. 
Other exceptions are numerous. 
When you hold a sequence of high 
cards (ace, king, queen; king, 
queen, jack, or queen, jack, ten), 
play the lowest of the sequence 
second hand. From ace, king, or 
king, queen, and others, put on the 



lower of the high cards. From 
ace, queen, jack, or ace, jack, ten, 
and others, play the lowest of the 
high cards. From ace, queen, ten, 
you play the ten if strong in 
trumps, but the queen if weak in 
trumps. Cover an honor led, if 
you hold more than one honor 
yourself, or if you hold only one, 
that one being the ace. On the 
lead of a medium card, if led on 
the fourth-best principle, cover the 
card led with the lowest that will 
take the trick, if you have several 
high cards, and can place the three 
higher cards than the one led re- 
maining in the leader's hand. 

Players employing so-called 
short-suit leads, as a general rule, 
cover whatever card is led, if they 
are able, second hand, the idea 
being to protect and promote part- 
ner's suits as far as possible. 

Second-hand play in trumps also 
differs from second-hand play in 
plain suits, because trumps win on 
their merits, and are not subject to 
the vicissitudes of plain suits. 

Playing high cards when second to 
play, unless your suit is headed by two or 
more high cards of equal value, or unless 
to cover a high card, is to be carefully 
avoided.— :/awi« Clay [/,. 0+]. 

The play of the second hand is always 
regarded as that of the enemy. He is the 
intruder who continually steps between 
the leader and his partner, upsetting 
their best-laid plans.— i?. F. Foster \S. C], 
"Whist Tactics." 

Signaling for trumps second hand, on 
an adverse suit, is by some players re- 
garded as dangerous, unless your cards 
are such that you can suppress the signal 
if the development is unfavorable. — R. F. 
Foster IS. a], "Whist Tactics." 

Generally speaking, if you hold a com- 
bination of high cards from which you 
would lead one of them on an original 
lead, you should play one of them at 
second hand, either to take the trick or 
force out higher cards to promote the 
others you hold. — Fisher Ames [/,. A.^. 

Second-hand play is subject in a mate- 
rial degree to the trumps in hand, the 
card turned, the score, etc. That which 
may be proper play if weak in trumps 
may be bad play if strong in them. You 



SECOND-HAND SIGNAL 3^5 



SEQUENCB 



may often make a great game by a well- 
judged finesse, — C. D. P. Hamilton [L. A.], 
"Modern Scientific Whist." 

There are three things for second hand 
to do of importance in the order named: 
(a) Win the trick if you can under the 
rules, and as cheaply as possible, {b) Pre- 
vent third hand from winning too 
cheaply, (c) Keep command of your op- 
ponents' suit as long as convenient.— C 
E. Coffin \l. a.], "Gist of IVIiist:' 

The general rule for the second hand is 
to play 5'our lowest, for your partner has 
a good chance of winning the trick; and 
the strength being on your right, it is 
good to reserve your high cards (particu- 
larly tenaces, such as ace and queen) for 
the return of the lead, when you will be- 
come fourth player. — William, Pole 
iL.A^-\. 

There are few points which distingfuish 
more thoroughly the good from the infe- 
rior whist-player than the play second 
hand. * * * The second player may 
have strength or weakness, or neither 
strength nor weakness, in the suit led, 
and his play thus depends upon a greater 
possible variety of positions. — R. A. Proc- 
tor [£. O.] . 

Our old friend who will put on a knave, 
having knave and another, second hand, 
is a simple example. Who taught him 
this? Who invented the move? Or do 
each of the players who follow this rule 
re-invent it for themselves, and look upon 
themselves as the author of a remarkable 
discovery ? No one ever defended the 
play. No one can show any benefit from 
it. Every one condemns it, yet we can 
only scotch the varmint. The player is 
scared, but ten minutes afterwards he 
still puts on knave. So with king and 
another, second hand. — Westminster 
Papers [2:+0.] 

Second-Hand Signal. — Among 
the many innovations proposed in 
recent years is a play, or signal, for 
second hand, whereby it should be 
made more difficult for the first 
hand, or leader, to place his suit. 
The idea is for the second hand 
to play the higher of two small 
cards on a low card led, except 
when the second hand desires to 
signal for trumps, when the play 
is reversed. "The objection to 
this play," says Milton C. Work, 
' ' which seems to make it a trick- 
loser, is that the partner of the 
second-hand player cannot as accu- 



rately tell when he can force him, 
which information is more im- 
portant than any benefit the play 
may give." 

Seeing the Hand. — See, "Look- 
ing Over a Hand." 

See-Saw. — A term used by 
Hoyle and other early players; it 
has the same meaning as cross-ruflf 
{q. v.y Hoyle says, in his "Short 
Treatise:" " See-saw is when each 
partner trumps a suit, and they 
play those suits to one another to 
trump." 

Self-Pfaying Cards. — An inven- 
tion of R. F. Foster's whereby a 
series of pre-arranged games is 
properly played by a smaller num- 
ber of persons than in ordinary 
playing. An ordinary pack of play- 
ing cards has printed upon the 
backs of the cards certain letters 
and figures, which show to whom 
the cards are to be dealt. PYom 
128 to 160 hands can be played 
with each pack. Each hand illus- 
trates some special point in whist 
tactics, such as underplay, re- 
fusing a force, placing the lead, 
utiblocking, grand coup, etc. If 
only one, two, or three persons 
play, instead of playing ' ' dummy, " 
with the absentees' cards exposed, 
the cards are dealt to the absent 
players face down, and are un- 
known; but the cards so dealt will 
play themselves, exactly as if an 
expert were present and held them. 
For educational purposes in whist 
the value of this method of play is 
highly recommended. 

Semi-Honors. — A name some- 
times given by English players to 
the ten and nine, as mentioned by 
Pole in his " Theory of Whist." 

Sequence. — Two or more cards 
in consecutive order of rank. Three 



SET 



366 SHAKESPEARE AND WHIST 



in sequence is a tierce; the ace, 
king, and queen are a tierce major. 
A sequence of four is a quart; a 
sequence of five, a quint, etc. A 
head sequence is a sequence at the 
head of a suit; an intermediate se- 
quence, one between higher and 
lower cards; and a subordinate 
sequence is a sequence of small 
cards. 

It is a universally accepted rule to 
play the lowest of a sequence when 
following suit, second, third, or 
fourth hand; but in leading from a 
sequence the practice varies, in ac- 
cordance with the rules laid down 
for the leads. 

Sequences are always eligible leads, as 
supporting your partner without injuring 
your own hand. — William Payne [L. O.], 
" IVfiisi Maxims," 1770. 

Set. — Four players at a table are 
spoken of as a set. 

Seven-Point Game, The. — The 

American game of seven points, 
honors Hot counting, as distin- 
guished from the English five-point 
game, with honors counting. (See, 
"American Game.") 

Seven -Spot. — The eighth card in 
rank or value at whist, counting 
from the ace down ; one of the low 
cards. 

It is led only as a fourth best in 
the system of American leads, and 
as a penultimate or antepenultimate 
(or fourth best) in the old leads. 
In the Howell (short-suit) system, 
it indicates the ruffing game, gen- 
erally not more than two in suit, 
and no higher. 

The discard of any card higher 
than a seven is also regarded as a 
call for trumps. (See, " Single-Dis- 
card Call.") 

Shakespeare and Whist. — So 

many passages in the plays of 



Shakespeare have been quoted as 
applicable to whist, that some peo- 
ple are under the impression that 
he actually knew and practiced this 
delightful pastime. But investiga- 
tion does not sustain such view, so 
far as we have been able to ascer- 
tain. Whist was first raised to the 
dignity of a well-defined game, 
with a code of rules, by the first 
Lord Folkestone, in 1728. It was 
further perfected and popularized 
by Hoyle in 1742. Previous to the 
time of Lord Folkestone, it existed 
in various rude forms, and, we are 
told, was confined chiefly to the 
servants' halls. 

The question is, Did Shakespeare 
know of the game, and ever allude 
to it in his works ? Such passages 
as: "Force a play" ("Henry V.," 
act 2, chorus); " We must speak by 
the card" ("Hamlet," act 5, scene 
2), " Nine trumps, two aces — 'tis a 
good hand" ("Othello," act i, 
scene 4), etc., are apt to lend some 
color to the supposition of those 
who judge offhand; but it seems 
to us that had the game of whist 
been such in his day as to merit his 
attention (had its possibilities been 
suspected), we would have had a 
more definite notice and eulogy 
than these half-humorous perver- 
sions. 

* ' We may, on many accounts, 
regret," says an amateur, who pub- 
lished an illustrated brochure on the 
game, " that whist was not gener- 
ally known or played throughout 
England at an earlier period, in the 
days of Elizabeth, or rather in those 
of Shakespeare, for it is fair to 
compute epochs from the highest 
in intellect as well as the highest 
in rank. Had it been so ordained, 
and our immortal bard had loved 
his innocent rubber, what inimita- 
ble allusions to it might have been 
scattered through his works ! Con- 
ceive his criticism on the Prince'' s 



SHAKESPEARE AND WHIST 367 SHELBY, MISS ANNIE B. 



lead or Poins'' finesse, delivered the 
more earnestly that he might cheat 
unobserved! How figurative had 
ancient Pistol been on kings, 
queens, knaves, and deuces! How 
accomplished a trickster, in an- 
other scene, had Auiolycus shown 
himself! How Sir Toby Belch 
would have expressed his detesta- 
tion of a mean and meagre hand, 
next in his sober abhorrence to ' an 
unfilled can,' or to a sot in his 
drunken reprehension!" 

But the Bard of Avon was born 
in 1564, and died in 161 6. It was 
not until 1728 that Folkestone first 
gave better shape to the rudiments 
of the game, and not until 1742 
that Hoyle published the first book 
on whist. Consequently, as Dr. W. 
J. Rolfe, the great Shakespearian 
authority, says in a letter received 
from him under date of July 29, 1897: 
' ' There can be no reference to 
whist in Shakespeare, as the game 
was not then known; but apt quo- 
tations for it, ' ' he adds, ' ' can be 
found in the plays, as for bicycling 
and many other modern inven- 
tions." Here are some of the most 
widely-quoted references applica- 
ble to whist: 

He echoes me. — ^'Othello," act j, scenes- 
Force a play. — "I/enry V.," act 2, chorus. 
We must speak by the card. — "Ham- 
lei," act s, scene 2. 

In God's name, lead. — ^' Third Henry 
VI. y" act 2-, scene I. 

Do you call, sir? — "Measure for Meas- 
ure,'''' act 4, scene 2. 

A kind of excellent dumb discourse. — 
"Tempest," act 3, scene 3. 

What sneak comes yonder? — "Troilus 
and Cresstda," act i, scene 2. 

Nine trumps, two aces — 'tis a good 
hand. — "Othello," act i, scene 4. 

But would you undertake another 
suit? — "Twelfth Night," act 3, scene i. 

For, indeed, I have lost command. — 
^''Antony and Cleopatra," act 3, scene 2. 

Beshrew his hand — I scarce could un- 
derstand it. — " Comedy of Errors" act 2, 
scene i. 



(Society whist): All the meu and 
women merely players. — "As You Like 
It," act 2, scene 7. 

(The singleton); Thou meagre lead, 
which rather threat'iiest than dostprom.- 
ise ought. — "Merchant of Venice," acts, 
scene 2. 

(Discarding the best card to show com- 
mand): Throw away the dearest thing, 
as 'twere a careless trifle. — "Macbeth,'" 
act I, scene 4. 

In spite of these and similar quo- 
tations, " Cavendish" expresses the 
followdng correct opinion in " The 
Whist Table:" " Whist is notmen- 
tioned by Shakespeare, nor by any 
writer of the Elizabethan era, from 
which we may infer that the game 
was then scarcely in existence." 

Shelby, Miss Annie Blanche. — 

A well-known Western teacher and 
writer on whist. She was bom at 
Portland, Oregon, of Southern par- 
entage, her father being a descend- 
ant of Governor Isaac Shelby, the 
first governor of Kentucky, and her 
mother a daughter of General 
Joseph Lane, of North Carolina, 
one of the heroes of the Mexican 
war, and one of the early pioneers 
and first governor of Oregon. Miss 
Shelby was graduated at the age of 
fifteen, the youngest of the class, 
from the convent of the Holy Name 
of Jesus and Mary, at Portland, and 
shortly afterwards was accepted as 
a teacher in one of the Portland 
public schools. 

When a mere child she received 
her first instructions in whist, two 
friends, both thoroughly good play- 
ers, constituting themselves her in- 
structors. "It was," she says, 
"my good fortune, from the be- 
ginning, to play almost entirely 
with gentlemen, and with players 
of ability and experience. The au- 
thorities used were 'Cavendish,' 
Pole, Drayson, etc. The lead of 
the fourth best, as recommended 
by Drayson, under the name of 



SHELBY, MISS ANNIE B. 368 



SHORT-SUITER 



penultimate and antepenultimate, 
was familiarly known and used by 
us with results satisfactory to our- 
selves at least." A club of which 
she was a member, composed first 
of two and later of four tables, 
soon became known as the best 
club in Portland. This was at a 
time when whist was but little 
studied, particularly by ladies, and 
one of the rules of the club called 
for a certain amount of application 
on the part of each of the mem- 
bers, a rule which was cordially 
and cheerfully complied with. 
When the club had been in exist- 
ence some two or three years her 
father died, and thereupon, accom- 
panied by her mother, she left 
Portland and spent several years in 
travel, both in this country and 
Europe. During this time Miss 
Shelby enjoyed the advantage of 
meeting and playing with thor- 
oughly advanced players, and the 
American-lead system having su- 
perseded the old game, she went 
diligently to work, and with the 
aid of " Cavendish" (twenty -second 
edition), Ames, Hamilton, and Cof- 
fin, soon familiarized herself with 
the modern scientific game. 

Within a few months after her 
return to Portland, in 1893, at the 
request of friends, she began to 
teach the game, having the endorse- 
ment in her new undertaking of 
well-known whisters like P. J. Tor- 
mey, of San Francisco, and E. H. 
Shepard, of Portland. Not only 
friends and acquaintances, but 
others, including both ladies and 
gentlemen, availed themselves of 
the opportunity of joining her class- 
es, and it was not long before she 
found her time entirely taken up. 

During the fall and winter of 
1896 and 1897, at the request of the 
members of the Kate Wheelock 
Club, which is composed of nearly 
a hundred members, Miss Shelby 



gave a series of lectures, twelve in 
number, in which she made it her 
aim, as far as possible, to state not 
only that certain principles and 
truths are so, but to explain why 
they are so; in other words, to ap- 
peal to the reasoning powers rather 
than the memory of her hearers. 
Immediately afterwards she was 
asked by the management of the 
Portland Oregonian, a paper which 
enjoys a wide and enviable reputa- 
tion, to assume control of a whist 
department which they were desir- 
ous of introducing. Her first 
column appeared in the issue of 
February 7, 1897, and was continued 
every Sunday thereafter until her 
departure from Portland for the 
summer, early in July. Going to 
San Francisco immediately after 
her return home, she has been un- 
able as yet to resume her journal- 
istic duties, owing to the fact that 
she is at this writing (December, 
1897) engaged in the preparation of 
a work on whist, at the request of 
pupils and friends, which is to be 
published at an early date. 

Short Suit. — A suit containing 
three cards, or less. 

Short-Suiter. — One who plays 
the short-suit game, and is opposed 
to the long-suit game; one who 
believes in opening his hand, as a 
rule, by leading from a suit of 
three or less. Some short-suiters 
will lead from the long suit under 
exceptionally favorable circumstan- 
ces, just as most long-suiters will 
make what they call forced leads 
(leads from short suits) in desperate 
emergencies. The most radical 
short-suiters hold, however, that a 
long suit should never be led from 
originally. If they have a favor- 
able long suit, and sufficient trump 
strength, they will pay attention to 
it, and strive to bring it in, by lead- 
ing trumps first. 



SHORT-SUIT GAMB, THB 369 SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 



B)very player knows that when, from a 
generally weak hand, he lays on the table 
the fourth-best card of a long suit, he 
stands only a small chance of winning a 
trick with the first best. Is there any 
way of improving that chance ? Is there 
any way of relieving partner from the 
necessity of backing you in a clearly 
profitless venture ? The short-suiter says 
there is. It is simple enough— don't 
touch the long suit at all, but open a short 
one and wait. — E. C. Howell \S. //.], 
^^ Whist Openings." 

The short-suiters claim that it is better 
to furnish information of a broader char- 
acter by the opening lead, leaving such 
petty details as whether the longest suit 
in hand is composed of five or of six cards 
to be found out later. For this reason 
they abandon the whole system of num- 
ber-showiug leads. If a high-card com- 
bination IS to be led from, they prefer to 
show command rather than the number 
of cards the suit contains, and if abso- 
lute command is lacking, to indicate just 
how much short of that position they 
originally were. * * * The short-suiter 
declines to lead a low card from a long 
suit not admitting of a high-card lead, 
unless his supporting strength in trumps 
and entry cards is sufficient to render it 
probable that the suit can be brought in 
if partner can aflford an average amount 
of assistance. Here is where the unrec- 
oncilable difference between the two sys- 
tems comes in. " Even though the hand 
be weak," says the long-suiter, "the long 
suit is still the best defensive lead." The 
short-i^uiter emphatically denies this, 
and believes in lying still with suits 
that are probably impossible to estab- 
lish, combinations that are better led up 
to than led away from, and, in short, in 
not attempting more than he can per- 
form. When he leads a low card he says 
to partner: "I am in a position to play 
the long-suit game if you can assist." If 
he cannot do this he plays a supporting 
card from a short suit to help his part- 
ner's hand, or, failing that, to throw the 
lead and wait. These leads are not to 
invite a rufi, as many seem to think, al- 
though they proclaim readiness to do so 
if partner can see no better game; they 
are simply a warning to partner that the 
leader sees no prospect of making a long 
suit in that particular hand- It follows, 
therefore, that the original lead of every 
card, from the ace down, carries an en- 
tirely different meaning in the two sys- 
tems' of play.— «/: A. Potter [5+0.]. 
Providence Journal, August i, iSgy. 

Short-Suit Game, The. — A sys- 
tem of play at -whist which makes 
leads from short suits its most 

24 



prominent feature, just as, on the 
other hand, the long-suit game 
pays more attention to the leading 
and bringing in of long suits. 

While the long-suit game has al- 
ways had the largest following (its 
sway being at times almost com- 
plete), we have evidence that short- 
suit play received some considera- 
tion from the earliest times. A 
common practice (mentioned by 
"Caslebs"), when playing from a 
weak tv/o-card suit, was to play the 
higher first, the lower next, to show 
no more of the suit. Thomas 
Mathews, in 1804, found it neces- 
sary to observe that " to lead from 
only three cards, unless in sequence, 
is bad play, and proper only when 
you think it is your partner's suit." 
On the other hand George Anson, 
one of the finest players of his day 
(he died in 1857), upon one occa- 
sion laid down the dictum that it 
was the height of bad play to lead 
from a suit with nothing higher 
than a ten, if you had a suit with 
an honor to lead from, unless from 
strength in trumps there was a 
possibility of bringing in the small 
cards. Mr. Anson's short-suit ten- 
dencies were as nothing, however, 
to that which came to the surface 
later in criticisms of "Cavendish," 
Clay, and Pole, the great trio who 
perfected the long-suit game. A 
writer in the Westminster Papers 
for October, 1870, gives utterance 
to the following heretical opinion : 
" In studying the theory of whist, 
the conclusion has been forced upon 
me that the system of play at 
present taught and followed is 
founded on an erroneous estimate 
of chances; that although it is 
sometimes right to make your orig- 
inal lead from your strongest suit, 
yet that, in the majority of cases, 
the balance of advantages is in fa- 
vor of leading from your weakest. 
What I particularly deprecate is 



SHORT-SUIT GAMB, THE 370 SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 



the plan of commencing always in 
such a manner as to obtain an ad- 
vantage only when you and your 
partner hold unusually strong 
cards. ' ' 

The editor of the journal ( Charles 
Mossop), as well as "Mogul" and 
other vigorous writers, expressed 
similar views, and when the long- 
suit authorities added to their game 
many conventional signals, and, 
above all, the American leads, the 
chorus of opposition was largely 
increased, and in the din of battle, 
some who were only opposed to in- 
formatory play, appeared also to be 
arrayed against the long-suit open- 
ing, when such was not the fact. 
As an example we may cite the op- 
position of Richard A. Proctor, 
who employed long-suit leads, al- 
though he earnestly combatted 
modern conventions. 

It must be admitted that the long- 
suit theory, as advocated by " Cav- 
endish" and Pole, paid rather scant 
attention to short suits. The 
modern scientific game (the perfec- 
tion of partnership play by means 
of the long suit) did not take short 
suits into consideration as an im- 
portant factor in whist-play. In 
long suits Pole was willing to admit 
a choice of the stronger four-card 
suit over the weaker five-card suit 
for the original lead, but when it 
came to opening from a suit of three 
good cards (a short suit) as against 
a suit of four weak cards, he hesi- 
tated, and pointed out that to un- 
necessarily lead from the three-card 
suit would be a violation of his 
theory. With the powerful influ- 
ence of "Cavendish" and his dis- 
ciples exerted in favor of this 
system, wedded as it was by them 
also to American leads, and other 
new informatory play, it was natu- 
ral that it should sweep everything 
before it in this country, and that 
for several years American whist 



and the long-suit game should have 
been synonymous. When, how- 
ever, the pendulum had swung as 
far as it could, there came a reac- 
tion, and this reaction is still at 
work, and promises to correct some 
things which may have been too 
radical in the long-suit propaganda. 
Not that the long-suit game will be 
displaced, for fundamentally it 
rests upon principles which are as 
sound as whist itself, but we foresee 
the inevitable yielding to the dic- 
tum that for exceptional hands or 
situations adequate exceptions 
must be made in the rules. If all 
the world played always from the 
long suit, and all the world played 
duplicate whist so that there could 
be no disadvantage in the holding 
of poor hands, it might be proper 
to advocate the inviolability of the 
long-suit rule; but even then it 
would rob whist-play of one of its 
manifold varieties which constitute 
its chief charm. 

We have already seen that short- 
suitism is no new thing; that its 
symptoms were made manifest in 
England at various times in the 
history of whist; and that the for- 
mulation of more stringent rules 
for long-suit play by " Cavendish" 
and Pole brought out strong pro- 
tests. But all this was mild com- 
pared with the opposition which 
suddenly developed in the New 
World, under the leadership of R. 
F. Foster, who had come to this 
country from Scotland at an early 
age, and published his first book on 
the game in 1889. In this volume 
he followed the acknowledged au- 
thorities, although not without fre- 
quent show of resentment, and his 
two succeeding books found him a 
full-fledged whist philistine. In the 
early part of 1896, as whist editor 
of the New York Sun, he sprung a 
mine under the long-suit game in 
this country which shook the entire 



SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 371 SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 



structure, although it did not de- 
stroy it. His explosives consisted 
of a series of powerful articles, 
which seemed to have the weight 
of the Sun's own authority, being 
unsigned, and giving no indication 
as to authorship. In these articles 
(the first of which appeared in the 
issue for February 23 ) , war on the 
long-suit game was for the first time 
waged in a masterly and systematic 
manner in the daily press of this 
country. There had, indeed, been 
many discussions in other papers 
prior to this time, and some direct 
attacks, but nothing like the ener- 
getic warfare to which the Ameri- 
can public was now treated; for the 
Sun's articles were copied far and 
wide, and reached the whist-play- 
ers of the country better than did 
the text-books, by means of which 
Mr. Foster had previously made 
known his views. The result was 
that many of those who sympa- 
thized with him made themselves 
heard, and in time the "revolt" 
assumed the proportions of a new 
school — that of " short-suit whist." 
Mr. Foster's chief contention in 
the Sun was that long suits were 
trick-losing leads, and short-suit 
leads trick winners; and (what gave 
his arguments their special force), 
he went directly to the play of the 
American Whist Congress, as pub- 
lished in its ofiicial proceedings, to 
prove his position. Taking the 
hands played in the final contests 
for the Hamilton Trophy, he tabu- 
lated them with startling results. 
In one of his tables he asserted that 
in thirty-seven hands the original 
long-suit leader never took a single 
trick in the suit led from. Whist 
of March, 1896, pointed out that 
his arrangement of the tables was 
" somewhat specious and mislead- 
ing," and that out of the thirty- 
seven hands above referred to 
twelve were merely repetitions, or, 



in other words, duplicate or over- 
play. However, any inaccuracies 
of this kind did not impair the 
success of the onslaught, and when 
new facts and figures were adduced 
in the Sun, it became apparent 
even to the most optimistic long- 
suit players that there was some 
truth (even though originally dis- 
counted) in Foster's contentions. 

In addition to the war on paper 
now came the war of actual play. 
The short-suiters and the long- 
suiters locked horns to see who was 
right. Not that short-suit play 
and players were up to this time 
unknown in this country. They 
had always existed in the minority, 
and had been known to win vic- 
tories in whist contests. As early 
as 1892, at the second congress 
of the American Whist League, a 
team of four from the Capital Bi- 
cycle Club, of Washington, D. C, 
won the championship, although 
they were opposed to American 
leads, information, and the long- 
suit game. Mr. Foster and his 
followers, however, carried the war 
into Africa. They challenged the 
long-suit adherents right and left, 
and numerous contests were played, 
and duly recorded, analyzed, and 
commented upon in the Sun. Vic- 
tories were, of course, scored by 
each side, for the merits of the 
players themselves, aside from the 
systems of play employed, natu- 
rally had a bearing on the results. 
The team from the Manhattan 
Whist Club, of which Foster him- 
self was captain, greatly distin- 
guished itself, winning five out of 
six prizes, in the inter-city tourna- 
ment in Brooklyn, which closed 
April 3, 1896. Later on, however, 
two of the members of this team, 
playing with two other members 
with whom they had won the chal- 
lenge trophy at the sixth American 
"Whist League congress, suffered 



SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 372 SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 



defeat at the hands of the long- 
suit team from the Narragansett 
Ckib, of Providence, R. I., and 
great was the jubilation of all long- 
suit partisans. And thus the con- 
test between the opposing forces 
continued. The long-suiters were 
ready also with tongue and pen, and 
one of their most efficient leaders, 
George Iv. Bunn, captain of the 
famous St. Paul team, sarcastically- 
remarked that the Sun's arguments 
appeared to him to amount to this: 
" I can take more tricks in my suit 
if my adversary is kind enough to 
lead it for me; so I'll just give him 
a few tricks in his long suit, and in 
return, perhaps, he will give me a 
few in mine. ' ' 

The short-suit side of the contro- 
versy was re-enforced by several 
writers who possessed the gift of 
expressing their views with equal 
vigor, and among these the most 
bold and original was Edwin C. 
Howell, a disciple of Foster, who 
proposed an entirely new system of 
openings, providing for five differ- 
ent modes of play, each suited to 
some peculiarity of the hand. One of 
these was the long-suit game, which 
he permitted under extremely fa- 
vorable conditions, but without the 
use of American leads. Another 
disciple of Foster, who perhaps 
more closely represented his ideas 
of short-suit, or "common sense" 
play, and who now threw himself 
into the fray with a vigorous pen, 
was Charles R. Keiley, a leading 
New York player and teacher, 
whose views are embodied in his 
book called "Common Sense in 
Whist." 

In general short-suit advocates 
differ materially in their ideas as to 
the best way of playing the short- 
suit game. Foster himself was for 
years of the opinion that no exact 
rules could be laid down for what 
C. D. P. Hamilton and other 



long-suiters contemptuously named 
guerilla warfare. Howell was the 
first to make the attempt, and was 
followed by another enthusiastic 
worker in the short-suit cause, Val. 
W. Starnes, of Georgia, who em- 
bodied his ideas in ' ' Short-Suit 
Whist," a volume which was 
brought out in 1896. Every book 
on whist published since Foster's 
agitation began has devoted a 
large share of attention to short- 
suit play, notably ' ' Whist of To- 
day," by Milton C. Work; "Whist 
Up to Date," by Charles S. Street, 
and "Winning Whist," by Emery 
Boardman. Not that any of these 
can be classed as short-suit advo- 
cates; they are long-suit players 
with liberal views regarding the 
employment of short suits. Mr. 
Street is of the opinion that he 
has discovered a way to harmonize 
all long and short-suit differences 
by what he calls "The Modified 
Game" (^. z'.). Judge Boardman is 
willing to concede this much to 
short-suit play: " Unless the eldest 
hand holds at least four trumps, 
headed by the ten or better, he 
should lead originallj'- from his 
most advantageous weak plain suit; 
and his partner, unless possessing 
at least that minimum of trump 
strength, should adopt the same 
line of play, each leading from his 
own weakness to his partner's prob- 
able strength in the endeavor to 
establish a see-saw in plain suits, 
likewise taking every advantage of 
finesse and tenace." 

All of this indicates that short- 
suit leads can no longer be ignored 
as a factor in the American game. 
American whist-players generally 
are of the opinion that leads from 
long and short suits both belong to 
legitimate whist-play; the only 
question is, how far is it necessary 
to depart from the standard long- 
suit opening, which, when possible, 



SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 373 SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 



must always remain the first consid- 
eration. It should be borne in 
mind that, notwithstanding asser- 
tions to the contrary, both Pole and 
' ' Cavendish' ' provide for short-suit 
leads in certain emergencies. Writ- 
ers who follow Pole and ' ' Caven- 
dish," and accept their teachings, 
likewise have recourse to leads from 
short suits, otherwise known as 
forced leads. They do not, how- 
ever, make them a prominent, but 
rather an exceptional, feature of 
the game. 

Had short suits been analyzed 
and reduced to a system as fully as 
long suits, or had they been given 
pronounced, though subordinate, 
recognition in the long-suit econ- 
omy, there would have been no 
"revolt" from "Cavendish" and 
Pole. But, with a more concilia- 
tory spirit manifesting itself, and a 
disposition to do justice to both 
sides, the revolt itself may have 
been, after all, a blessing in dis- 
guise. Whist, in its issue of June, 
1896, for instance, says: "The 
main difference between the two 
systems would seem to be mostly 
in the opening leads. The extreme 
players of either school, we pre- 
sume, would lead from their longest 
or shortest suit, regardless of all 
circumstances. This is certainly a 
great mistake, for the most perfect 
game of whist consists of a judi- 
cious blending of the best points of 
both systems." Fisher Ames, one 
of the first exponents of "Caven- 
dish" and the American leads in 
this country, tersely puts the case 
as follows: 

" Let us have no confusion of 
ideas as to what is meant by long- 
suit and short-suit system. Accord- 
ing to some of the advocates of the 
short-suit system, the long-suit sys- 
tem means the invariable opening 
from the longest suit under any 
and all conditions, regardless of the 



cards held in any suit. There is no 
such game recommended in any 
book on whist, so far as I ever 
heard. Whist-players have always 
resorted to short-suit leads when 
their hand indicated it. It would 
be just as fair to say that the short- 
suit system means the invariable 
opening from the shortest suit, 
under any and all conditions. The 
real difference is practically that 
one system uses the short-suit 
opening more frequently than the 
other. ' ' 

This certainly indicates that there 
must be a middle ground upon 
which all players can meet, and 
reconcile existing differences. Fos- 
ter seems all along to have recog- 
nized the fact that the long-suit 
game cannot be ignored entirely. 
In his "Whist Strategy," 1894, he 
says: " I do not for a moment wish 
it to be supposed that I am about 
to advocate the universal adoption 
of the short-suit lead, for it is no 
more generally applicable than any 
other, and is a very difficult game 
to play well." Again: " If a short- 
suit player opens a long suit he is 
playing the long-suit game, and his 
partner may depend upon it that 
nothing short of a very unfortunate 
position of the cards will prevent its 
success." More pronounced still 
is the evidence which we find in his 
whist columns in the Sun of May 
24, 1896: " Extremes are seldom or 
never right in anything, and it is 
the opinion of the Sun that neither 
of these systems, as a system, is 
sound, but that the true theory of 
whist lies between, and that the 
future development of the game 
will be towards the discovery of the 
proper proportion in which the two 
systems, long and short, should be 
mixed." 

It is everywhere believed that 
whist is passing through another 
stage of the evolution so ably de- 



SHORT-SUIT GAMB, THE 374 SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 



scribed by Pole. When the war of 
the long and short-suit factions is 
over we believe it may be safely 
predicted that still better whist will 
be the result. 

In closing this brief review of the 
rise of short-suitism we can do no 
better than notice what progress 
was claimed for it at the end of the 
year 1897. Foster, writing in the 
Sun (December 5), claims that the 
"common-sense" system has been 
found the best up to date, although 
he recognizes the fact that the 
entire short-suit game is still in an 
experimental stage. He quotes, 
with approval, the statement of an- 
other writer that " while radical 
short-suitism is adopted by very 
few of the experts, conservative 
short-suitism is no longer an ex- 
periment, since it is accepted and 
practiced by a large proportion of 
our strongest players." "This," 
Foster thinks, ' ' agrees pretty 
closely with the statement made at 
Albany by one of the most promi- 
nent officers of the American Whist 
League, who said that the result of 
his observations had been to con- 
vince him that there were to-day 
only two great classes of whist- 
players, those who mixed in a little 
short suits, and admitted it, and 
those who dallied with them, and 
denied it." 

He is of the opinion that of the 
many short-suit ideas which have 
been brought forward during the 
past two years there seem to be at 
least three or four which have come 
to stay. These may be briefly out- 
lined as follows: (i) Leading the 
top of a suit in which there is no 
honor. (2) Leading a low card in 
a plain suit to show general 
strength, and to encourage partner 
to play a forward game, especially 
in leading trumps. (3) Leading 
weak trumps from hands which are 
above the average in plain suits, 



especially if one suit is practically 
established, and is accompanied by 
a card of re-entry in another suit. 
(4) The return to the old idea of 
playing weak two-card suits down, 
to show no more instead of to call 
for trumps. It was Lord Bentinck 
who proposed to change the mean- 
ing of this play to calling for a 
trump-lead instead of asking for a 
force. 

" The idea of showing general 
strength by the lead of a low card 
in a plain suit, ' ' says Foster, ' ' orig- 
inated with the old Manhattan 
team, and it was undoubtedly the 
great factor in their phenomenal 
success. So evident were the ad- 
vantages of the system that Haw- 
kins used to laugh at the blindness 
of the experts, and wonder how 
long it would be before they would 
wake up and see it. Well, they are 
fully alive to it now. 

" When this idea is adopted the 
minor details of the system must 
be a matter of agreement between 
the partners. Some players use 
any card below the eight as an in- 
dication of general strength, while 
others stop at the four or five. 
Howell seems to think he invented 
this system of encouragement, but 
the only thing new in his system 
was using the six, seven, and eight 
as an invitation to be forced in that 
suit. The Sun has in its possession 
letters written a year before How- 
ell's book was published, asking 
just how far down it was safe to go 
for a card which would be recog- 
nized as not led from a strong suit. 
The general idea in those days was 
to stop at the eight for the top of 
nothing, anything above a seven 
being ' rotten.' This was the Man- 
hattan idea, although Hawkins 
thought even then that it would be 
safe to go lower down. Recent 
experiments have led some teams 
to go down to the five. 



SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 375 SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 



"The Pyramid Club, of Boston, 
which is generally conceded to be 
the strongest coterie of players in 
New England, lead the two, three, 
or four of a plain suit to encourage 
the partner to play a forward game, 
and the five, six, seven, and eight 
as the top of nothing or intermedi- 
ates. They lead the queen, jack, 
ten, and nine as supporting cards, 
and ' run' with kings and aces only 
when they have no re-entry cards 
or trump strength. 

' ' The New Jersey players, who 
seem strong enough to beat the 
best men from both New York and 
Brooklyn, and to play the com- 
bined strength of Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, and Washington to a 
tie, go as high as the six in leading 
from a plain suit to show general 
strength. They use the queen, 
jack, ten as supporting cards, and 
the seven, eight, nine as intermedi- 
ates from suits that are long, but 
not accompanied by re-entry cards 
or trump strength." 

This, in brief, is the short-suit 
situation at this writing, as noted 
by the father of short-suit whist. 
(See, also, " Forced I,eads.") 

There are justifiable short-suit leads, 
especially if the player is not the origi- 
nal leader of the hand. — G. W. Peites \L. 
A. Pi\, '■^American iVhist Illustrated.'" 

With a desperate score, if the adversa- 
ries opened the hand with a trump-lead, 
it is gcenerally well to open your weakest 
suit first. — Fisher Ames [L.A.'\, "Practi- 
cal Guide to Whist." 

It is justifiable to lead from a suit of 
less than four cards when your long suit 
has been started by your adversaries, and 
you consider it dangerous to continue the 
suit, or when the previous play indicates 
that your short suit is your partner's long' 
one.— yo/zw T.Mitchell [L.A.], "Duplicate 
IVhist." 

It has been repeatedly shown in these 
articles that the short-suit game is even 
more informatory than the long-suit 
game, so far as the general character of 
the hand goes, although perhaps not so 
much so as to such minute details as the 
spots on the cards which will be thrown 



away later in Jthe hand. — R. F. Foster [S. 

O.J, New York Sun, July ji, i&gj. 

lyCading from a short suit is not only 
bad in itself— especially the atrocious 
lead from a single card which weak plaj'- 
ers affect — but it is not a method of lead- 
ing systematically available, for not every 
hand possesses a suit of fewer than three 
cards. But every hand must possess a 
suit of four cards at least— that is, a long 
suit.—./?. A. Proctor [L. O.], "How to Play 
Whist." 

When obliged to lead from a suit of less 
than four cards, the rule is to lead the 
highest, in order to strengthen your part- 
ner's hand; if the card you lead happens 
to be of his suit, and also to show him 
that you are weak in it. * * * When 
leading from a short suit in which you 
have two honors, you lead the higher. If 
the card you lead wins the trick, you fol- 
low with the other honor.- _/b/j« T. Mitch- 
ell [Z.. ^.], "Duplicate Whist." 

An approximate solution of the prob- 
lem will probably be found ere long from 
practical experience. The short-suit fad- 
dists play duplicate matches from which 
luck IS, to a great extent, eliminated. If 
they win a considerable proportion of 
these matches, the whole theory of whist 
will have to be reconsidered; if, on the 
other hand, they are hopelessly beaten, 
short-suitisni will die a natural death.— 
"Cavendish" \,L. ^.], Scribner's Maga- 
zine, July, i8g7. 

It is generally undesirable to lead from 
short suits, * * * (i) because you thus 
lose the chief advantage of the lead — the 
opportunity to inform your partner of 
your long suit and the chance of estab- 
lishing it. (2) You probably help your 
opponent to establish his, the chances 
being two to one that your antagonists 
have strength in your weak suit. — Kate 
Wheelock \_L. A.], "The Fundamental 
Principles and Rules of Modern American 
Whist," 1887. 

It is advisable in most cases where your 
game is desperate, and where it is clear 
your partner must be strong in your 
weak suit to save the game, to lead your 
weakest suit, notwithstanding principle 
I. Your partner should finesse deeply in 
the suit you lead him, and should not re- 
turn it, but, actuated by motives .similar 
to yours, should lead his weakest suit, in 
which you should finesse deeply, and 
continue your weak suit, and so on. — 
"Cavendish" [L. A.]. 

What surprises us is that so few of the 
long-suit players seem to be aware of the 
large number of short-suit plays advo- 
cated by their authors under situations 
of forced leads, strategy, perception, etc. 
Get out your copy of " Cavendish" and 
verify this statement. If we were to 



SHORT-SUIT GAM^, THE 376 SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 



write a book on the short-suit system, we 
should quote very largely from the mas- 
ter. About all that the short-suit authors 
have done is to codify the exceptions to 
the long-suit system. — Cassius M. Paine 
[L. A.], Whist y August, j8g6. 

In playing against short-suit leads, 
second hand must cover much more 
freely, and must cover certain cards 
which, under the long-suit system of 
leading, he is instructed to pass. Third 
hand, as a rule, is expected to finesse 
pretty deeply on a short suit led by his 
partner, while at the long-suit game such 
finessing is properly restricted to the 
holding of ace-queen only, and even this 
is regarded by many players as of little 
or no value if holding more than three 
cards of the suit.— fF. A. Potter [5-|-0.], 
Providence Journal, August /, iSgy. 

Over a year ago a party of four men in 
this city [New Castle, Pa.,] decided to 
give the original short-suit game, as we 
understood it, a fair trial. They arrived 
at this general idea: If a hand is a tenace 
hand in suit, be the trump four small or 
less, it will be pern.issible to open a short- 
suit originally where the card led is not 
below a nine, or to open a four-suit headed 
with nine or ten, w^ith the highest card in 
it. It follows then that the partner does 
not return the suit so opened, but that it 
Is a good suit to lead through the original 
leader.— (?. B. Zahniser \S. C], IVhist, 
April, i8g6. 

The long-suit player always begins with 
his long suit, whether he has the slightest 
hope of establishing, defending, and 
bringing it in or not. The short-suit 
player never touches it except for one or 
two reasons: because he is in a hurry to 
secure tricks with any winning cards the 
suit may contain, or because he is pretty 
sure he can make the suit with any rea- 
sonable assistance from his partner. If 
neither of these reasons exists, he will 
not lead the suit as a long suit, but will 
begin with an intermediate card, if he 
leads it at all.—/?. F. Foster \S. 0.\, New 
York Sun, May ly, i8g6. 

Many of those who adopt the short- 
suit game as a regular system of play, 
use the original or opening lead to indi- 
cate the general character of the hand, 
rather than any details of the individual 
suit. In the long-suit game the original 
leader is always assuming that his part- 
ner may have something or other, and 
playing on that supposition. The short- 
suit player indicates the system of play 
best adapted to his own hand, without 
the slightest regard to the possibilities of 
his partner. It is the duty of the partner 
to indicate his hand in turn , and to shape 
the policy of the play on the combined 
indications of the two. This system was 



elaborated by E. C. Howell.—/?. F. Foster 
[S. 0.1, "' Complete Hoyle." 

From such considerations as these 
[when the game is desperate and you hold 
only weak suits] has arisen the so-called 
short-suit system, that of finesse and ten- 
ace instead of main strength, bearing 
about the same relation to the regular 
long-suit play as chess does to checkers. 
It should neither be hastily condemned 
nor indiscriminately adopted. The ad- 
vantage of this system consists in its 
conceded effectiveness, under favorable 
circumstances, in the play of hands de- 
void of or weak in trumps. Its disad- 
vantages are due chiefly to the great 
difficulty at times of recognizing the 
nature of the lead, as in this play part- 
ner's suit should never be returned, or a 
possible advantage of finesse or tenace 
sacrificed. It is usually quite as difB^cult 
to find two players who can be relied 
upon to properly support each other in 
this system as to beat their game when 
fonnA^.—Ettiery Boardman [L+A.]," IVin- 
ning IVhist." 

If you, pitying the pathetic efforts of 
the wooden long-suit player as he blindly 
tries to cast all hands, be they large or 
small, round, triangular, or oval, in his 
one little square mould, if you, I repeat, 
have led singletons and short suits, and 
later have eagerly trumped those suits, 
you must have noticed certain flaws in 
your system; you frequently must have 
shaken your partner's confidence in you, 
by calling upon him to play sometimes 
upon a lead from length, other times upon 
a short lead, he could not tell which, being 
absolutely in the dark as to what you held 
in your hand. Have you not often led a 
low-card singleton, or else a low two-card 
suit, and caused your partner to play third 
in hand a king or a queen, which was lost 
to the adversary's ace? Do you think 
that such a loss was compensated for by 
the chance you thereby gained to trump 
that suit, if indeed the adversaries did 
not first draw your trumps 1 —Charles S. 
Street fL+ A. 1, "Wkist Up to Date;' 1897. 

In these cases [with four trumps which 
cannot be led without further justifica- 
tion and three plain suits of three cards 
each; or with your long suit previously 
led by the adversary] you may be driven 
to make an unphilosophical, or, as it is 
technically called, forced lead from a 
short suit of three cards or less. * * * 
But you must not try to deceive your 
partner into believing you are leading 
from a long suit; and an effective mode 
of doing this is to reverse the ordinary 
rule and lead the highest, instead of the 
lowest of the suit. * * * This rule is 
not arbitrary; it is founded on reason, 
for 5'our high card will probably enable 
your partner to finesse, and will save 



SHORT-SUIT GAME, THE 377 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



him from losing a high card to no pur- 
pose, which he might do if you led the 
lowest. If, having three, the highest is 
an ace, king, or queen, you are justified 
in leading the lowest in the hope of 
afterwards making your high card, and 
to avoid the chance of strengthening the 
adversary. — IVilliam Pole \L. A^l, '■'■Phil- 
osophy of Whist^'" 1883. 

The New York Sun's whist column, for 
the past two issues, has contained statis- 
tics to burn — and that's all they are 
good for. The thing sought to be 
proved is, we suppose, that if these suits 
had not been opened more tricks would 
have been taken in them, and conse- 
quently, according to the profound logic 
of the editor, the suits should never have 
been opened at all, but a short suit should 
have been led in each case, whereupon, 
of course, the adversaries will proceed to 
lead their short suits, which will be the 
long suits of the original leaders, and the 
original leaders will then proceed to take 
tricks in those long suits. In other words, 
the argument is this: I can take more 
tricks in my suit if the adversary is kind 
enough to lead it for me; so I'll just give 
him a few tricks in his long suit, and in 
return, perhaps, he will give me a few 
in mine. I'll be fair about it; I'll give 
first and trust to his genero.sity in return- 
ing the gift. Of course, the mere state- 
m.ent of this argument is an absurdity; 
in the first place, it contains an admis- 
sion that the short-suit lead is going to 
give the adversaries tricks in their long 
suits that they could not get if compelled 
to lead them themselves — a practical con- 
fession that the short-suit game is a de- 
cided advantage to the opponents. In 
the next place, it entirely overlooks the 
fact that the adversary, with the great 
advantage of having his suit established 
by his opponent's lead, before he returns 
the favor, is very apt to exhaust trumps, 
and make a few cards of that established 
suit, giving his partner discards of the 
losing cards in the long suit of the origi- 
nal leader. After he does that he may be 
ungenerous enough to lead his partner's 
declared suit before paying the debt he 
owes to the adversary. After his partner 
has taken a fewtricks himself he may feel 
charitably enough disposed, and probably 
is devoutly thankful for the tricks pre- 
sented, but there are only thirteen cards 
in a hand at whist, and the deal is over. — 
George L. Bunn [L. A.\, St. Paul Globe, 
1897. 

That there are hands in which it is 
most disadvantageous to open such a suit 
[a long suit] the expert players of the 
day_ agree with a unanimity which the 
■whist writers and teachers, who are fond 
of asserting the doctrine that a short suit 
should never be opened originally, can- 



not explain. * * * The whist-players 
of the day may on this subject be divided 
into three clas.ses, viz.: (a) Those who 
never originally open a short suit. 
(b) Those who do so with four trumps, 
and either no long plain suit or one 
which they do not wish to open, {c) Those 
who do so, regardless of the number of 
their trumps, whenever they do not desire 
to open a long suit. The position taken 
by class (a) is as antiquated as that of 
class (c) is unsound. Class (b) unques- 
tionably stands on the best trick-taking 
basis; but, like every other good play at 
the whist-table, the original opening of a 
short suit with trump strength may be 
carried to an absurd extreme. The play 
should only be made when both the com- 
binations favorable to it exist, viz., a 
short suit well adapted for opening pur- 
poses, and either no long plain suit or one 
which it is most unquestionabl}' a disad- 
vantage to open. To those who desire to 
have an absolute rule to guide in each 
case the following ideas on the subject 
may be of value. It is obviously impos- 
sible, however, to accurately cover every 
case, the make-up of the eufirehand hav- 
ing much to do with the decision to be 
reached. [Mr. Work then divides short 
suits into three classes, as follows:] (i) 
Those well adapted for an original open- 
ing, as queen, jack, with or without one 
other; jack, ten, with or without one 
other; ten, nine, with or without one 
other; jack, with one or two others. 
(2) Those which may be opened origi- 
nally, if necessity requires a short-suit 
opening, as ace and two small (lead 
smallest); queen and one other; ten and 
one or two others; nine and one or two 
others. (3) Those which should never be 
originally opened, embracing all other 
short snits.— Milton C. Work [L.A.JI.], 
" Whist of To-day.'''' 

Short-Suit Leads, Foster's. — 

While R. F. Foster is the acknowl- 
edged leader of the short-suit move- 
ment in America, he has not given 
us any text-book devoted exclu- 
sively to an exposition of the short- 
suit philosophy, such as Pole, on 
the opposite side, devoted to the 
theory of the long-suit, for instance. 
Mr. Foster's short-suit teachings 
are mainly embodied in his trench- 
ant articles published in the New 
York Sun and other journals of the 
day. They are also reflected, to a 
certain extent, in his text-books on 
whist. In his "Whist Strategy" 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



378 



SHORT- SUIT LEADS 



(1894) he tells us that " the short- 
suit gatae is one in which the play- 
ers lead supporting cards to each 
other, with a view to enabling the 
leader's partner to finesse to advan- 
tage in suits in which the leader 
himself is weak. Each endeavors 
to secure the best results from any 
combinations of high cards he may 
hold, by getting tenaces led up 
to, instead of leading away from 
them." He adds, very conserva- 
tively, " It is usually adopted only 
when the hand is not strong enough 
for the long-suit game." In the 
revised edition of his " Whist Man- 
ual " (1896) he states the object of 
the short-suit game to be " to 
secure for certain cards in your 
hand a trick-taking value which 
does not naturally belong to them, 
by taking advantage of probable, 
known, or inferred positions of the 
cards. It is a game," he adds, "in 
which the original leader tries to 
strengthen his partner, but holds 
on to his tenaces, and in which 
the partner finesses deeply, leads 
strengthening cards, and plays 
them in second hand, holding his 
tenaces and watching for oppor- 
tunities." In "Whist Tactics" 

(1895) he gives the following con- 
cise directions for the short-suit 
game: 

' ' Lead the best card of your 
short suit, provided it is above an 
eight and not higher than a queen. 
Lead a strengthening card from 
your long suit, if you are too weak 
to play the long-suit game. Adopt 
either of the two foregoing in 
preference to leading away from a 
suit in which you hold either a 
major or a minor tenace. Lead a 
singleton only when you have six 
trumps and your partner knows 
nothing of the game." 

Thus, according to his mode of 
play, the original lead of any card 
iDelow a nine shows that the suit is 



strong, and that there are good 
chances of defending and bringing 
it in — in other words, it indicates 
the long-suit game for that particu- 
lar hand. The short-suit system 
as above outlined, he holds, has a 
great advantage over the invariable 
lead from long suits, in that it 
shows when there is little or no 
chance for a long-suit game to 
succeed. On the other hand, when 
a short-suit player leads originally 
from his long suit, his partner has 
the assurance that it will probably 
be brought in, which is another 
decided advantage. Mr. Foster 
says he does not lead short suits in 
preference to long suits, but as a 
warning to partner that the long 
suit is worthless as an opening 
lead, even with reasonable assist- 
ance from him. 

His mode of play, and that re- 
commended by him in the Sun, 
is frequently spoken of as the 
"common -sense " game. Aside 
from his rejection of the invariable 
long-suit opening, he has also, as is 
well known, rejected American 
leads and all other conventional 
signals, although learning them in 
order to keep watch of his adver- 
saries who employ them . His most 
recent definition of common-sense 
players {Sun, 1897) maybe taken 
as a statement of his own position: 

"Common-sense players use no 
number-showing leads, no trump- 
signals, no echoes, no four-signals, 
no calls through honors turned, no 
interior leads, no directive discards, 
nor anything of that kind. They 
confine themselves to the very 
simple principle of playing strong 
suits up and weak suits down. 
None of their plays have any occult 
meaning, but they simply indicate 
that they are managing their hands 
according to their lights. Their 
partners are not directed by any 
private or conventional signals, 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



379 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



and are free to infer what they can 
from the cards played by their 
partners and the apparent designs 
of their adversaries." 

This very simple and unfettered 
game differs somewhat from other 
methods of short-suit play, espe- 
cially from that of E. C. Howell 
(originally a disciple of Foster), 
which the latter finds almost as ob- 
jectionable as the long-suit game 
and American leads. He says: "It 
is not necessary for common-sense 
players to agree beforehand that 
certain cards shall mean certain 
things, which is the essential prin- 
ciple of the Howell game. Such a 
system confines the player, and 
keeps him in constant dread of 
having to choose between two 
leads, neither of which expresses 
what he wants his partner to know, 
and both of which deceive him in 
some degree. Common-sense play- 
ers make leads that are not clear to 
their partners sometimes, but they 
usually set them right aTjout their 
hands before any damage is done." 

Foster also lays down the general 
proposition elsewhere that it is 
better for a player, especially with 
a strong hand, to play with the 
knowledge that his partner is 
weak, than under the mistaken 
impression that he may be strong. 
Hence the uniform adoption of 
leads from short suits when hold- 
ing weak hands. 

In this connection we may appro- 
priately give three illustrative 
hands, with comments, which Mr. 
Foster published in the Sun, as 
showing the three leading princi- 
ples of the short-suit game as taught 
by him. The first is the play of a 
strong hand, without much regard 
to partner, involving a free use of 
false cards and underplay. Hearts 
are trumps. A leads; the under- 
scored card wins the trick, and the 
card below is the next one led: 



0) 

u 
'u 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 
4. 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
lO 
11 
12 
IS 


<? K 

AO 
^ Q 


'^ 2 

7 
^ 4 

<^ 7 

8 
*> 6 

QO 
5 « 


^ 8 

2 
^ 3 
'^ 9 

1O0 
♦ lO 

30 

IO« 

5 
4k 2 

4 « 

6 « 

7 « 


^ A 


J 
^ 5 
^ 6 

6 
*3 

90 

3 « 
« 4 
« 5 

8 « 

9 4» 
* 8 


^ J 


4 
« K 


KO 


2 4k 

♦ 7 
4^ A 


♦ Q 

*9 
4k J 


A « 
Q i^ 


J * 





Score: A-B, ii; Y-Z, 2. 

Trick 2. — A knows that his partner 
must have several of the small diamonds 
■which are missing, and that the jack is 
Z's best. 

Trick 5. — A underplays in diamonds, as 
it is an even chance whether Y or B has 
the queen. If Y has it, he will naturally 
place the king on his left, on account of 
the false card at trick 2. Even if Y is 
suspicious and puts on the queen, if he 
has it, he must lead up to A. If B can 
win the trick, it will give him an oppor- 
tunity to show his hand. 

Trick 6.— B infers that his partner's 
suit must be clubs, and he has no diffi- 
culty in placing the diamond king in A's 
hand. 

Trick 7, — A cannot place the diamond 
queen, as B would finesse with queen, ten 
against Z; but as B must have two dia- 
monds, it is better to get the king out of 
his way. 

Trick 8.— The fall of the diamonds 
marks B with the thirteenth, and in order 
to get him in to make it, A leads a small 
spade. This is one of the principal things 
about this stj'le of play. If you want to 
give your partner discards, not to allow 
him to make tricks, lead high cards; but 
if you want to get him into the lead for 
any purpose, lead low ones. This strategy 
often brings about very interesting situa- 
tions. 

The only tricks made by Y-Z in this 
hand are the ace of trumps and the odd 
trump, which must make in any case, no 
matter how the hand is played. 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



380 



SHORT-SUIT IvEADS 



The second band illustrates what 
has been known for many years in 
Europe as the ' ' invite. ' ' It may 
be played either in trumps or in 
plain suits. The invitation in 
trumps is usually made when they 
are weak, by first showing the com- 
mand of your long suit, or of a re- 
entry suit, and then leading a 
trump. It practically says to part- 
ner: "This is my game, but my 
trumps are poor. Can you help me 
out? If not, return my suit." 
Partner is not bound to return the 
trump lead unless he thinks best, 
and in this respect the invitation 
differs from an original lead of 
trumps. The invitation in plain 
suits is made by beginning with a 
small card of a long suit containing 
neither ace, king, nor king, queen, 
jack. The suit led must be accom- 
panied by a sure card of re-entry in 
another suit. Hearts are trumps, as 
before: 



m 
u 

^1 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


QO 
« 7 

^ 5 
^ 6 
^ Q 
*8 

3 4k 
*> J 

5 ♦ 

6 « 
8 « 
100 
J 


2 
4Q 


40 

* 4 
^ 7 
C? 9 

^\o 

4 4k 

9 4k 
7 4k 

10 4k 
J 4k 
6 
Q4k 
K « 


KO 


♦ 2 


'^ 2 


^ 8 
^ 3 
♦ 3 

A 4k 


^ A 


« K 


2 « 

3 

5 

7 

8 
90 

<3? 4 


♦ A 


4>10 


* 9 


*> 6 


* 5 


AO 







Score: A-B, o; Y-Z, 13. 

Trick I. — Had A followed the teaching-s 
of Pole, and opened his four-card spade 
suit, the result would have been exactly 



the same; for Z, with his re-entry cards in 
diamonds, would still have invited his 
partner with the small club, and Y would 
have been certain that Z's re-entry suit 
was diamonds, and not spades. 

Trick 2. — Z is too weak to risk begin- 
ning with the trumps with an unestab- 
lished suit, because a force in spades 
might ruin his hand. He cannot show 
any card of re-entry before leading 
trumps, so he invites his partner's assist- 
ance in making his clubs. In this system 
of play, all such brain-saving devices as 
fourth-best leads are utterly disregarded; 
the attention of the players is concen- 
trated on the position and on the strategy 
to be employed, not wasted in counting 
spots. 

Trick 3. — Y snaps at the bait offered by 
Z, and leads the trumps at once, knowing 
the invitation in clubs would not be ex- 
tended without an accompanying card of 
re-entry in one of the other plain suits. 

Trick 7. — If Z's card of re-entry is not 
in spades, Y can trump the second round 
of that suit, and lead the diamonds. 

The third hand illustrates a form 
of play in which you sacrifice your 
hand to partner entirely, having no 
hope of accomplishing anything 
yourself except taking a trick pos- 
sibly in a weak suit or making a 
tenace perhaps in a short one. The 
theory is that when there is nothing 
to lead trumps for, no long suit to 
play for, no need of partner's as- 
sistance in anything, it is better to 
advise your partner early in the 
game not to waste his substance 
upon you, but to look out for him- 
self. The opening leads in this 
form of strategy are easily distin- 
guished, because the card led is 
neither a winning one nor a small 
one, and the suit to which it be- 
longs is never the trump. Howell 
calls this the supporting-card game, 
in which a player, without' the es- 
tablishment of a suit, picks up 
tricks here and there with high 
cards, and leads cards worthless in 
his own hand, but of such a size 
that they may help partner. High 
cards and tenace strength are care- 
fully nursed. Foster calls it the 
tenace game. Hearts are trumps, 
and A leads, as before: 



SHORT- SUIT LEADS 



381 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



u 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


I 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
II 
12 
13 


Jl> 9 
^ 2 
<:? 7 
Q? 10 
QO 


4k 10 

^ 5 
^ 4 
<:? J 
2 

7 « 
60 

8 « 
Q« 
7 

9 
100 
J 


* 2 
^ 3 
^ 6 
^ Q 


« J 


^ K 


c;? A 


^ 9 

40 
K « 


8 
10* 
* 4 
J « 


6« 
« 6 


♦ 5 

4 4b 
9 4k 
KO 

♦ 8 
*Q 

♦ K 


5 « 
S 4> 

AO 


A « 


5 
30 
4. A 


2 « 

« 3 

^ 8 


* 7 





Score : A-B, 9 ; Y-Z, 4. 

Trick I.— Having nothing to hope for 
but the tenace in diamonds, A leads 
his best supporting card to partner. 
Although Y covers the nine led, B sees 
no reason why he should win the trick. 
He is fairly warned to look out for him- 
self, and besides the disadvantage of 
giving up the entire club suit to the ad- 
versaries, he has a very bad hand to lead 
away from. Z naturally places the club 
ace with Y, and thinking they have the 
entire suit between them, with a prob- 
able ruif staring them in the face, he 
wins his partner's trick to lead trumps, 
which is very proper with his good re- 
entry cards. 

Trick 4. — Z cannot tell whether his 
partner has three trumps or four, but it 
IS better to go on. From the fall of the 
cards no one but the holder of it knows 
who has the last trump. 

Trick 6. — Partner having apparently 
nothing in clubs or diamonds, A natu- 
rally tries the spades, which B must 
finesse. 

Trick 7. — Z's idea of the hand now is 
that his partner must have the club ace 
and an honor in spades, so he leads a 
small club to_ get his suit unblocked. A 
follows the invariable short-suit princi- 
ple of second-hand play, " cover every- 
thing," and afterward plays the spade 
suit "down," enabling partner to mark 
him absolutely with the trey and deuce. 
It is hardly necessary to say that the 
last seven tricks in this hand were eye- 
openers. 



Short-Sust Leads, Howell's. — 

The most radical of the short-suit 
advocates is probably Edwiu C. 
Howell, of Boston, whose ideas 
were at first imbibed from Foster, 
but who soon started out upon in- 
dependent lines of his own. He 
tells us that a few years ago, while 
discussing with Foster the short- 
suit ideas promulgated in the 
latter's " Whist Strategy," he asked 
if they could not be reduced to 
a system, perhaps the same as 
the long-suit, or modern scientific 
game. Mr. Foster did not see how 
such a thing could be done; in fact, 
he was not in favor of laying down 
any hard-and-fast rules. He be- 
lieved in allowing every good 
player to use his judgment in re- 
gard to the opening of his hand, 
and above all, he wished to avoid 
a cut-and-dried, wooden, or "par- 
rotic" style of play. 

"All this," says Mr. Howell, 
' ' was very charming and inge- 
nious; but I held then, have always 
maintained, and believe now more 
firmly than ever, that a definite 
system of play, founded in princi- 
ple and developed by information- 
giving conventions, is essential to 
the practice of whist, however 
pleasing the go-as-you-please tactics 
may be in theory." Hence, Mr. 
Howell's book, "Whist Open- 
ings," which appeared in 1896, and 
the so-called Howell game therein 
advocated. This may be briefly 
summarized as follows: When a 
player holds a long suit which is 
not headed by a sequence of two or 
more high cards, and is not accom- 
panied by such strength in trumps 
and other plain suits that, with 
reasonable assistance from partner, 
it may be established and brought 
in, it should be left untouched, for 
the player is more likely to make 
tricks in it if some one else opens 
it. Instead of leading from such a 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



382 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



suit, he should lead from one in 
which he does not expect to make 
a trick, and then he will not be 
disappointed. Nor will he com- 
promise partner's hand by forcing 
him to make a probable sacrifice 
that can do neither any good. On 
the other hand, by leading a fairly 
high card from his poor suit, the 
player will probably strengthen 
partner's hand, and if he leads 
from a very short suit he may also 
win a trick or two in trumps, just 
when he needs them. "Such," 
says Mr. Howell, "are the distinct 
earmarks of the short-suit game — 
tender nursing of strength that 
cannot take care of itself, support 
of partner without sacrifice, and 
cheerful consent to a ' force ' with 
weak trumps or strong if you see 
nothing better." 

He next proposes to throw aside 
the whole sj'stem of American 
leads (with the exception of the 
trump indications), and to substi- 
tute therefor his plan by which the 
general character of the whole 
hand, instead of only one suit, may 
be shown by the lead. For this 
purpose he defines five ways in 
which tricks may be won, each de- 
pendent upon the cards held in 
hand, as follows: (i) The long-suit 
game. (2) The supporting - card 
game, played by "preserving your 
high cards and tenace strength, and 
leading cards worthless in your 
hand, but of such a size that they 
may help partner. " (3 ) The high- 
card game, ' ' having several high 
cards in sequence in a plain suit, 
you may endeavor to win tricks 
with them as early as possible, 
without regard for the rest of the 
hand." (4) The rufl£ng game, 
starting in with the lead from a 
very short suit, in order to win 
tricks in it by ruffing. (5) The 
trump attack, "having length and 
strength in trumps, and at least one 



good plain suit, or winning cards 
scattered among the three plain 
suits." He advises his followers 
to " play the long-suit game if you 
have a good plain suit, fair strength 
in trumps, and at least one reason- 
ably probable card of re-entry in 
another suit," and adds: "You 
should not indicate the long-suit 
game by your original lead, unless 
you are perfectly willing that 
partner should immediately lead 
trumps, from strong or weak ones. ' ' 
As for the manner of indicating to 
partner the long-suit or any other 
of the five styles of game, the author 
gives in brief the meaning of the 
various leads, as follows: 

^CiS— followed by king, indicates the 
high-card game, generally five or more 
in suit, with little or no strength out- 
side of the suit led; followed by a small 
card, indicates the ruffing game, with 
probably no more in the suit led. 

King — followed by ace, indicates the 
high-card game, but greater accompany- 
ing strength than ace followed by king; 
unaccompanied by ace, indicates the 
high-card game, with probably queen and 
jack and others of the suit remaining. 

Queen — indicates the supporting-card 
game, and not more than two in suit. 

Jack — followed by queen, indicates the 
high-card game, the suit led being queen, 
jack, ten, and others; followed by ace or 
king, or a small card, indicates the sup- 
porting-card game, and generally not 
more than three in suit. 

Ten or nine — indicates the supporting- 
card game; followed by jack or ten, re- 
spectively, indicates a suit of four or 
more; does not deny higher cards in the 
suit. 

Eighty seven, or six — indicates the ruff- 
ing game, with generally not more than 
two in suit; generally denies any higher 
card in suit. 

Five, four, three, or iz£/o— indicates the 
long-suit game, with probably a good 
suit, and certainlj' trump strength; com- 
mands partner, if he gets in early, to lead 
trumps. 

As already intimated, only in the 
matter of trumps does Mr. Howell 
retain a vestige of the American 
leads. He says: "In trumps use 
the American leads to show num- 
ber, including the fourth best; lead 



SHORT -SUIT I.EADS 



383 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



the fourth best from king, jack, 
ten, and others, and ten from queen, 
jack, and others." 

Under the Howell system, every card 
originally led must have a certain mean- 
ing, and if there is no card in the hand 
which will convey the meaning- intended 
the partner is just as much deceived as in 
the long-suit game. Many instances occur 
in which the leader cannot properly show 
his hand. His long suit has no card be- 
low a seven; his short suit has none above 
a live; he has no supporting cards, his 
suits being headed by kings, with very 
small trump-inviting cards with them. 
Many cases arise in which an interme- 
diate or ambiguous card must be selected, 
or a ruff must be invited in a suit in which 
the leader holds three cards. — R. F. Foster 
[S. O.], New York Sun, j8g6. 

Short-Suit Leads, Kerley's. — 

The system of short -suit leads ad- 
vocated by Charles R. Keiley, in 
his "Common Sense in Whist," 
(which he had nearly ready for 
press in 1898 ) differs radically from 
that of Howell, and conforms more 
closely to the ideas of Foster. 

" Whist," says Mr. Keiley in the 
introduction to his book, ' ' has 
been called a battle royal of brains. 
The players are the generals, and 
the cards the forces. The forces 
are sometimes strong, sometimes 
weak. Strong in themselves, as in 
the case of trumps; strong by posi- 
tion, as suits with tenaces; or strong 
by development, as in the case of a 
good long suit, a re-entry card, and 
trumps oitt. The forces are weak 
when the opener has simply to play 
and hope, when he has little or 
nothing himself, but hopes for a 
big game by his partner's aid. 

" A general needs common sense 
on the battlefield; so does the whist- 
player at the table. If, when study- 
ing military tactics, one were told 
to follow a plan which proved 
abortive nine times to one success, 
■what would be thought of the pro- 
fessor? This is what the long- 
suiters urge at whist. No one who 
claims to be an authority on the 



rigid long-suit game will aver that 
a suit is established in the opener's 
hand oftener than once in ten. Does 
it seem reasonable to follow such a 
plan exclusively? The fact that 
there is a success occasionally will 
prevent the long-suit game from 
being abandoned, but that does not 
prevent departures from it. 

" Whist should be considered 
from the standpoints of attack and 
defense. The opener should not 
always be on the offensive, for ag- 
gressive methods often produce 
undesired results when strength is 
absent; on the other hand, too 
much defense prevents great gains. 
Attack, defend, or run. Play the 
long suit or the trump attack, play 
the supporting-card game, or take 
your high cards in before a cruel 
frost blights their prospects. ' ' 

Mr. Keiley 's method is some- 
times called the New York game, 
and is an elaboration of the tactics 
employed b}'^ the team from the 
New York Whist Club, which, un- 
der Mr. Keiley's captaincy, won 
the Challenge Trophy at the sixth 
congress of the American Whist 
League. Mr. Keiley holds that 
it is unadvisable to attempt the 
long-suit game with an unestab- 
lished suit, unless the hand con- 
tains, besides the long suit, three 
trumps with two honors, or four 
trumps with an honor, or five me- 
dium trumps; and in each case a 
card of re-entry in another suit. 
Here are the leads advocated by 
him in detail: 

The lead of ace shows a suit of 
five or more without the queen or 
the jack. If the ace be followed 
by king, the player is weak and is 
"running" — that is, trjdng to get 
what tricks he can before the high 
cards sour in his hand. The play- 
ers employing this system rarely 
lead the ace when they have not 
the king; and when they are forced 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



384 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



to lead from the ace, queen, jack 
combination, they often open with 
a low card. 

The lead of the king shows two 
tricks in the suit; accordingly it is 
led originally only from ace, king, 
or king, queen, jack combinations. 
From king, queen, and small, the 
lead is usually a small card. From 
king, queen, ten, and others, the 
king is not led unless the suit is 
very long. 

The queen-lead shows the ability 
to win the third round in the suit; 
accordingly it is led from queen 
and one small; from queen, jack, 
ten, or sometimes from queen, jack, 
nine. The lead from queen and 
one small is avoided, however, 
when the hand presents a better 
opportunity. 

The jack is always the top of the 
suit. The lead of the jack from 
jack and one small is regarded as 
an ideal one in this game. 

The ten is usually led as the top 
of the suit, though it may be an 
intermediate. A suit of four or five 
cards, headed by the ten, is opened 
with this card. 

The nine is never led as a fourth 
best, or as an intermediate; only as 
the top of nothing. 

The eight, seven, six, five, four, 
trey, and deuce are either the top 
of short weak suits, or the bottom 
of long and moderately well-sup- 
ported suits. If from weak suits, 
the hand is " played down;" that 
is, if the eight is led from eight, 
six, two, the six is played on the 
second round. On the other hand, 
if the suit is moderately strong it is 
" played up." 

Short-Suit Leads, Starnes'. — 

We have already seen that Fos- 
ter's short-suit observations in his 
"Whist Strategy" caused E. C. 
Howell to enter the field as an ex- 
ponent of exact rules for short-suit 



play. Foster's "Whist Strategy" 
IS likewise responsible for another 
able attempt, upon somewhat dif- 
ferent lines, to reduce the short- 
suit game to a science. We allude 
to Val.W. Starnes' book on "Short- 
Suit Whist," published in 1896. 

Mr. Starnes starts out by saying, 
that most writers on whist have in 
the past merely touched upon the 
original lead from a short suit, 
which they regard as forced, but 
he can see no reason why some 
one should not undertake for the 
short-suit game what so many have 
done for the long, that is, ' ' to dis- 
integrate and analyze its require- 
ments, and build up therefrom a 
connected system of play that 
should be to some extent at least • 
amenable to rule." He confesses I 
that the short-suit game does not I 
as readily lend itself to "rule of 
thumb" as the long-suit game, but 
is of the opinion that it can be 
systematized to a much greater ex- 
tent than is generally supposed, 
and that many definite directions 
can be given, which will enable 
the partners easily to read each 
other's hands. When both part- 
ners have some acquaintance with 
this method of play, Mr. Starnes 
very much questions the wisdom of 
the original lead from the long 
suit under all circumstances; but to 
go to the other extreme, and insist 
upon the universal adoption of the 
short-suit lead, he is frank to ad- 
mit, ' ' would be taking a still bolder 
step, and would be almost as great 
a mistake as the invariable lead 
from the long suit." 

Like Foster he eschews American 
leads and remains loyal to the old 
system. By taking the conven- 
tional long-suit leads under this 
system as a standard, he says: " We 
are enabled to detect the short- 
suit leads by the difference between 
the two. If," he continues, "I 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



385 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



lead a card, that by general consent, 
is led only when accompanied by a 
certain other card, and you know 
that I do not hold that other card, 
you also know that I have not 
made a conventional lead. This is 
negative evidence that I have made 
a short-suit lead." 

If forced to open a suit from 
which no conventional lead can be 
made, he advises that it should 
be treated as a short suit, and led 
from as such. The various short- 
suit leads are given by him as 
follows, the two-card suit being 
considered the "short suit par ex- 
cellence:" 

Ace, king- alone. — "With these two cards 
it is evident that nothing would be 
gained by leading either of them. * * * 
It is therefore better to begin with 
another suit, keeping the ace-king suit 
for purposes of re-entry. * * * 

Ace, queen alone. — These cards forming 
the major tenace, you will, of course, 
lead neither of them. 

Ace, jack alone. — These cards, and ace, 
ten, are best led up to; so that with such 
a combination you should select some 
other suit. If your hand is so constituted 
that you cannot avoid plaj'ing one of 
these, as when ji'ou hold tenace in all 
three of the other suits, lead the lower 
card, the jack or ten, not the ace. 

Ace and one small. — With the ace and 
any other card from the nine to the two, 
always lead the small card, if you must 
lead the suit at all. As already stated, it 
is best to keep commanding cards. * * * 

King, queen alone. — With these lead the 
king, for with the royal couple you can 
aflford to force out the ace at the sacrifice 
of his majesty, since you are left in com- 
mand, with the queen as a card of re- 
entry, and at the same time have thrown 
the lead. 

King and one small. — With these you 
should lead some other suit, in conform- 
ity with the principle that with the 
second best only once guarded it is safer 
to let some one else lead the suit. * * * 

In all other cases lead the higher of two 
cards. 

With any two cards lower than the 
nine some other suit should be selected 
for the opening lead, as partner will find 
it very diflftcult to read the lead correctly. 
In desperate cases you may go as low as a 
seven, or perhaps a six, provided you ad- 
here strictly to the rule of leading always 
the higher card. 

25 



If a singleton is to be led at all, the 
denomination of it, so that it is lower 
than a king, does not matter. 

In continuing short-suit leads, 
Mr. Starnes is of the opinion that it 
is always desirable to follow up a 
strengthening card with another 
card of the same suit. For instance, 
if you lead a queen, and it wins, he 
advises going on with the suit; so 
also with the lead of jack, but if a 
ten or nine wins, under similar cir- 
cumstances, it should generally be 
followed by a lead of trumps, as 
partner must be very strong in the 
suit. He would in such case lead 
trumps if possessed of four trumps 
with one honor, or three trumps 
with two honors. Of trump leads 
in general he says: " Although 
short-suit leads are never made in 
trumps, the system of leading 
trumps should be thoroughly un- 
derstood, as it varies somewhat 
from plain-suit leads." Much space 
is naturally devoted by him to ten- 
ace, finesse, and cross-ruffing, and 
he lays down this fundamental 
principle and ruling motive of the 
short-suit game, which he considers 
the essence of all whist: " Every 
card, individually, is more valuable 
when led up to than when led." 
He says in conclusion: " The long 
suit is admirably adapted to a fine 
hand, but such hands are sadly in 
the minority. The short-suit game 
provides for the great majority of 
hands, which are only moderately 
strong or woefully weak." 

The following illustrative hands 
and comments are from the book, 
and show Mr. Starnes' mode of 
play contrasted with that of strict 
long-suit players. Hearts trumps. 
A and B are partners, and play the 
long-suit game, against Y and Z, 
who are short-suiters. A leads. The 
underlined card wins the trick, and 
the card below it is the one which 
is led next: 



SHORT-SUIT I,BADS 



386 



SHORT-SUIT LKADS 



1 

•c 


A 


Y 


B 


z 










1 

2 


^ 6 

QO 


^ 5 
KO 


<J? 3 

AO 


^ 9 


J 


3 


^ 2 


^ A 


<;? 4 


^10 


4 
5 
6 
7 
8 


40 

<;? 7 


100 
90 
A* 
* 2 
4 « 


30 
50 
6 « 
*3 

60 


2 
70 
5 « 
« J 


♦ 8 

<;? K 


<:? Q 


9 


K« 


7 4k 


J ♦ 


8 « 


10 


2 4k 


* 4 


« 5 


10 ♦ 


1 1 
12 
13 


<!> 8 
3 « 
9 ♦ 


♦ Q 

* A 

80 


* 6 

* 7 

* 10 


Q? J 


♦ K 

4^ 9 





Score: A-B, 4; Y-Z, 9. 

Comments by Mr. Stames: 

Trick I. — A has been taught al- 
ways to lead trumps from five; so 
he begins with his fourth-best heart. 

Trick 2. — Z is a short-suit player, 
and wants his club tenace led up to 
if possible. Both his other suits 
being weak, he selects the one with 
the highest card, other than an ace 
or king, and leads it to his partner 
as a supporting card. A properly 
covers with the queen, which would 
gain a trick if the positions of the 
ace and king were reversed. 

Trick 3. — B has been taught that 
only sudden illness or having no 
trumps, will excuse the failure to 
return partner's original lead of the 
trump suit. 

Trick 4. — Y continues the estab- 
lished diamond suit to force the 
strong trump hand. 

Trick 6. — As A cannot catch both 
Z's trumps, he must proceed to the 
establishment of the spades. 

Trick 7. — If Y continues dia- 
monds, A will make both his 
trumps; so he is forced to open the 



club suit, beginning with the 
smallest card so as not to promote 
the minor tenace if it is in the ad- 
versaries' hands. Z finesses the 
jack, as Y's lead must be from a 
strong suit; the deuce not being a 
supporting card. 

Trick 8. — Z's play is now to pre- 
vent A from making both his 
trumps. 

Now let us examine the overplay, 
in which A and B are short-suit 
players, while their adversaries, Y 
and Z, follow the long-suit system: 



•a 










A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 








1 


QO 
2 4» 

40 


KO 
A « 


AO 


2 
5 4» 

J 


J « 

30 


100 


4 
5 
6 

7 
8 


^ 2 

<;? 6 

JH 8 

^ 7 


^ 5 

<:? A 


^ 3 

<y 4 
* 3 

50 
6 


^ Q 


♦ K 


* 2 
8 
4 « 


7 
^ 9 


^ K 


9 


K* 


7 « 


6 4k 


8 4k 


10 


Q* 


* 4 


♦ 5 


10 ♦ 


11 


9 4|» 


*Q 


♦ 6 


^10 


12 
13 


^ 8 


90 
* A 


* 7 


♦ J 


3 « 


*IO 4^9 1 









Score : A-B, 7 ; Y-Z, 6. 

Comments by Mr. Starnes : 
Trick I. — Having no reason to 
lead trumps, even with five, and not 
having three honors in his long 
suit, A prefers the good short-suit 
lead in diamonds. Although Y has 
not the fourchette, the cards he 
holds below the king are strong 
enough to warrant him in forcing 
A-B to play two honors to win this 
trick. The fall of the cards leaves 
the jack the only card out against 
Y's diamonds. 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



387 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



Trick 2. — B returns the support- 
ing spade, which A finesses. 

Trick 3. — Y, being a long-suit 
player, proceeds to establish the 
diamond suit by leading one of the 
second and third best. Z wins this 
trick in order to lead trumps, as he 
knows diamonds must be Y's suit, 
and he has four good trumps and a 
card of re-entry in clubs. 

Trick 6. — Y leads a small club as 
the best chance to get his partner 
into the lead again to continue the 
trumps. Being a long-suit player, 
Z does not finesse the club jack. 

Trick 7. — Z cannot risk the con- 
tinuation of the trumps, but pre- 
fers to force with the diamond suit. 

Trick 8. — A draws one of Z's 
trumps, and forces the other with 
the established spade suit. 

The rest of the hand plays itself. 
The result is a distinct gain of three 
tricks, which are made in the face of 
the best defensive play possible for 
Y-Z. A very little carelessness on 
the part of the long-suit players 
would have lost them three tricks 
more, making the gain of the short- 
suit play six tricks instead of three. 
For instance: On the original A 
might have played the king of 
trumps on the return of the suit, 
which would have made it possible 
for Z to draw both his trumps after 
one had been forced out by Y's 
diamonds. This would have lost 
three tricks. Another would have 
been lost if Y had not covered the 
diamond queen on the overplay. 

In the original, Z's short-suit lead 
of the diamond jack enables his 
partner to win two tricks in the 
suit; while the long-suit player 
with the same cards got none. In 
the overplay B's short-suit lead of 
spade jack enabled his partner to 
take three tricks in spades; but in 
the original the player who led this 
suit got Vone. In the trump suit 
the short-suit player made three 



tricks by not leading them; while 
the player who led them got two 
only. 

Short-Suit Leads, Tormey's. 

— While a number of clever writers 
on whist have tried to develop short- 
suit play after the manner of the 
long-suit game, by extending and 
forming it into a separate system, 
and have paid as much attention 
to it as writers on the other side 
have to long suits; and while others, 
like Charles S. Street, have pro- 
posed a mixture of long and short- 
suit ideas for expert play (see, 
" Modified Game"), there are some 
long-suit advocates and players 
who believe in essentially uphold- 
ing the long-suit game as the stand- 
ard, and providing more liberally 
than heretofore for forced leads or 
short-suit play in emergencies. One 
of these is P. J. Tormey, of San 
Francisco, who has propounded 
and answered the following series 
of questions: 

/. You hold, say, three three-card 
suits, and four trumps. What 
then ? 

Lead the top of a three-card suit 
headed by queen or jack, or the 
bottom of one headed by ace or 
king; and, if you hold two tenaces, 
lead the fourth-best trump. (See 
note on trump lead, case 4.) 

2. Saine holding, only change 
the four trumps to plain suit. What 
then ? 

If the four-card suit is headed by 
the eight or nine, lead the top (or 
highest), never the bottom. If the 
suit of four cards is headed by a 
ten or higher, lead fourth best. If 
the highest is a seven or under, 
don't lead from it; open a three- 
card suit. (See case I.) 

3. You hold five or six cards of a 
plain suit, headed by an eight, two 
or three small trumps, no suit. 
What then ? 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS 



388 



SHORT WHIST 



If you hold five or six cards of a 
suit headed by eight or lower, treat 
it as worthless, and don't open it. 
Open a three-card suit; if you can- 
not do so, open a two-card suit from 
the top, if not higher than a queen. 

4. You hold four, five, or six 
small h'timps and no plain suit. 

What then ? 

When you are the original 
leader, and hold four, five, or even 
six small trumps, and no suit worth 
trying to establish, or want to pro- 
tect a high card or tenace in one of 
your short suits, or when you think 
a lead of trumps is the best protec- 
tion for your hand, lead the small- 
est from four, five, or even six, and 
have the lead convey this informa- 
tion to your partner: This is my 
lowest trump. I have four or five, 
or possibly six, and no plain suit to 
establish, and you should not re- 
turn trump without good reasons 
of your own for doing so. If my 
partner does return trump immedi- 
ately, he should say by so doing 
that he has a suit he can bring in; 
not a suit to establish, for if it was 
not established he should lead from 
it first, and then return trump, and 
not until then. The original leader 
can "high-low" at the first oppor- 
tunity to tell number of trumps, if 
he wishes to. If the original leader 
wants an immediate or quick re- 
turn of the trump suit, then lead 
any trump that can mark a lower 
one in hand; number can be shown 
later by the "high-low" play. If 
the trump holding is headed by a 
card no higher than a nine, then 
lead from the top when you want 
trumps immediately returned. 

5. You hold seven small trumps 
and no plain suit. What then? 

If you hold seven or more small 
trumps and no suit, you are justified 
in leading from a two-card suit or 
singleton, proclaiming great trump 
strength, and inviting a cross-ruff, 



or any other use of your trumps that 
your partner wants you to accept. 

Short Whist.— The English game 
of five points, with honors count- 
ing. The original game, as taught 
by Hoyle and his immediate suc- 
cessors, was long whist, ten points, 
with honors counting. But this 
was shortened, about the year 18 10, 
to five points, the honors being still 
counted as before. The change is 
said to have been due to heavy 
losses at the table on the part of 
Lord Peterborough ( for whist was 
played for heavy stakes in the Eng- 
lish clubs in those days), and a 
chivalrous desire on the part of his 
f ellow-pla3'ers to give him a quicker 
opportunity to win his money back 
— or lose more. At any rate, the 
game was cut in two to please the 
gamblers. The retention of the 
count of the honors at the old 
value greatly increased the element 
of chance, for a side now holding 
all four honors (ace, king, queen, 
jack) counts four by honors, and 
thus has only one point to make by 
cards in order to go out. If the 
players on a side hold three honors 
they count two, as heretofore, and 
if each side holds two honors are 
not counted, of course. When the 
game was ten points the chance of 
turning the honors did not exercise 
so great an influence on the game. 
In order to bring the laws of whist 
into harmony with the shortened 
form of the game, a committee of 
the Arlington (now Turf) Club, in 
London, co-operated with John 
Loraine Baldwin in revising the 
same, and in 1864 Mr. Baldwin 
published "The Laws of Short 
Whist," together with an essay on 
the game, by James Clay. The 
English code as then adopted by 
the Arlington, Portland, and other 
whist clubs, remains in authority 
in England to-day. 



SHORT WHIST 



389 



SHUFFI^ING 



Whist under the English code is 
largely played for stakes. The 
leading English whist authorities 
admit that the counting of hon- 
ors, with only five points to the 
game, is a serious objection, as one 
hand may contain four out of the 
five points necessary to win, and 
consequently the element of chance 
may amount to four-fifths of the 
entire game, leaving only one-fifth 
to skill. This gives the poor play- 
ers, as the saying goes, a chance for 
their money, and is one reason why 
playing for stakes is so firmly rooted 
in England. 

To divide the game into two parts does 
not divest it of any of its essential quali- 
ties; it is still treble, double, or single, and 
is quite as amusing as before. — Descha- 
pelles [C], "Laws.'" 

Had the honors been cut in two when 
the game was divided, leaving three out 
of the five points to be obtained by skill, 
the gambling element in the composition 
of the game would have been diminished. 
It is for this reason that short whist, with- 
out honors, is preferred. — A. Trump, Jr. 
\L. a], "Short Whist:' 1S80. 

One of the most radical changes in the 
game itself has been cutting down the 
points from ten to five, which occurred 
about 1810. Mathews mentions it in 1813 
as having occurred since the publication 
of his first edition in 1804, and Lord Peter- 
borough, the unlucky gambler for whose 
benefit the change was introduced, died 
in 1814.— /?. F. Foster [S. O.], "Complete 
HoyleV 

Short whist [is] a game of five points, 
with a possibility of winning four by 
honors, and an average of about two, 
leaving but three points to be won by 
play; while the confessedly more scien- 
tific game of long whist, with its average 
of four points by honors and six by 
tricks, bears a much closer analogy to the 
American game of seven points, no hon- 
ors, which is more scientific stiW.— Emery 
Boardman [L+A], " lVinni7ig Whist." 

In "My Novel" [bv Bulwer-Lytton] 
there is depicted, with the touch of a mas- 
ter, the state of mind of the players of 
the two schools. Short whist had been 
introduced at Squire Hazeldean' s . Cap- 
tain Barnabas, who played at Graham's 
with honor and profit, and who there, no 
doubt, imbibed his new-fangled style of 
play, is partner with Parson Dale. The 
Parson plays a capital rubber; he is one 



of the old school, careful to a degree. 
The Captain happens, at a doubtful point, 
to lead a trump (we stop to say that, 
whatever our opinion may be worth, we 
should have done the same), and he loses 
the game. He is soundly rated by the 
Parson for his trump lead. — "Cavendish''' 
\L. A. I, "The Whist Table." 

Shuffling. — The art of mixing or 
intermingling the cards before they 
are dealt out to the players. Each 
trick taken up being of the same 
suit, it is desirable that their order 
should be disarranged. In some 
games the cards are also shuffled to 
prevent their being stacked or fixed 
up by an opponent. It is the duty 
of the dealer's partner, at whist, to 
shuffle the cards for the following 
deal, when two packs are used at a 
table. To shuffle is also called to 
"make" or to "make up" the 
cards, especially in England. 

The right of shufliiug the cards is a 
guarantee which belongs equally to each 
player. — Deschapelles [O.]. 

Clay was fond of shuffling the cards 
very thoroughly after each deal. Having 
suggested to him that so much shuffling 
was likely to produce wild hands, which 
are disadvantageous to good players, he 
said: " I do not agree with you at all. 1 
should like to have the cards thrown out 
of a volcano after every deal." — "Caven- 
dish" \L.A^,, "Card-Table Talk." 

There is a variety of methods for shuf- 
fling. The cards should be thoroughly 
mixed. An artistic shuffle can be ac- 
quired in a short time, and is a desirable 
feature of the game. * * * An expert 
once told me that he predetermines the 
play of a new partner by the manner in 
which he handles the cards. — Mrs. M. S. 
Jenks [L. A.], Whist, January., iSg6. 

Before every deal, the cards must be 
shuffled. When two packs are used, the 
dealer's partner must collect and shuffle 
the cards for the ensuing deal and place 
them at his right hand. In all cases, the 
dealer may shuffle last. A pack must 
not be shuffled during the play of a hand, 
nor so as to expose the face of any card. 
— Laws of Whist (^American Code), Sec- 
tions 8 and p. 

The pack must neither be shuffled be- 
low the table, nor so that the face of any 
card can be seen. The pack must not be 
shuffled during the play of a hand. A 
pack, having been played with, must 



SHUFFLING 



390 



SIGNAI/ 



neither be shuffled by dealing it into 
packets nor across the table. Each player 
has a right to shuffle, once only, except 
as provided by rule 32, prior to a deal, 
after a false cut, or when a new deal has 
occurred. The dealer's partner must 
collect the cards for the ensuing deal, 
and has the first right to shuffle the pack. 
Kach player, after shuffling, must place 
the cards, properly collected and face 
downwards, to the left of the player about 
to deal. The dealer has always the right 
to shuffle last; but should a card or cards 
be seen during his shuffling, or while 
giving the pack to be cut, he may be com- 
pelled to re-shuffle. — Laws of Whist 
{English Code), Sections 26-32. 

Has every player at a table where two 
packs are used the right to shuffle the 
cards before they are shuffled by the 
player whose duty it is to prepare the 
pack for the dealer ? Has every player 
the right to shuffle the cards before they 
go the dealer ? To arrive at a correct con- 
clusion in this matter, it seems necessary 
to review the old IJnglish code in connec- 
tion with our present code, to enable one 
to determine the legislative intent of our 
congress at the time the American code 
was framed. We think it is fair to assume 
that at the time our present code was 
under consideration, the committee on 
laws of our whist congress had before 
them all the codes on the game, and that 
these were critically examined for all 
possible suggestions. We think it is also 
fair to assume that in coming to a con- 
clusion, the committee retained all the 
good features of the different codes and 
rejected as bad or useless all of those 
w^hich do not find a place in our present 
excellent code. An inspection of laws 29 
to 32 of the Portland Club code, shows 
that the ^English laws permit each player 
to shuffle once only, but provide that the 
dealer's partner must gather and shuffle 
the cards first, and extend to the dealer 
the right to shuffle them last. Our law 8 
reads: " The dealer's partner must collect 
and shuffle the cards for the ensuing deal, 
and place them at his right hand. In all 
cases the dealer may shuffle last." As 
our code leaves out the English law per- 
mitting each player to shuffle the cards, 
we think it is fair to infer that it was the 
deliberate intention of the framers of our 
code to do away with the practice of pro- 
miscuous shuffling. 

It now remains to be seen whether the 
manner in which they worded our law 8 
is sufficiently strong to preclude any 
other construction of the same. The pur- 
pose of the rule was evidently to regulate 
the practice of shuffling, and it clearly 
defines how and by whom this shall be 
done. The language used is very strong; 
in fact, mandatory in terms. It reads: 



"7%e dealer's partner must,^' etc. The 
rule then goes on and permits one excep- 
tion to this very strongly and accurately 
worded general rule, by extending to the 
next dealer the privilege of shuffling the 
cards last, if he sees fit to do so. We 
think that the legal maxim, " expressio 
unius est exclusio a/^«rz'«.y," should apply 
with full force, and that the very fact that 
our legislators permitted one exception to 
the rule necessarily implies that they in- 
tended to exclude all others. 

If every one was permitted to shuffle 
the cards, it would nullify the very terms 
of the law itself, which limits this right 
to two of the players only. This con- 
struction of the law will prevent the 
confusion incident to promiscuous shuf- 
fling. We also think it is the only correct 
construction, for any other would not 
only nullify the very plain terms of the 
law, but would also subvert the very pur- 
pose for which it was evidently enacted. 
We are therefore of the opinion that the 
other two players, not named in the rule, 
have no right whatever to shuffle the 
cards. — Fisher Ames [L. A.^, IVhist, Au- 
gust, i8gs. 

Sign. — A mark used in indicating 
the small cards in illustrative play 
or descriptions in whist books. 
Thus, the plus sign (+) is generally- 
used to indicate one or more small 
cards whose face value is unimpor- 
tant; as, K, Q+, which means 
king, queen, and one or more small 
cards. In this work the plus sign 
is used in the classification marks 
after the names of quoted authori- 
ties to indicate liberal tendencies. 

The letter x is used in whist 
books and journals to indicate an 
exact number of small cards; as, 
Axxx, meaning ace and three small 
cards. Miss Kate Wheelock, in 
her book, employs ciphers (o) to 
indicate the small cards, and places 
a cross (x) over the name of a card 
to indicate the second lead. (See, 
also, "Signs.") 

Signal. — A conventional play by 
which information is conveyed be- 
tween partners, and which may 
also be noted by, and have an eflfect 
upon the play of, the adversaries; 
more specifically, the signal or call 



SIGNAL AFTER A LEAD 391 SIGNALING GAME, THE 



(See, "Trump Sig- 



for trumps, 
nal.") 

Modern whist in a nutshell — signs, and 
signals, and a short supply of brains. — 
Westminster Papers [L+O.]. 

Whist abounds in signals, and each card 
that falls, from the first to the last, is to 
some extent a signal. — C. Z). P. Hamilton 
[L.A.]. 

The writer thinks it right to signal in 
any hand from which you would lead, 
provided the trump suit is headed by one 
of the three highest honors — Milton C. 
Work [L.A. H.\ ''Whist of To-day.-" 

Signal After a Lead. — This is 
one of the multitude of signals 
which have sprung up in America, 
and gained more or less currency. 
It is described thus by Milton C. 
Work, in his "Whist of To-day:" 
"When a player has led trumps, 
and an adversary has won the trick, 
a signal subsequently made by the 
original leader is considered by 
some players to mean six trumps, 
by others to mean a command for 
the partner to continue the trump 
lead. The writer believes it wiser 
to have it mean neither of these, 
but rather weakness or strength in 
the suit then being led." 

Signal for Trumps. — See, 
"Trump Signal." 

Signal, Mistaking the. — It is 

highly important to read the trump 
signal aright, and to wait until it is 
completed before acting upon it. 
To mistake the signal is sometimes 
a very costly error. 

There is no play more fatal than a 
trump lead made because you think your 
partner has started a signal, when in 
reality he has not. It therefore goes 
without saying, that a guess should only 
be made when there is little doubt of the 
start of the s\%wa\.— Milton C. Work \L. 
A. H.] , "Whist of To-Day. ■" 

Signaling Game, The. — A game 
in which signals are employed; the 
modern scientific game, and es- 
pecially the game of " Cavendish," 



Trist, and those players who em- 
ploy American leads and other 
modern conventions. Whist, in a 
certain sense, is a signaling game 
whenever intelligently played, even 
without other conventions than the 
simple language of the cards and 
inferences drawn from the play of 
partner or adversaries. The old 
style of play, or Hoyle game, con- 
fined itself to this line of natural 
inferences. With the invention of 
the signal for trumps, in 1834, came 
the signaling game proper, and 
from that day it has been con- 
stantly added to until to-day a 
player of the days of Hoyle would 
be sorely puzzled to understand it. 
He would be like a child at his 
alphabet while those around him 
were engaged in reading fluently. 
Whist has been greatly elaborated 
by the addition of signals, and 
these are still bitterly opposed by 
those who prefer the game in its 
old-time simplicity, which they 
claim is better whist, giving the 
individual player better opportu- 
nities to exercise his own judgment, 
and to make more out of his hand, 
than if tied down by rules for every 
move which he makes. Neverthe- 
less the signaling game is firmly 
established, and has many advan- 
tages which are not appreciated by 
the followers of the old school. 

These refinements of artifice [penulti- 
mate, etc.] are utterly opposed to the 
essence of scientific whist, viz., the neces- 
sity of rational deduction. To substitute 
signals which convey information, with- 
out troubling the brains, must tend to 
spoil the game. — Westminster Papers 

lL^o:\. 

The signal game comprises all the vari- 
ous methods of signaling up hands be- 
tween partners, according to certain 
arbitrary and prearranged systems of 
play. Many players object to these 
methods as unfair, but they are now too 
deeply rooted to yield to protest. — R. F. 
Foster \S. O.], ''Complete Hoyle." 

Whist is a game of signals; and the 
main secret is that the novice, in his 



SIGNALING GAME, THE 392 



SIIvBNCB 



anxiety about the trump signal for which 
he watches so closely, or which he may 
be so auxious to give, fails to see by the 
fall of the cards the many real signals 
that to a good player are of much greater 
worth. — G. IV. Pettes [L. A. P.], "American 
IVhist Illustrated.''^ 

If there is any truth in the argument 
against whist-signaling, it goes too far; 
luuch farther than those who bring it 
forward probably intend. Almost every 
card played in the game is a signal; that 
is to say, a skillful partner will draw 
some inference as to the number or value 
of tlie cards remaining in the hand of the 
pJayer. And this is inevitable. — "■Modern 
H^hist;' Temple Bar, Vol. 79, 1887. 

As the one quality which gives whist 
its greatest charm and favorably dis- 
tinguishes it from chess and double- 
dummy is the exercise it affords of the 
faculty of reasoning from the known to 
the unknown, the introduction into the 
game of signals, which convey positive 
knowledge without exercising the rea- 
son, cannot but be regarded as a great 
blot on, and as tending to lower the char- 
acter of the game, and to make it less 
scientific. * * * No wonder that " Pem- 
bridge," in his last amusing and instruct- 
ive brochure, "The Decline and Fall of 
Whist," calls all the signals "wooden 
arrangements." — "Mogul" \L + C], 
Knowledge, 1885. 

If he [a player] asked an opponent, 
"Why did you cough twice just before 
playing?" and the opponent said, "In 
our club that means the card I am play- 
ing is my last in the suit; but two coughs, 
followed by a sneeze, imply that trumps 
are to be led instanter," he would prob- 
ably say, "I would rather not play in 
your company." But really there is not 
much to choose between the two methods 
of signaling. And I think, with " Mo- 
gul," there is absolutely nothing to choose 
between the "peter" and a system (gen- 
erally admitted, if that makes any differ- 
ence) by which opening a suit of a 
different color from trumps should be un- 
derstood to mean all-round strength. — R. 
A. Proctor [L. C], "Is JVkist Signaling 
Honest P' 

With regard to the system of signaling, 
I sympathize with the objections which 
have been urged against it by many fine 
players, but the system must be learned 
by all who wish to play whist success- 
fully. It must be learned for defense, if 
not for attack. A player is not much 
worse off than his fellows if he deter- 
mines, and lets the table know he has de- 
termined, never to play the call for 
trumps, the echo, or the penultimate. He 
may even safely determine never to 
respond to the signal— indeed, with too 



many partners this is a necessary precau- 
tion. Yet he can never escape the duty 
oi noticing the signal. If he fails to do so 
he will ere long find himself forcing the 
enemy's weak trump hand, and omitting 
to force the strong (mistaking a response 
to the signal for an original trump-lead), 
or cominitting some other whist enor- 
mity.— .ff. A . Proctor [L. O.] . 

Signs. — There is a marked dif- 
ference between signals and signs 
in whist. A signal is a legitimate 
convention known and understood 
by all. A sign is an attempt to 
convey information by illegitimate 
means. It is communicating with 
partner in some secret, unfair man- 
ner, either by word, look, or ges- 
ture, or by the prearranged play of 
certain cards in a certain manner. 
Signs are used by card sharpers, and 
those who employ them should be 
expelled from the whist-table. 
(See, also, "Mannerisms," "Pecu- 
liarities of Players," and " Private 
Conventions.") 

If you, by look or gesture, endeavor to 
draw special attention to your play, you 
have not only cast an imputation upon 
the whist perception of your partner, but 
you have made an effort to take an unfair 
advantage of your opponent — you have 
made a sign, not a signal. — C. D. P. 
Hamilton \L. A.], "Modern Scientific 
Whist.-" 

Silence. — Whist has been called 
the silent game because it can be 
played without any other conversa- 
tion than that spoken by the cards. 
Its very name is by some authorities 
held to mean silence. (See, " Con- 
versation.") 

The best whist and silence are insepa- 
rable.— C D. P. Hamilton {L. A^, "Mod- 
ern Scientific Whist." 

We would repeat our earnest advice 
that all discussion be discontinued from 
the moment the deal commences. — Des- 
chapelles [O.]. 

The element of silence I find to be gov- 
erned entirely by appreciation of and 
consequent interest in whist, and that it 
is in no wise a matter of sex. — Adelaide B. 
Hyde \L. A\ Home Magazine, July, 18^5. 



SINGLE 



393 



SINGLETON 



Single. — In English whist par- 
lance, a game of one point, made 
by one side scoring five while their 
adversaries have scored three or 
four. (See, also, "Double," and 
"Treble.") 

Single Discard Call For 
Trumps. — The discard of an eight 
or higher card of a suit not yet in 
play, as a request for partner to 
lead trumps. This convention orig- 
inated with George W. Pettes. 
"Cavendish" does not approve of 
the play; at least, he does not be- 
lieve it should be treated as a com- 
mand, but rather as a suggestion, 
to lead trumps. 

There is still another one-card signal, 
which may be called the Pettes discard. 
This is a signal for trumps by throwing 
off an eight or any higher card. Ordi- 
narily, if your partner discarded a card 
as high as an eight, you would suspect 
that he was commencing a signal, but if 
you are plaj'ing the Pettes discard you 
must consider that he has already sig- 
naled, and lead trumps as soon as s^ou 
get in. This prevents discarding from 
weak suits which have no cards below 
the eight, but players who use this dis- 
card claim that it is seldom they cannot 
throw away a low card of their long suit 
when they do not want tru^nps.— John T. 
Mitchell [L. A.], ''Duplicate Whist" 

Single-Table Duplicate. — See, 
" Duplicate Whist, Schedules for 
Playing." 

Singleton. — A single card, or 
one card only, in a suit dealt to 
a player; the shorte.st short suit. 
The original lead of a singleton is 
considered very bad play by long- 
suit advocates, but it is made a 
very effective part of whist strategy 
by some short-suit players. There 
are other short-suit players who 
agree that singletons should not be 
led if such a lead can be avoided. 
(See, "Sneak Leads.") 

In plain suits, the original lead of a 
single card is in no case defensible. — 
^''Cavendish" [L. A.}. 



The only excuse for leading from a 
singleton is the chance of establishing a 
cross-ruff. — Ji. A. P>-octor \L. (?.]. 

I<ead a singleton only when you have 
six trumps, and your partner knows 
nothing of the game. — R. F. Foster \S. C], 
" Whist Strategy." 

Mathews, with considerable limita- 
tions, advocates leading singletons; now- 
a-daj'S the practice is decried, but I re- 
gret to say that, as far as my experience 
goes, the principal obstacle to leading a 
singleton is not having a singleton to 
lead. — ''Petnbridge" [L + O.l. 

The slight advantage you might gain 
by the lead of a singleton is more than 
balanced by your having deceived your 
partner, and, probably, assisted your op- 
ponent to establish his \on^ svdt.— Kate 
Wheelock [L. A.], "The Fundamental 
Principles and Rules of Modern Atnerican 
Whist," 1887. 

Trumping a short suit, if desired, gen- 
erally comes about of itself more advan- 
tageously than by leading a single card, 
which of itself is, on independent 
grounds, a disadvantageous lead; it may 
kill a good card of your partner's with- 
out any compensating benefit to him or 
to you, and it may tend to establish an 
adversary's suit, which is playing their 
ga.me. — William Pole \_L. A+l, ''Philoso- 
phy of Whist." 

I cannot see how the lead of a singleton 
can work damage in the long run, if it 
is always accompanied by moderate 
strength in trumps, such as four fairly 
good ones. In making this assertion, I 
do not wish to be understood as cham- 
pioning the haphazard leading of single- 
tons merely to make one or two little 
trumps. I urge it only when you have 
strength in trumps, or see a clear chance 
for a cross-ruff, or in preference to lead- 
ing from suits of not more than four 
cards, headed by a tenace — Val. W. 
Starjies \S. O.], "Short-Suit Whist." 

This [short-suit system] is the only sys- 
tem ever discovered that removes the 
time-honored objection to the singleton 
lead — its being misunderstood by the 
partner. All writers since Ho^'le have 
contended that there were many hands in 
v?hich the lead of a singleton would un- 
doubtedly be the be.st play, but for the 
danger that the partner might misunder- 
stand it, and exhau.st the trumps under 
the impression that the card was led from 
a long suit. The possibility of partner's 
misunderstanding the lead once removed, 
all the objections to the singleton disap- 
pear, and one of the most powerful en- 
gines at whist is placed at the disposal of 
the player who has no better use for his 
trumps than a possible cross-ruff. Here 
is an example of this system in actual 



SITTING 



394 



SKILI/ 



play. Z dealt and turned the heart 
eight: 



M 
'u 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
lO 
1 1 
12 
13 


5 « 
* A 
« 2 

(3? 2 


3 4k 

* 3 

* 5 

7 4k 

♦ 9 

9 4k 

♦ K 
(r? K 


A 4k 


6 * 
♦ J 
4k 7 

10 4k 
*Q 

8 4k 
^ A 
^ 6 

(;? 7 


♦ 4. 

<^ 9 


2 4k 

(5 10 


« 6 
^ 3 


4- 4k 
^ Q 
2 
4-0 
Q4k 
6 
90 
KO 


♦ TO 
^ 5 

* 8 

3 
5 
7 
lOO 


^ 4. 
80 
J 
QO 
AO 


K 4k 


J ♦ 


^ J 


<^ 8 





The three falling from Y, and holding 
the deuce and four himself, B knows the 
five must be a singleton, so he does not 
finesse. Neither does he return the suit, 
but plays his own singleton first, so as to 
establish the cross-ruff. — 7?. i^ Poster [S. 
O.], Monthly Illustrator, March, 1897. 

Sitting. — A sitting at whist is a 
coming together at the table for 
play. The sitting may be long or 
short, according to the rules gov- 
erning (as in clubs), or the inclina- 
tions of the players, as in the social 
or family circle. 

Six-Spot. — The ninth card in 
value or rank, counting from the 
ace down; one of the low cards. 

In the sj'stem of American leads 
it figures only as a fourth-best lead. 
In the old leads it is a penultimate 
or antepenultimate (or fourth-best) 
lead. In the Howell (short-suit) 
system, it indicates the ruffing 
game, generally not more than two 
in suit and no higher. In the New 
York, or Keiley, system of short- 
suit leads, the six is one of seven 
small cards which are led either at 



the top of short weak suits or at the 
bottom of long and. moderately 
well-supported suits. Starnes does 
not advise a lead from two cards 
lower than a nine, except in des- 
perate cases, when you may go as 
low as a seven, or perhaps a six, 
leading always the higher card. 

Skill. — The element in whist 
controlled by the player, as distin- 
guished from the element of luck, 
which is beyond control except in 
so far as it may be eliminated from 
the game to a certain extent by the 
employment of special methods, 
such as duplicate play, for instance. 
At first, chance or luck largely pre- 
dominated in whist; but the im- 
provements, beginning with the 
introduction of the trump signal 
and culminating in duplicate whist, 
have thrown the balance very 
largely in favor of skill. The suc- 
cessful players to-day must depend 
more upon their skill than upon 
their luck. (See, " Duplicate 
Whist") 

Aces and kings will make tricks, and 
no amount of skill can make a ten win a 
knave. — Thomas Mathews [Z-. C]. 

Personal skill is the skill of the player 
himself as distinguished from any advan- 
tage which he may derive from luck or 
from the mistakes of others. — Anon. 

And here come into requisition your 
own personal and individual mental pow- 
ers; your acuteness of observation; your 
readiness in drawing logical inferences: 
your power of memory; your promptness 
in decision of action; and your soundness 
in judgment. All this is comprised in 
what is known as personal skill. — Wil- 
liam Pole [L. A +] . 

It has been urged that if whist became 
more a game of skill, and less a game of 
chance, bad or indifferent players would 
not join in it as freely as they do now. I 
reply, so much the better; there is noth- 
ing so trying to the patience and temper 
as when there are three good players and 
one very bad. — A. IV. Drayson [i+.(4-f-]. 
" Whist Laws and Whist Decisions.'''' 

A constantly varying demand is made 
on the attention and the skill of a player. 
Deschapelles, the great French writer, 
has a fanciful way of illustrating this: he 



SKILL 



395 



SLAM 



likens the progress of a hand at whist to 
the parabolic path of a shell thrown from 
a mortar, the seventh trick forming the 
apex of the curve. During the first half, 
corresponding to the rise of the projec- 
tile, the play is tentative, and the player 
is acquiring information, which in the 
latter, or descending portion, he has to 
apply. — William Pole [L. A+], "Philoso- 
phy of Whist:' 

Dr. Pole writes in the Field, June i6, 
1866: "It is very desirable to ascertain 
the value of skill at whist. The voluntary 
power we have over results at whist is com- 
pounded of: (i) The system of play. (2) 
The personal skill employed." The mod- 
ern system, which combines the hands of 
two partners as against no system (the 
personal skill of all being pretty equal) is 
worth. Dr. Pole thinks, about half a point 
a rubber, or rather more. About nine 
hundred rubbers played by systematic as 
against old-fashioned players gave a bal- 
ance of nearly five hundred points in 
favor of system. The personal skill will 
vary with each individual, and is diflacult 
to estimate; but, looking at published 
statistics, in which Dr. Pole had confi- 
dence, he puts the advantage of a verv 
superior player (all using system) a't 
about a quarter of a point a rubber; con- 
sequently the advantage due to combined 
personal skill (z. e., two very skillful 
against two very unskillful players, all 
using system) would be more than half a 
point a rubber. The conclusion arrived 
at by Dr. Pole is that " the total advantage 
of both elements of power over results at 
■whist may, under very favorable circum- 
stances, be expected to amount to as 
much as one point per rubber." Now, 
at play-clubs, nearly all the players ad- 
here more or less closely to system, and 
the great majority have considerable per- 
sonal skill. Consequently only the very 
skillful player can expect to win any- 
thing, and he will only have the best 
player at a table for a partner, on an av- 
erage, once in three times. It follows 
from this that the expectation of a very 
skillful player at a play-club will only 
average, at the most, say a fifth or a sixth 
of a point a rubber.— /?zc/zartf A . Proctor 
[L O.], ''How to Play Whist." 

In the latter part of the winter of 1857, 
during an after-dinner table conversa- 
tion. It was remarked by some of the 
party that whist is a mere matter of 
chance, since no amount of ingenuity can 
make a king win an ace, and so on. This 
produced an argument as to the merits of 
the game; and, as two of the disputants 
obstinately maintained their original po- 
sition, it was proposed to test their powers 
by matching them against two excellent 
players in the room. To this match, 
strange to say, the bad players agreed, 



and a date was fixed. Before the day ar- 
rived it was proposed to play the match 
in double, another rubber of two good 
against two bad players being formed in 
an adjoining room, and the hands being 
played over again, the good players hav- 
ing the cards previously held by the bad 
E layers, and vice versa, the order of play 
eiug, of course, in every other respect 
preserved. The difficulty now was to 
find two players sufficiently bad for this 
purpose; but two men were found on 
condition of having odds laid them at 
starting, which was accordingly done. 
On the appointed day a table was formed 
in room A, and as soon as the first hand 
■was played the cards were re-sorted and 
conveyed into room B. There the hand 
was played over again, the good players 
in room B having the cards that the bad 
players had in room A. At the end of the 
hand the result was noted for compari- 
son, independently of the score, which 
was conducted in the usual way. Thirty- 
three hands were played in each room. 
In room A the good players held very 
good cards, and won four rubbers out of 
the six; in points, a balance of eighteen. 
In room B the good players had, of course, 
the bad cards. They played seven rub- 
bers with the same number of hands that 
in the other room had played six, and 
they won three out of the seven, losing 
seven points on the balance. The differ- 
ence, therefore, was eleven points, or 
nearly one point a rubber, in favor of 
skill. A comparison of tricks showed 
some curious results. In seven of the 
hands the score by cards in each room 
was the same. In eighteen hands the 
balance of the score by cards was in favor 
of the superior players; in eight hands in 
favor of the inferior. In one of these 
hands the bad players won two by cards 
at one table, and three by cards at the 
other. The most important result is that 
at both tables the superior players gained 
a majority of tricks. In room A they won 
on the balance nineteen by tricks; in 
room B they won two by tricks. It will 
be observed that this experiment does 
not altogether eliminate luck, as bad play 
sometimes succeeds. But by far the 
greater part of luck, viz., that due to the 
superiority of the winning cards, is, by 
the plan described, quite got rid of — 
''Cavendish" \L. Ai\, "Card-Table Talk." 

Slam. — The winning of all the 
tricks in one hand at -whist is 
called a slam. The term is derived 
from the Icelandic -word slanira 
(Norwegian, .s/^m^Jia), to bang. Slam 
in the North of England meant to 
beat or cuflF one, to push violently; 



SMALL CARDS 



396 



SNEAK LEAD 



and it was gradually applied to 
winning or beating at cards, an old 
game somewhat resembling whist 
being called " slam." 

A slam counts seven points (the 
number over the first six, or book) 
for the winners, and this is enough 
to give them the game at any time, 
in American as well as English 
whist. Slams are not at all fre- 
quent, however, in whist proper. 
In dummy, and other so-called 
varieties of whist, the slam is 
more frequently made, and enters 
largely into the elements of play 
to be taken into consideration. In 
French dummy, or "mort," for 
instance, a slam counts twenty 
extra points for the side making it, 
although it does not affect the 
game score, the game being con- 
tinued as if no slam had been 
made. In "bridge," the little 
slam ( taking twelve of the thirteen 
tricks) counts twenty points, and 
the graud slam (taking all thirteen 
tricks ) counts forty points. 

Owing to the possibility of planningf 
the genera] scheme of the hand in 
advance, slams are more common at 
dummy than at whist. — Ji. F. Foster \S. 
6*.], ^'Complete Hoyle." 

The slam is considered of the same 
value as a full rubber, on condition that 
it shall not count in the game. This cus- 
tom we have adopted, at the same time 
that we are aware of the varieties intro- 
duced at different places. — Deschapelles 
[C], ^^Laws," Section 53. 

Small Cards. — All the cards in 
the pack from deuce to nine, in- 
clusive. George W. Pettes, and 
some other authorities, however, 
treat the nine as a high card. 
(See, "Low Cards.") 

Smoking While Playing. — One 

of the main objections which 
players who do not smoke find to 
playing whist at clubs, is that they 
are obliged to endure the almost 



intolerable nuisance of tobacco 
smoke, which is ever present in 
places where men congregate by 
themselves. The mixture of va- 
rious kinds of combustions of the 
weed is, at times, overpowering to 
those who are at all sensitive, and 
this is especially so when they are, 
perhaps, innocently and uncon- 
sciously made the target of a bom- 
bardment of clouds, from friend 
and foes alike, at the same table. 
And not only is the unpleasantness 
felt at the club, but it is carried 
home to wife and children, where 
for days, even after an airing, the 
best suit exhibits signs of mephitic 
infection. Non-smoking players 
will always be found to welcome 
ladies at the whist-table. 

There is one very common breach, per- 
haps more of good manners than of eti- 
quette, from which I have frequently 
suffered. I am not a smoker, but when I 
have joined a rubber, a looker-on would 
sit on each side of me and smoke pipes, 
while anotlier stood behind me, all puff- 
ing their smoke over me. I have fre- 
quently had to cease playing in conse- 
quence of this annoyance, as one does not 
like to complain repeatedly of such pro- 
ceedings. — A. W. Drayson \L-\-A-\-'\. 

Sneak Lead. — The lead of a sin- 
gleton for the purpose of trumping 
on the next round; inelegantly 
but expressively called a sneak 
lead, or sneak, because it is a pro- f 
ceeding which is somewhat akin to I 
the foe sneaking along from tree to ■ 
tree and shooting at you from am- 
bush. Although not relished by 
the opponents, especially long-suit 
players, who never employ it, un- 
less in most exceptional cases, the 
sneak lead is not objected to by 
any authority as a lead in itself, but 
solely and only because of the mis- 
chief which it may do in deceiving 
partner. The latter may make the 
mistake of thinking the lead is 
from a good long suit, and lead and 
get trumps out of the way. 



tuod/ 



ofiW mmoW 



?i6iV9<J gfsillivnr 



'SH .2-iIVi 



...m 







CARDS 



396 



SNEAK LEAD 



was gradually applied to 

r. ,-,-^, „.,;„, .,i- cards, an old 
mbling whist 



intolerable nuisance of tobacco 
.-■r- ,1 .. which, is ever present in 
/here men congregate by 
,' ves. The mixture of va- 
rious kinds of combustions of the 
weefl ifi ^t times, overpowering to 
thr all sensitive, and 

tl ' -0 when they are, 

pt. ' T 1 uncon- 

sc' H bom- 

bfc; - friend 

av! ' table. 



i:>antness 
the Uub, but it is carried 



seven points (the 
.. first six, or book ) 
>'o: '.,:.: .wis, and this is enough 

to irv. iiira the game at any time, 
' in as well as. English 

tus are not at all fre- 
q;,. . ^v.vvever, in whist proper, 
in dummy, and other so-called 
varieties of whist, the slam is 
more frequently made, and enters 
largely into the elements of play 
to be taken into consideration. In 
French dummy, or "mort." 
instauce-_a slain rjimits isj 
extra poWoKieHi ^ho^ >J 
although it docs not uffect 

game score, the game being con- „, . v v „ 

°. J .T „„ „i„^ u'r, ^ u^^^ There IS one very common breach, per- 

tmued as if no slam had been haps move of e-i -p-.^.-rs than of eti- 
"'Miss Aiini^' Bi'^elb^ie httlMrsciiMted'fevilners Levicte frequently 

.«laa.( ( iaking twelve of the thirteen sufrsr«l. i a-: -r, hut when I 



for 

■itv 



Al: 

felt <il 

home to wife and children, where 
for days, even after an airing, the 
best suit exhibits signs of mephitic 
ip (^ctiou . ^^N ori -smoking players 



rite AboUt-:W«iStuad to welcome 

ladies at the whist-table 



tiie 



tricks) counts t-.ventv points, and 



suffs-.vxl. 
' joined 



jker-on would 



ch .side oi uie and smoke pipes, 



the grand slam iiakMlSalHfialryeiii W?lil&c$!iother stood behind me. all puff- 



tricks) counts forty points. 
Mrs- :F? U: Aiswater: 



>r Tjlauning 

::.l in 

■■1 at 

..->• [5. 

the same 
/lition that 
This cus- 
wnie time 
tics intro- 
>eschapeUes 



— .AU th; 

':. to tin:;.', mi- 

Pettes, and 
...Lies, however, 
as a high card. 



Small Cardft. 

the pack. 

elusive. 

some otht. o^ , 

treat the nine 

(See, *'Low Cards.") 

Smoking While Playing. —One 

of the main objections which 
players who do not smoke find to 
playing whist at clubs, is that they 
are obliged to endure the almost 



I have fre- 
q.i - -ing in conse- 

M_ ,, . _ .ir.s oue does not 

rs. £. . y/agerr-SjOaiSp-of such pro- 
ceedings.—-^. IV. /Jrayson {L-irA-Y\ 

Sneak Lead. — The lead of a sin- 
gleton foi-the purpose of trumping 
on th' ' inelegantly 

but e\- , ed a sneak 

le-"' ^ it is a pro- 

Ct vvhat akin to 

th.- \, g from tree to 

tree and shooting at you from am- 
bush. Although not relished by 
the op{.)onents, especially long-suit 

f>lavers, who never employ it, un- 
t> a' cases, the 

er ected to by 

a in itself, but 

{ . of the mis- 

c! n deceiving 

paiinei. 'li ..)■ make the 

mi.stake of rhe lead is 

from a good Song s'xit, and lead and 
get trumps out of the way. 



i 



SNEAK LEAD 



397 



SOLO WHIST" 



So strong is the aversion to sneak 
leads among long-suit players, that 
some are under the impression that 
a sneak-leader is violating some law 
or rule of whist which would make 
him subject to a penalty. One of 
these, signing himself " H.," writes 
as follows to the secretary of the 
American Whist League (see 
Whist, June, 1896), and his query 
is treated in a humorous fashion: 
' ' Is there any law against a player 
leading the only card he has of a 
suit, making the so-called sneak 
lead ? That question came up last 
night, and I questioned it, and ap- 
ply to you for advice. ' ' 

Under the short-suit systems of 
play, the lead of the singleton is 
not as objectionable, because it is 
better understood and recognized. 
Sneak leads from short-suiters, who 
employ them systematically, are 
not nearly as offensive as when led 
by an ignorant player, who has a 
good hand from which he could 
easily lead something else to better 
advantage. 

There is no doubt that in certain cases 
a "sneak" lead will make more tricks 
than the regular lead, provided that it 
works as the leader intended; but the 
trouble is that in a majority of cases it 
does not so work. * * * A "sneak" 
lead occasionally proves very fortunate, 
but when it fails the result is, as a rule, 
very disastrous. — Whist \_L. A.J, August, 
1894. 

You have a perfect right to lead a 
"sneak," as you call it, if you want to, as 
original leader. There is no law against 
a man playing his cards just as he 
pleases. But before vou do such a thing 
you ought to have it understood with 
your partner; and if you succeed in^find- 
ing' one that will play with j-ou if you do, 
send us his photograph, and we will re- 
produce it as a whist curiosity. — P. J. 
Tormey [L. A.], San Francisco Call, April 
24, 1897. 

I am well aware that this advice to 
lead singletons, even with a cross-ruff in 
view, is apt to meet with emphatic pro- 
test from staunch long-suiters; but I do 
not believe such strong objections would 
be made if they gave the subject more 
attention. I think this attention might 



be granted but for the odium that at- 
taches to leading a " sneak." The name 
has killed the play, like the dog that was 
hung.— F<2/. IV. Starnes [5. 0:\,'' Short- 
Suit Whist y 



"Solo Whist." — Another so- 
called form of whist, greatly al- 
tered, and used chiefly for gam- 
bling purposes. It originated in 
the United States, being evolved 
from "boston" whist, and was 
introduced into England, about 
1856, by Dutch Jews. An ordinary 
pack of fifty-two cards is used, and 
these are dealt out three at a time 
to each of the four players at the 
table. When forty -eight cards 
have been dealt, the remaining four 
are dealt singly, the last one of all 
being turned up to indicate the 
trump suit. A game consists of 
one hand or deal, and each game is 
played with a distinct object, 
which is declared in advance. 
There are six objects, or calls, of 
varying importance and risk, as 
follows: (i) Proposition (or pro- 
posal) and acceptance: two declar- 
ing players in partnership propose 
to make eight or more tricks be- 
tween them. (2) Solo: a player 
must make not less than five tricks, 
the other three players being op- 
posed to him. (3) Mis^re: the 
player must make no tricks, the 
other players all playing against 
him, there being no trump suit. 
(4) The abondance: the single 
player to take nine tricks, naming 
his own trump. (5) Misere ou- 
verte: the same as a misere, except 
that after the first trick the caller 
must expose his remaining twelve 
cards. (In a variation of the game 
the caller wins nine of the thirteen 
tricks against the three other play- 
ers, with the trump suit that is 
turned up. In this game the misere 
ouverte, as first given, is called 
misere sur table, being an addi- 
tional object or call.) (6) Abon- 



SORTING CARDS 



398 SPECIAL TRUMP LEAD 



dance declar^e: this is the highest 
call, and the caller must take all 
the tricks, or, in other words, make 
a slam. In the Kimberly game, 
proposals and acceptances are ex- 
cluded. Solo whist is also played 
by two, three, or five persons. The 
stakes risked on the game varj' in 
different countries and among dif- 
ferent players. A popular arrange- 
ment in England is as follows: Six- 
pence proposals and solos, one 
shilling miseres, and so on, with 
one penny for every trick made 
over eight. In the one, two, and 
three shilling game, the stakes are 
much higher. In this country, 
counters or chips are used, as in 
poker, and the losses or winnings 
range from a red counter for a pro- 
posal and acceptance to eight red 
counters for a slam. Each over- 
trick or undertrick wins or loses a 
white counter. 

" Solo whist" is an attempt to simplify 
"boston" by reducing the number of 
proposals and the complications of pay- 
ments, and eliminating the features of 
spreads.— /^. F. JFosier [S. O.], ''Complete 
Hoyley 

Two objections are usually raised to 
solo whist. * * * The first is that it is 
a gambling game. * * =f The second is 
that whist is silence and that the conver- 
sation entailed by the calls is liable to be 
abused.—^. 5. Wilks, "Solo Whist." 

When players wish to enhance the 
gambling attractions of the game, a pool 
is introduced. Kor this purpose a recep- 
tacle is placed upon the table, in which 
each player puts a red counter at the be- 
ginning of the game. * * * in some 
places it is the custom for each player to 
contribute a red counter when he deals. 
—R. F. Foster [5. C], "Complete Hoyle." 



Sorting Cards. — See, 
Arrangement of." 



' Cards, 



Sound Play. — Play which is in 
accordance with the rules of the 
game, and in harmony with the ad- 
vice and practice of the best authori- 
ties; correct play. 



Do not be discouraged when sound play 
fails of success, which must often occur. 
— William Pole\L. A-\-\. 

The player who, having something good 
to do, does it, and having nothing good to 
do, does no harm, plays sound whist. — 
Charles S. Street U-f-^.J, "Whist Up to 
Date." 

South.— The player who, with 
north, plays against east and west, 
a designation specially used in du- 
plicate whist. South corresponds 
to B in the A-B vs. Y-Z mode of 
designating the players, and on the 
first round of the opening play he 
is the third hand. 

Spades. — One of the four suits 
into which a pack of cards is divi- 
ded; one of the two black suits. 
In the original Spanish cards, from 
which modern cards are derived, 
the symbol was swords, and the 
name spades is derived from the 
Spanish espadas, and the Italian 
spade, both of which mean swords. 
The French card-makers favored 
spear-heads [piques) for this suit, 
and that is really what the symbol 
on our cards is, but we have re- 
tained the Spanish, or still more 
literally, the Italian name, while 
discarding the symbol of the latter. 
On German cards this suit was first 
indicated by a representation of 
leaves. 

Special Trump Lead. — The lead 
of a trump for a special purpose, 
such as stopping a ruff, or a cross- 
ruff, or to save the game. 

The situation often demands a special 
trump lead. If a ruff or see-saw is immi- 
nent, or for any special reason you desire 
two or more rounds of trumps at all haz- 
ard, you will lead a winning high trump 
when you otherwise would not. The 
score may affect your play of trumps. 
Suppose the score stands six against you, 
and the opponents have four, five, or six 
tricks home; you see the game is gone, 
unless a strengthening trump will save 
it. and you lead accordingly, — C. D. P, 
Hamilton [L. A.], "Afodern Scientific i 
Whist." I 



SPECIAI, TRUMP- SUIT 399 



SPOTS 



Special Trump-Suit Leads. — 

In the system of American leads, 
trumps are led the same as plain 
suits with five exceptions, and 
these exceptions are known as 
special trump-suit leads. They are 
as follows: 



TRUMP 
SUITS. 

Cards at 


Number of Cards in 
Suit. 


head of 
suit. 


7 


6 


5 


4 


3 


AK J 


XK 


XK 


XK 


KA 


-RA 


AK 


A K 


F K 


F K 


F K 


JUA 


A 


A F 


PA 


FA 


FA 


1a A 


KQT 


Cli 


Q,i 


Q,l 


Kia 


KljQ 


KQ 


Q.1 


F Q 


F Q 


FK 


K^ 



1 If ^ wins, lead F remaining, other- 
wise K. 

2If K wins, lead original F, other- 
wise Q. 

Speech at a Whist Dinner. — At 

a club in India the whist-players 
tendered one of their number, who 
was about to leave them, a farewell 
dinner, and the organizer of the 
feast proposed the health of the 
guest in a happy manner. In order 
to explain certain allusions in the 
remarks it may be mentioned that 
the guest was an officer on the 
staff of the district, from which he 
was necessarily moved upon hav- 
ing been promoted to higher rank. 
The headquarters of the district are 
not very far from Golconda, where 
the diamonds used to "grow." 
None are found there now, how- 
ever — hence the speaker's touch 
of irony. The allusion to glee 
singers was appropriate, because 
the parting guest was conductor of 
the local amateur musical society. 
Said the speaker: 

" Gentlemen: I rise to propose 
the health of our guest, who, in 
whist language, is 'discarding' us 



in order to ' cut in' at some other 
' table. ' Where that may be we do 
not know, but whatever the place 
we can only hope that it vdll ' suit 

his hand.' Since has been 

here we have all learnt to prize 
him. We consider his ' points very 
high,' for not only at whist, but in 
his private life, he ' plays a good, 
straight game' — no 'tricks,' no 
'shuffling,' no 'double-dealing,' 
or ' misleading,' and, as a natural 
'sequence,' he has gained a strong 
' tenace' over our ' hearts.' All we 
hope for is that, having given so 
good a 'lead,' his successor will 
'follow suit.' Now, gentlemen, 
what sort of a ' hand' shall we wish 
our guest at his new table ? As 
regards 'diamonds,' why he has 
been in the neighborhood of Gol- 
conda, and if he has not got his 
pockets full, like the rest of us, it 
must be his fault; as for ' clubs,' I 
do not think he will want any to 
break other people's heads with, 
and I feel sure he will not be in 
any danger of getting his own bro- 
ken ; as for ' hearts, ' he is sure to 
win those wherever he goes; and 
lastly, the 'spades,' I suppose, 
point to a rural retreat and a circle 
of glee-singers amongst whom to 
spend the evening of his da3'S. 

' ' Gentlemen, I ask you to drink 
his health in a ' bumper, ' as a real 
good 'trump,' and the ' deuce ' is 
in it if you do not respond to this 
' call' with the ' highest honors' — 
not only a ' single,' but a 'double,' 
'treble,' and the ' rub' !" 

Spots. — The pips or marks on 
the cards, from the two to the ten 
inclusive, are called spots; and these 
cards are designated by the number 
of spots they bear; as, the two-spot, 
the three-spot, the eight-spot. They 
are also called by other names, such 
as the deuce, the trey, the eight, 
etc. 



SPREAD 



400 



STAKES 



What are called in America the " spots" 
on cards are in England termed " pips," 
or " singles." They have also been called 
"points," and, in Seymour's time, 
"drops." — R. H. Rheinhardi. 

Spread. — To spread the pack 
means to distribute the cards, backs 
uppermost, upon the table, so that 
cards may be drawn from any part 
of the pack. It is sometimes used 
in cutting for partners, etc. 

Stakes. — Money played for at 
■whist, especially in the English 
five -point game, with honors. 
Stakes are supposed to lend an ad- 
ditional interest to the game, but 
to us it seems that it must be pretty 
poor whist which needs such an in- 
centive. The real truth of the 
matter is that stakes are a mild 
form of gambling, and have been 
handed down from the time when 
the game was used solely for gam- 
bling purposes in taverns and other 
low resorts. In England and other 
countries where stakes are an ad- 
junct of whist, especially at the 
clubs, this supposed interest is en- 
hanced by bets in addition to the 
stakes, and the English etiquette 
of whist has found it necessary to 
protect the players at a table in 
their privilege of first placing their 
money before bystanders, eager to 
bet also, shall be allowed to do so. 
This, however, is the only reference 
that we find to betting in the Eng- 
lish code. It says nothing what- 
ever about stakes, and this itself is 
proof that they are not a necessary 
part of the game, but an addition 
made by custom. The popular 
English stake at whist is half-a- 
crown, not a large sum in itself, 
aside from the bets which may add 
to it, yet players who are unlucky 
at the table (the five-point game, 
with honors, being greatly a game 
of chance) sometimes find that 
they can ill afford the expensive 



pleasure. Foster tells how ' ' Pem- 
bridge" was so unfortunate at 
whist that for years he frequented 
a small club where they played 
threepenny points, just one-tenth 
the popular stake (rather an ironi- 
cal commentary on the old-style 
game which he so ably defended 
against modern innovations). 

In America whist has been 
purged of the objectionable feature 
of stakes, along with the counting 
of honors and other modes of play 
conducive to play for money. The 
first congress of the American 
"Whist League, which met at Mil- 
waukee in 1891, declared in favor 
of whist for its own sake, and 
against stakes. This has been so 
satisfactory and gratifying to the 
American people that thousands 
take an interest in the game who 
would otherwise have found it ob- 
jectionable, or at least refused it 
admission to the home circle. The 
general opinion in this country 
seems to be that if whist is not 
worth playing without stakes or 
bets, those who are dissatisfied with 
it can easily find some other more 
congenial card game. The fact 
that better whist is played in 
America than in any other country 
in the world ( a fact testified to by 
"Cavendish" and other eminent 
authorities who have visited this 
country) must be ascribed, in some 
measure at least, to this very idea 
of playing the game for its own 
sake. , (See, also, "Gambling.") 

In all clubs and coteries where whist is 
played for its own sake, "duplicate" is 
now the only game played, "straight" 
being confined to those clubs that allow 
play for stakes, where a game is required 
which gives the mediocre plaj'er a show 
for his raonfty .—John T. Mitchell [L. A.], 
'■'Duplicate Whist," iSgy. 

There is another consideration peculiar 
to England, namely, that here whist is 
always played for money; for the zeal 
which has led Americans, in their great 
whist festivals, to abolish stakes and to 



STAKES 



401 



STAKES 



play for the mere love of tlie game, has 
not vet spread to this side of the ocean. — 
Wiiliam Pole [L. A+], "Evolution of 
Whist:' 

It is only when the stakes are large 
enough to be more than the player can 
afford that any excitement can be added 
to the pleasure which a good game like 
whist affords in itself. And when once 
the stakes are allowed to attain such an 
amount the play becomes gambling. — 
Richard A. Proctor [L. C], Echo, London, 
July 17, i8y8. 

It should require no argument to prove 
that a man who loves whist for its own 
sake, and struggles to win the game for 
the satisfaction derived from mental 
supremacy, is more likely to make a good 
whist-player than one who finds no in- 
ducement in the game without the stimu- 
lus of a stake. — Cassius M. Paine [L. A.I, 
Whist, February, 1893. 

At the first whist congress the League 
took strong ground in opposition to play 
for stakes, and, so far as we know, this 
edict is strictly enforced by the League 
clubs. We know positively that in the 
leading clubs, such as the Milwaukee, 
Chicago, Hamilton, and Minneapolis 
Clubs, no betting of any kind is permit- 
ted. — Whist [L. A .] , September, i8gj. 

Money stakes are no inducement to the 
play for whist, for the reason that the 
game is too slow for the gambler, while 
men of the highest intelligence are not 
to be tempted by such bait. The pleasure 
of vanquishing their opponents in a 
purely mental contest is, to men of such 
intelligence, of more value than any 
money consideration. — Eiigene S. Elliott 
\L. v4"]. Whist, December, 1893. 

Whist cannot be properly played unless 
something depends upon the result. The 
object of playing well is to win; but I 
think it is obvious that if nothing de- 
pended upon winning or losing, the play 
would not be good, but simply eccentric, 
and players would make the most mar- 
velous finesses, and play the most extra- 
ordinary cards, just to see what would 
happen, and to gain ignorant applause 
when an5'thing more than usually out- 
rageous came off. — H. M. Phillips, West- 
minster Papers, October j, 1S78. 

[Mr. Safford's resolution, adopted by the 
first congress of the American Whist 
League] voiced the sentiment of the 
whist world to a main extent, namely, 
that whist is a game containing within 
itself resources of intellectual recreation 
that are not dependent upon stakes or 
wagers to add zest to it. Outside of the 
moral phase of the question, this is the 
fact, and real lovers of the game do not 
require a stake, however insignificant or 
otherwise, to increase the stimulus. — C. 
26 



S. Boutcker [L. A.], "Whist Sketches," 
1892. 

The English game is invariably 
played for so much a rubber point; some- 
times with an extra stake upon the rub- 
ber itself. In America [in exceptional 
cases where stakes are played for] , it is 
usual to play for so much a game; but in 
some cases the tricks are the unit, de- 
ducting the loser's score from seven, or 
playing the last hand out and then de- 
ducting the loser's score. A very popular 
method is to play for a triple stake: so 
much a trick, playing each hand out; so 
much a game; and so much a rubber. — R. 
F. Foster \S. O.], " Complete Hoyle." 

The good sense of the community 
generally fixes the stakes at a reasonable 
sum. * * * Thus, at whist, the do- 
mestic rubber may be played for postage 
stamps or for silver three-pennies; in 
general society, shillings, with perhaps 
an extra half-crown on the rubber, are 
common enough; while at the clubs, 
where money flows more easily, half- 
crown or crown points are the ruling 
prices. At crack clubs, where many of 
the members are men of wealth, higher 
points are, of course, to be met with. — 
"Cavendish" [Z,. A.^, "Card Essays." 

Whist-players in America do not regard 
stakes as in any wise adding to the inter- 
est of the game, while, on moral grounds, 
they find strong reasons for opposing 
them. The reason urged in favor of the 
stake is that it makes players more 
careful; while, it is claimed, the wager is 
not gamoling unless so considerable as to 
be a matter of importance. Whist con- 
siders neither of these grounds supported 
by the best argument. If the stake is so 
small that a player cares nothing whether 
he wins or loses, it is too small to induce 
a careless player to mend his ways. — C. 
M. Paine \L. A .] , Whist, December, 1892. 

One of the prevailing faults of all play- 
ers — good, bad, and indifferent — is a 
readiness to find fault with one's partner. 
This is much more noticeable among 
those who play for stakes, whether large 
or small. There seems to be something 
in the fact of having some pecuniary gain 
or loss depenaing on the result which 
renders one irritable and suspicious. 
Perhaps it is necessarily so. Gambling, 
or even playing for stakes small enough 
to merely " definethe interest," as " Cav- 
endish" euphoniously phrases it, can be 
based only on selfish motives. The play, 
no matter how small the stakes, must 
be based on that selfish motive, or 
"interest," to get your neighbor's six- 
pences or guineas (as may be) away from 
him: and, mark it well, not by skill, but 
as the result of chance — for the stake- 
player as a rule does not care a particle 
for skill — and only prays for good luck, 



STARNKS, VAIv. W. 



402 



STARNES, VAL. W. 



and exults in it when it comes. — Fisher 
Ames [L. A.}, Whist, September, i8gs. 

Starnes, Val. W. — A bright and 
promising young Southern whist 
author, whose advocacy of short- 
suit leads, while pronounced, is 
based upon a desire to harmonize 
long and short-suit play rather than 
to destroy the former. Mr. Starnes 
is the youngest son of the late 
Judge B. Starnes, one of the jus- 
tices of the Supreme Court of 
Georgia, and was born at Augusta, 
in that State, on August 30, i860. 
By profession he is a journalist and 
magazine writer. 

He was taught to play whist by 
his mother when he was ten years of 
age, and when duplicate whist was 
introduced, he took part in occa- 
sional games merely as a social 
duty, but cared little for the result, 
until it was forced upon his notice 
that whenever he was pitted against 
a certain opponent he invariably 
lost. As a matter of course this 
piqued him, and, procuring the 
leading works on the game, he 
studied them faithfully until he 
became proficient enough to turn 
the tables on his former adversary. 

As he began to have a thorough 
understanding of the theory and 
practice of the game, Mr. Starnes 
was impressed with this considera- 
tion: That since the long-suit game 
was so beautifully adapted to hands 
containing long strong suits, and 
the additional cards necessary to 
bring them in when established, it 
could not possibly be equally well 
suited to those other hands in 
which either the long suit itself, or 
the requisite cards for utilizing it, 
were wanting. It seemed to him, 
therefore, that some scheme of play 
was needed for making the most 
of the latter class of hands, "and 
just then," he says in a recent let- 
ter, ' ' I came in my reading, to the 



chapter on the short-suit game in 
Foster's 'Whist Strategy,' and I 
felt that therein lay the solution of 
the problem. 

"A little solitaire," he continues, 
' ' served to strengthen this belief, 
and then I determined to put the 
matter to a practical test by simply 
instructing my partner before sit- 
ting down to the table never to re- 
turn my lead unless it was abso- 
lutely evident that I had led from 
strength. I won the next thirteen 
games, and after losing the four- 
teenth, twelve more before drop- 
ping a second. Before that I had 
considered three consecutive victo- 
ries quite a feat. It was then — in 
the spring of 1895 — that the idea 
occurred to me to try to do for the 
short-suit game what so many had 
done for the long, namely, to 
analj'ze and expound its principles, 
and give such directions for play- 
ing it that even beginners might 
attempt doing so without any ex- 
cessive preliminary expenditure of 
time and study. It was an alto- 
gether untrodden field, and there- 
fore inviting. I began to write, 
and the result was ' Short-Suit 
Whist.'" 

When asked by us what he 
thought of the present status of the 
short-suit game, Mr. Starnes re- 
plied: " I think that public opinion 
can be depended upon sooner or 
later to decide the matter, and its 
approbation or condemnation is, 
after all, the true test of any novel- 
ty. Still, as a simple straw indic- 
ative of the wind's direction, I 
would like to mention the follow- 
ing: In his replies to the queries of 
subscribers, a prominent whist jour- 
nalist recently advised the short- 
suit lead from two submitted hands 
which might have been taken, al- 
most card for card, from corre- 
sponding illustrative hands in my 
book. A year ago the same gen- 



STILL PACK 



403 



STOW, BOND 



tleman, who is still an upholder of 
the long-suit doctrine, would never 
have dreamed of suggesting a lead 
from any but the longest suit, no 
matter how weak it might be, or 
what the complexion of the rest of 
the hand." 

It is a mistake, in his opinion, to 
speak of playing whist by any 
"system." Its infinite kaleido- 
scopic variety precludes it. In his 
book he makes no attempt to for- 
mulate any fixed line of play, but 
simply advises the short-suit lea(i 
from such hands as do not seem to 
be adapted to the long-suit game; 
and then, by an explanation of the 
points involved and numerous il- 
lustrations, he endeavors to supply 
the student with some standard to 
go by in deciding for himself. 
After this he demonstrates the 
course of play which common 
sense would suggest in regard to 
the contingencies that are most 
likely to arise. In other words, 
from his point of view, the chief 
difference between the long and 
short-suit game is in the original 
lead; after that the development, 
and not system, directs the play. 

Still Pack. — The pack of cards 
not in play, when two packs are 
used at a table, as in the clubs; 
sometimes also called a dormant 
pack. In some varieties of the 
game, such as " Prussian whist," 
for instance, the trump is cut from 
the still pack. 

Robert Southey, in his "Letters 
of Espriella," tells of an old Welsh 
baronet who attempted to reform 
the old-style game of whist by low- 
ering the number of points from ten 
to six, allowing no honors to be 
counted, and providing that the 
trump should be decided by draw- 
ing from a second or still pack, so 
that the dealer should have no ad- 
vantage, and all chance be, as far 



as possible, precluded. But the 
new system attracted but little 
attention in that slowly-moving 
age, and was soon lost sight of 
upon the death of its inventor. 
(See, also, " Declared Trump," and 
"National Trump.") 

Stow, Bond. — An advocate of 
advanced ideas in whist, and an 
analyst of great ability. He was 
born November 18, 1865, at Beloit, 
Wisconsin, and started on his edu- 
cational career at the age of five, 
he» tells us, when his father made 
for him a little stool with a drawer 
under the seat, and gave him a bat, 
a rubber ball, a primer, and a slate, 
and bade him "go it." In due 
time he was graduated from the 
Evanston High School (classical 
course) ; the Northwestern Univer- 
sity, in which he received the de- 
grees of A. B. and A. M. ; and the 
Chicago Medical College (medi- 
cal department of the Northwestern 
University), which conferred upon 
him the degree of M. D. He also 
received honorable mention for 
special work in pathology and in- 
ternal medicine, in the clinics of 
the general hospitals of Vienna, 
Berlin, Dresden, and Munich. He 
was a staff physician in the medical 
department of the Michael Reese 
Hospital Dispensary, and demon- 
strator and quiz-master in path- 
ology in the Chicago Medical Col- 
lege. Also, for one year, professor 
of general pathology at the dental 
school of the Northwestern Uni- 
versity. He is now ( 1897) resident 
physician of the Glenwood Hot 
Springs Company, at Glenwood 
Springs, Colorado. He is a mem- 
ber of the Chicago Medical Society, 
the Colorado State Medical Society, 
and of the American Medical Asso- 
ciation . 

Dr. Stow's parents were staunch 
Methodists, and his father holding 



STOW, BOND 



404 



STOW, BOND 



prominent positions in the church, 
card games were a forbidden amuse- 
ment. Therefore the lad's early 
card-playing had to be done sub 
rosa. At first it was cassino; then 
euchre. It was not until 1885 that 
he received his first introduction to 
whist, and he tells the story as 
follows: " One cold, drizzling after- 
noon in November, I found myself 
with three old college friends, Mr. 
David Bloom, Mr. Samuel Boddy, 
and Mr. F. C. Cook. A game of 
whist was proposed. I protested 
my entire ignorance of the game, 
but was overruled and told to sit 
down and follow suit. Well do I 
remember the whirl my head was 
in when the game was concluded. 
It was then and there that I realized 
what a rich field whist was in which 
to exercise one's powers of analysis, 
and I determined to start in and 
learn the game. I am still plod- 
ding that road, which seems as 
though it had no terminus; and 
nowadays, when the by-paths of 
fads are made so alluring, it is with 
difficulty that some can find the 
old, original turnpike. But I find 
myself still on the old long-suit 
road. ' ' 

In college Dr. Stow's favorite 
studies were mathematics and phil- 
osophy. He found an indescriba- 
^ble fascination in analyzing and 
philosophizing over hard problems, 
and for this reason, as already inti- 
mated, whist proved a fresh delight 
to him when found. He feels 
deeply indebted to it for the part it 
has played in strengthening his 
powers of observation, analysis, 
judgment, and in developing what, 
for want of a better term, is some- 
times called the sixth sense. 

His chief writings on the game 
have appeared in Whist, and are all 
of an analytical character. Among 
the topics treated by him are the 
following: (i) Unblocking to the 



king-lead; (2) the lead of the ten- 
spot from queen, jack, ten; (3) to 
discard always from the suit you 
do not wish your partner to 
lead to you (see Whist, January, 
1896); (4) the lead of queen from 
ace, king, queen, jack, and others, 
thus forcing the jack-lead always 
to deny the presence of the ace, 
being the only lead from king, 
queen, jack, and others, or at the 
top of a short suit. These four 
topics were ably and exhaustively 
treated, and commanded universal 
attention. Concerning his position 
on all of them he says, under date 
of October 22, 1897: "I think the 
ten-lead from queen, jack, ten, is 
now prettv generallv accepted." 
(See, "Hamilton Leads.") "The 
discard is to-day, as I suspect it 
always will be, a question of much 
dispute. I am to-day, as at the 
time when I wrote my plea for my 
form of the discard, a firm believer 
in it. It is a discard which comes 
as near the natural idea of the dis- 
card (namely, the throwing away 
of that which you do not want) as 
anything can come; at the same 
time I am positively commanding 
my partner not to lead me the suit I 
discard from. Mark you, that does 
not necessarily mean that I am 
weak in the suit I discard. I may 
be very strong. All partner needs 
to know is that he is not to lead me 
the suit I discard. I have excellent 
reasons why, at that particular 
stage of the game, he should not 
lead it. Of course, if I discard the 
command of a suit, he comes with 
that suit; or if I discard a high 
and then a lower card of a suit, 
I show strength in it, and wish it 
led." 

Dr. Stow also originated the rules 
for detecting forced leads, as found 
in Foster's "Whist Manual," third 
edition, page 169, where due credit 
is given him. 



STRAIGHT WHIST 



405 



STRANGERS 



Straight Whist. — Ordinary wliist 
as distinguished from duplicate. 
In straight whist the hands are 
played but once, and at the con- 
clusion of each hand the cards are 
immediately shufi&ed for another 
deal. Straight whist is the original 
whist; duplicate, a comparatively 
recent invention. 

Straight whist has been largely 
superseded by duplicate whist in 
America, both at the clubs and in 
private. In countries where stakes 
are played for, duplicate makes less 
progress, as stakes, the counting of 
honors, and all matters favoring 
chance instead of skill, are foreign 
to it. Many older players also pre- 
fer straight whist because they are 
strongly wedded to it, and some of 
them do not care to risk their repu- 
tations to its unerring test. Others 
there are, like " Cavendish," who 
play both, but like duplicate better 
for match-play and straight whist 
for social enjoyment. 

" Cavendish" * * * thinks that, on the 
whole, the straight whist of seven up, 
without honors [the American game], is 
the most perfect mode of scoring for in- 
tellectual players that has yet been de- 
vised. — William Pole [L. A+}. 

For purposes of social enjoyment I give 
a distinct preference to straight whist. 
Moreover, in the straight game there is 
the feature of playing to the score, which 
is almost altogether wanting in the dupli- 
cate game. The straight game also takes 
less time to play than a series of duplicate 
hands which are to amount to anything, 
and it admits of variety of partners, and 
occasional rest, when cutting in and out. 
For purposes of match play I give my ad- 
hesion to duplicate. At this game the 
object of the play is not one of rest and 
recreation; the intention is to bring to 
the front the best players by eliminating 
luck as far as possible. — "Cavendish" [L. 
A .] , Whist, September, i&gj. 

Strain of Whist, The. — As in all 

other trials of skill (not to mention 
those of endurance), there is a 
heavy strain connected with the 
whist matches which are frequently 



played in all parts of the country", 
and especially with those contests 
which occur at the annual congress 
of the American Whist Ivcague. 
Those who have charge of contests 
of this kind should see to it that 
the players are not subjected to 
conditions and modes of play that 
may impair health, and turn a 
healthful and beneficial recreation 
of the mind into an injurious task. 

Turning a relaxation and a pleasure 
into a business and a toil is to be depre- 
cated, not recommended; and a wise man 
would rather give up whist altogether 
than be compelled to play it upon the im- 
plied condition that he was to keep his 
mind eternally upon the strain. — A. Hay- 
ward [<9.] . 

Those who have never attended a con- 
gress can form no idea of the physical 
and mental strain which has to be borne 
by the teams which are called upon to 
play in the tournaments day after day. 
In addition to this, it isthe'one annual 
opportunity for us to meet our brethren 
from all parts of the country, an opportu- 
nity that we most eagerly look forward to 
from the adjournment of one congress 
until the beginning of the next, and that 
we embrace to the very fullest extent. I 
do, and I expect to continue doing so 
while life and health permit. Like 
many others at Minneapolis, I always 
saw the rosy dawn before retiring. I 
sought repose anywhere from 12 p. m. to 
8 a. m. (generally nearer to 8 than to 12), 
and rose anywhere from 8 to 12. Try a 
week of this and then try to play whist. 
On the last day all the players were tired, 
very tired. One of them fainted twice 
after the last hand had been played. No 
man was more physically unfit than I 
was. As President Elliott said at Phila- 
delphia, "the thinker didn't think." Ex- 
ample: During one deal I involuntarily 
went to sleep — physically or mentally — 
perhaps both. When I awoke, or was 
awakened, I had a number of cards in my 
hand, but what had been done was all a 
blank to me. Finally I remembered that 
my first lead had been a trump, and hav- 
ing two trumps still in my hand, and the 
three other players gazing at me in a 
state of awful expectancy, I blindly led a 
trump only to find the major tenace at my 
right, and so I generously contributed 
two or more tricks to my courteous ad- 
versaries. — Anon, Whist, i8g6. 

Strangers, Playing With.— " If 

I am thrown among players of 



STRATEGY 



406 



STRATEGY 



whom I know nothing," says 
James Clay, ' ' I feel that I play to 
a great disadvantage. I am like a 
boy on the first day of going to a 
new school, not knowing whom to 
like, whom to trust, and whom to 
distrust." In these latter days 
there is not only this natural feel- 
ing of newness and groping in the 
dark, but there is the additional 
wonder as to which of the numer- 
ous systems and special plays the 
stranger may employ. Few play- 
ers but feel at a disadvantage under 
these circumstances, and yet, pro- 
vided the man be not a bumblepup- 
pist, it is not difficult, with a little 
patience, to become acquainted 
with and interested in his play. 
One great aid in establishing mu- 
tually pleasant relations is to ex- 
ercise true politeness and courtesy, 
and to treat the stranger as if he 
were a master at the game. He 
may turn out to be such, or at 
least a much better player than 
yourself. 

Strategy. — The higher form of 
whist-play which rises above the 
mere observance of rules and fol- 
lowing out of conventional usages. 
Strategy is the play of the advanced 
player who has learned the rules, 
and when to break them; who has 
the ability to judge correctly the 
various situations which arise in the 
progress of the game, and to ap- 
ply the mode of play best suited to 
each. 

To a certain extent strategy is 
employed by every player whose 
game is not entirely devoid of aim. 
If he decides to open his long suit, 
there is a certain form of strategy 
involved to bring it in. If he de- 
cides to sacrifice a worthless hand 
for the benefit of partner, there is 
also a certain line of strategy 
necessary. The strategy of the 
game differs also with the style of 



whist which is played. In the 
English five-point game, with 
honors counting, an important ob- 
ject is playing to the score, and 
strategy varies in accordance with 
your chances of going out, or your 
opponents making game before 
you. At the opening of the game 
a bold dash is generally made for 
the first point, so that your oppo- 
nents, even if they score four by 
honors, cannot go out that hand. 
There is necessity, also, to play so 
as to make the losses as small as 
possible, even if you cannot win, 
for there are the rubber points to be 
taken into consideration. In the 
American seven-point game, hon- 
ors not counting, where all the 
points made are by cards, and every 
game is complete in itself, with no 
doubles, trebles, nor anything of 
that kind to fear, a more conserva- 
tive form of game may be played. 
In duplicate whist, conservative 
strategy is still more important, as 
losses must be kept down as much 
as possible. 

Whist strategy consists in making spe- 
cial plays, contrary to the conventional 
rules, under certain conditions of the 
hand and state of the score, when, in the 
judgment of the player, the game may 
be saved or won by so doing. — C. E. Coffin 
[L. A.], ''Gist of Whist:' 

In my opinion, the best strate^ is a 
combination of all the systems, which re- 
quires that a player shall take into ac- 
count not only the possibility of the 
hand he holds, and the state of the score, 
but the much more important factor, the 
personal equations of his partner and 
o-^'^on^vAs.—R. F. Foster \S. C], ''Whist 
Strategy." 

The conventionalities of whist are sim- 
ply a sort of musket and bayonet drill, 
which serve as an introduction to the 
higher art of strategy, an art which must 
be studied by itself, but which would be 
incomprehensible to one who was not 
familiar with the simpler conventionali- 
ties of the game. — R. F. Foster \S. C], 
"Duplicate Whist," 1894. 

Whist — the real game of whist, I mean 
— derives its interest entirely from strate- 
gy, by which either tricks are made by 
cards which would not, but for such 



STREET, CHARLES S. 4^7 STREET, CHARLES S. 



strategy', have power to take those tricks, 
or by which the plans of the adversaries 
to achieve such ends are detected and 
foiled. Tricks may be made by high 
cards, but there is no interest in that. 
Anj' one can take a trick with the ace of 
trumps. Tricks may be made by finesse 
— that is, by playing, instead of the best 
card, a lower card, which may or may 
not take the trick according as the inter- 
mediate card or cards lie to the right or 
left. This is better; but the finesse pure 
and simple is a matter of mere chance, 
and so far as the actual gain of a trick is 
concerned, there is no more scientific joy 
in the success of a finesse than in the cap- 
ture of a trick by a high card. There is 
science in the finesse; but the scientific 
interest does not depend on the direct 
success or failure of the finesse at the 
moment, but on its bearing upon the 
general play of the hand. Again, tricks 
may be made by trumping winning cards 
of plain suits. "There is often good sci- 
ence in bringing this about properly, not 
by the coarse lead of a single card or from 
a two-card suit, but by so arranging mat- 
ters that the ruff, when made, shall not 
impair, but utilize, the trump strength 
which lies between you and your partner. 
Special pleasure is there in a cross-ruflf 
when ingeniously secured and properly 
employed; still more pleasure in tempt- 
ing the enemy to a cross-ruflf, which, 
while not lasting long enough to give 
them more than three or four tricks, just 
destroys their superior trump strength. 
But the great delight of whist strategy 
lies in the manoeuvres by which small 
cards are made to conquer large ones, as 
when a long suit is successfully brought 
in or the enemy forced by skillful strategy 
to lead up to a]!tenace. Nor is there less 
pleasure in noting and foiling the plans 
of the adversary for achieving these same 
ends. Nay, to the true player there ought 
to be pleasure even in noting the skill 
by which the enemy achieves success; but 
I fear me this is more than most players 
of whist attain to, however earnest may 
be their whist enthusiasm. — R. A . Proc- 
tor \_L.ori. 

Street, Charles Stuart. — A suc- 
cessful whist author and teacher; 
■was born in New York City, June 
i8, 1864. He is a lawyer by pro- 
fession, having been educated for 
the bar and regularly admitted to 
practice, but his real forte seems to 
be that of an instructor, and he is 
at present principal of the Hale 
School for Boys, at Boston. He 
also devotes some of his time regu- 



larly to the teaching of whist, and 
has done so ever since 1890. Two 
years before that his real interest in 
the game first began. 

In teaching he early realized that 
pupils could not remember without 
notes, and to save time he issued a 
series of lesson cards, and these 
cards gradually grew into a book, 
so that in 1896 " Whist Up to Date" 
was published. Previous to this, 
in 1890, he had published his 
"Concise Whist; the Principles of 
Modern Whist as Modified by 
American Leads, Presented in a 
Simple and Practical Form;" of 
which W. P. Courtney, in his 
"English Whist and Whist-Play- 
ers," expressed the opinion that it 
"was the condensed wisdom of 
more than one student of the 
game." 

While Mr. Street is a firm be- 
liever in the long-suit game and 
American leads for general players, 
he has nevertheless evolved, in the 
second part of his ' ' Whist Up to 
Date," a scheme or system for ad- 
vanced players in which he en- 
deavors to embody the good points 
of both long and short-suit play, 
and to remedy the weaknesses of 
both. This system he terms the 
modified game {q. z'.). One of its 
leading features is contrasted with 
a portion of the Howell game, 
as follows, by R. F. Foster, in the 
New York 6'««, December 5, 1897; 
"This system of leading interior 
cards from unsupported long suits 
is the distinguishing mark between 
the game advocated by Howell and 
that outlined by Street. Howell's 
idea was to use the six, seven, and 
eight as leads from short suits, pre- 
ferably singletons, to invite a force. 
Street uses the same cards as inte- 
rior leads from long suits, inviting 
partner to play for the suit if he is 
strong enough, but warning him 
that the original leader has neither 



STREET ATTACHMENT 408 



STUDY WHIST 



trump strength nor re-entry cards." 
More correctly speaking, it denies 
both trump strength and re-entry 
cards; but either one or the other 
may be present. 

Street Attachment, The. — A 

conventional play used by Charles 
S. Street in his system of the 
"modified game" [q.v.) for experts. 
In this system players do not call 
for trumps on the adversaries' suits, 
and Mr. Street uses the trump sig- 
nal instead, to show no more of the 
suit in which it is made. Similar 
signals are arranged to show three, 
but no honor, and three with an 
honor. 

Streeter Diamond Medal. — A 

diamond medal offered by Allton 
Streeter, of the Milwaukee Whist 
Club, for the highest individual 
score at duplicate whist, and played 
for at the first congress of the 
American Whist League, at Mil- 
waukee, 1891. Fifty-six contest- 
ants participated in the match, and 
the medal was won by E. Price 
Townsend, of the Hamilton Club, 
Philadelphia. 

Strength. — High cards, or more 
than the average number, or both, 
in a suit. Strength in a hand jus- 
tifies the holder in playing an ag- 
gressive game, leading trumps, at- 
tempting to bring in the long suit, 
etc. Strength may consist in good 
plain suits, or in an abundance of 
trumps; the ideal hand combines 
both. With strength in trumps 
(having four or five or more) the 
player usually passes a doubtful 
trick, saving his ammunition for a 
trump attack. 

Strengthening Cards. — Cards 
■which are led by a player whose 
hand is very poor, in the hope that 
they may benefit and strengthen 



his partner's hand; usually the in- 
termediate cards, queen, jack, ten, 
or nine. Much used by advocates 
of the short-suit game. 

On partner's lead of a strengthening 
card in your suit, generally finesse — that 
is, do not cover — so that his card may be of 
value to you. — Kate Wheelock \L. A.}, 
" IVkist Rules." 

Among long-suit -players the lead of a 
strengthening card is infallible evidence 
of weakness, and is generally regarded 
as the highest card in the leader's hand. 
It usually leaves him. open to merciless 
finesse by the player on his right, a lib- 
erty which cannot be taken with a short- 
suit player, whose game is to hold over 
his right-hand opponent. — R. F. Foster 
[5. O.], ''Whist Tactics:' 

A strengthening lead is the play of a 
queen, jack, ten, or nine, which is not led 
from any regular high-card combination. 
The hope is that the fourth hand may be 
forced to play a much higher card in 
order to win the trick, and that any inter- 
mediate or lower cards in the hands of 
the leader's partner may be strengthened. 
This strengthening play is one of the 
principal features of the short-suit game. 
— Val. W. Starnes \S. O.], "■Short-Suit 
Whist." 

Strength Signal.— See, "Plain- 
Suit Signal." 

Strong Suit. — A suit of four 
cards or more containing more 
than the average number of high 
cards; one in which tricks are as- 
sured after the adverse trumps 
have been drawn. 

Lead from your strong suit only when 
you are sufficiently strong to bring in 
that suit with the aid of reasonable 
strength on the part of your partner. — 
" Pembridge" \L-\-0^, "Decline and Fall 
of Whist." 

When you have sorted your hand, you 
can at once tell which is your longest 
suit. You must have at least one suit 
containing four cards. Probably you may- 
have one suit with five or even six cards; 
this is called your strongest suit. — A. 
W. Dray son [Z+^-f], "The Art of Prac- 
tical Whist." 

Study Whist. — Whist played for 
the purpose of study and practice. 
The idea of studying whist by 



STUDY WHIST 



409 



SUB-ECHO 



means of actual play of the cards 
is an old one. Thomas Mathews, 
in his "Advice to the Young Whist- 
Player," 1804, said: "Study all 
maxims with the cards placed be- 
fore you in the situations men- 
tioned." This can be done by any 
player, who may thus improve his 
■whist all by himself. The advice 
to place the cards on the table in 
accordance with the play recom- 
mended in books was sometimes 
not heeded because, as "Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel B." tells us, persons 
■were often sensitive about being 
found "learning to play cards." 
He, therefore, proposed to place the 
cards for them, not on the table, 
but in his little book, b}^ means of 
printed diagrams. (See, "Illustra- 
tive Hands.") An old and favorite 
mode of study whist is dummy, or 
double-dummy, from which begin- 
ners may derive great benefit. 

The latest and perhaps most sci- 
entific and exacting form of study 
whist is that which several New 
England clubs began practicing in 
1895, being undoubtedly inspired 
by the perception problems of 
Charles M. Clay. In the Septem- 
ber, 1895, number of Whist, a cor- 
respondent tells of the players of 
the Boston Press Club engaging in 
this serious pastime, which, he says, 
is also called "nightmare whist" 
{q. v.). " They play a deal to the 
eighth trick," says he, " then stop 
and try to locate the remaining 
cards, writing down their estimates 
prepared for this purpose. After 
playing the last five tricks, they 
pass the blanks around and have 
them corrected. Finally, they dis- 
cuss from top to bottom the play 
of the deal, and in a doomsday 
book put down a big black mark 
opposite the name of anybody who 
loses a trick." The best record 
after thirty deals was held by C. L. 
Becker, who lost but four tricks as 



compared with the very best play 
of his hand, and placed correctly 
an average of 13.6 cards on a hand 
out of a possible 15. The American 
Whist Club, of Boston , also took up 
this form of study whist, and passed 
a resolution to allow the formation 
of "study tables," to which any 
player was admitted who first 
agreed to play the long-suit part- 
nership game with American leads; 
to lead originally from a short suit 
only as an indication of trump 
strength with no good plain suit of 
four or more in hand; to play no 
false cards; and to stop at the 
eighth trick and write down his 
estimate of the other players' hold- 
ings, in which exercise it was 
necessary to place the command of 
every suit, but not to name exactly 
the indifferent small cards. A 
study table consists of four players, 
but any number may play by over- 
looking the four at the table, only 
each must confine his attention to 
one man's hand, and watch the 
cards as they fall on the table, 
being careful not to overlook two 
hands. (See, also, "Perception," 
and "Perception Problems.") 

"We have usually plaj^ed study whist 
•with players playing the straightforward 
long-suit game, without false cards, but 
as the players become more expert, they 
can play it short suit, or play it long suit 
and allow all the false cards they care to 
make. Hven the best players will find 
this practice of great benefit in what we 
call reading the cards in the end game. — 
Lander M. Bouve [L. A.], Boston Tran- 
script, j8g6. 

Su b- Echo. — A signal to show not 
more than three trumps; it is only 
made when partner has either sig- 
naled for or led trumps, under 
which circumstances the informa- 
tion is of more benefit to him than 
to the adversaries. The sub-echo is 
the invention of N. B. Trist, but has 
been greatly varied since he first 
announced it in 1885, and is now 



SUB-ECHO 



410 



SUIT PIvACING 



made in many ways. Among these 
are the following: (i) by playing a 
two-spot on your partner's lead of 
trumps, showing conclusively that 
you are not going to echo; (2) by 
the ordinary echo, after you have 
shown by your lead or return that 
you did not hold four trumps; (3) 
by echoing on the second and third 
rounds of a plain suit, instead of 
the first and second; or (4) by not 
echoing on the first plain suit led, 
but echoing instead on the second 
one. (See, also, "Xhree-E)cho.") 

The sub-echo is an attempt to show less 
than four trumps. It is very little used, 
and is usually too long in completion. — 
R. F. Foster \_S. O.], ''Whist Tactics:' 

When a player has declined to echo, a 
signal made by him the next time the 
opportunity offers, shows that he was 
dealt three trumps. A refusal to make 
such a signal shows that his hand did not 
originally contain more than two. — Mil- 
ton C. Work [L. A. H.], ''Whist o/To- 
day:' 

The student will understand that when 
A calls or leads trumps, B is supposed to 
echo — if he hoi ds four trumps— at fhe: first 
opportunity, and sub-echo — if he holds 
three trumps— «//«>' he has had the op- 
portunity to echo and did not. — C. D. P. 
Hamilton \L. A.], "Modern Scientific 
Whist." 

The sub-echo shows the original pos- 
session of three trumps, when you have 
already shown you could not hold four 
by the value of the cards you lead or play- 
after your partner's trump-lead or call. 
Thus, you play the two to his first lead of 
trumps, or lead or return a strengthen- 
ing trump, in each case showing you 
could not hold four. If you afterwards 
echo in a plain suit, you declare three 
originally. Or, if you refuse to echo in 
the plain suit first led after your part- 
ner's call or lead, and echo in the second; 
or, if you defer the completion of an echo 
to the third round of a plain suit, you 
have sub-echoed, and had three trumps 
originally. — "Cavendish" [L. A.], "Laws 
and Principles oX Whist." 

In 1885 the sub-echo, or showing three 
trumps, was suggested by me to our whist 
circle. It was pronounced to be sound in 
theory, being an instance of progressive- 
ness of whist language, and after some 
months' trial was adopted as a useful de- 
vice. It is merely echoing after showing 
that you have not four trumps. There 
are several ways of sub-echoing; the sim- 



plest case is this: Your partner leads a 
trump, on which you play the two — you 
cannot therefore have four. A plain suit 
is opened; you echo, and you thus tell 
him you held three trumps originally. I 
am bound to say "Cavendish" does not 
approve of the sub-echo, which was ex- 
plained in a Field article, November 21, 
1885.— TV. £. Trist \L. A.], Harper' s Maga- 
zine, March, i8gi. 

Subordinate Leagues. — See, 
" Auxiliary Associations." 

Sub-Sneak. — A term invented 
by R. F. Foster to designate a lead 
from a two-card suit, for the pur- 
pose of getting a ruff on the third 
round. (See, ' ' Sneak. ' ') 

West — Mr. South, your lead was utterly 
unjustifiable. I thought you never led 
from a sneak! 

South (meekly). — It wasn't a sneak; I 
had two cards of the suit. 

West (irascibly). — Well, then, it was a 
sub-sneak! — Whist \L. A.I, May, i8g6. 

Suit. — One of the four series or 
sets of cards into which a pack is 
divided; as, spades, hearts, clubs, 
diamonds. There are three plain 
suits and one trump suit. The 
trump suit is the one in which the 
dealer turns up the last card dealt 
by him. A long suit is one con- 
taining four or more cards; a short 
suit, one containing three or less. 
A strong suit is one containing 
more than the average number, 
and especially more than the aver- 
age number of high cards. A weak 
suit is the reverse. 



Suit Echo. 

Echo." 



See, "Plain-Suit 



Suit Placing. — A form of exer- 
cise in whist perception whereby 
the players at a table, after playing 
a round or two from a suit, try to 
place or locate the rest of the cards 
in the suit. "Cavendish," with 
whom the idea originated, gives 
several examples in Whist for 



SUIT PLACING 



411 



SUIT PLACING 



December, 1894, one being as fol- 
lows: 

K, 9. 3- 



Q, J, 8. 




10, 7, 4. 



A, 6, 5, 2. 

First trick. — South leads two; 
west plays jack; north, plays king; 
east plays four. 

Second trick. — North returns 
nine; east plays seven; south plays 
ace; west plays eight. 

South announces that he can 
place the remainder of the suit, 
both as to rank and number. The 
nine being returned, north can 
only hold one more, and that must 
be the three, as west and east have 
played the eight and seven. West 
has one more, viz., queen single, 
as he would only play jack to the 
first trick with queen, jack, and one 
small. This leaves the ten single 
for east's hand. 

North announces that he can 
place as to rank and number. 
South led from four exactly, as he 
started with the two, and as west 
and east have played eight and 
seven, south must hold six and 
five. Queen single is evidently in 
west's hand. This leaves one card 
for east, and as he played the seven 
his other card must be the ten. 

West announces that he can 
place as to number, but not as to 
rank, viz., two more in south's 
hand, and (as east played the 
seven) one more, the ten, in east's 
hand, and one small card in north's 
hand. Of the three small cards, 
six, five, and three, he can place 
two in south's hand, and one in 
north's, but cannot determine the 
rank. 



East makes a similar statement, 
placing queen single in west's 
hand and two of the remaining 
small cards in south's hand. 

It so happened at a later period 
of the hand, trumps being out, 
that west remained with losing 
cards in other plain suits, and dis- 
carded the queen of this suit, as he 
could place the ten with his part- 
ner. 

' ' Cavendish' ' also gave a prob- 
lem in suit-placing, as follows: 
' ' Original lead of a plain suit. 
South leads six of hearts; west 
plays eight; north plays nine; east 
plays knave. King, ace of an- 
other plain suit are now led. There 
is no call for trumps. East holds 
seven and three of hearts. He 
announces that he can place the 
remainder of the heart suit as to 
rank and number." 

The prize was awarded to George 
C. Hetzel, of Chester, Pa., for the 
best solution, which was published 
as follows in Whist for February, 
1895: 

(9), 5. 4. 2. 



K, (8). 




(J). 7, 3- 



A, Q, 10, (6). 

Six from eleven, and five are over — 
'Gad, says east, but south's in cloverl 
For I've the seven, and th' only thing 
That's out against him is the king. 
And that's with west — a lonely hermit — 
For if with north, he would have played 

it. 
But ace, queen, ten with south remain 
That could his lead of fourth sustain. 
And having ace shows futhermore 
He opened up a suit of four. 
Thus, with my trey, as I'm alive, 
'Tis clear that north has deuce, four, five. 

Whist, in commenting upon the 
result, said: " This problem seems 



SUIT SIGNAL 



412 



SUPERSTITION 



to have been a very easy oue, if 
results count for anything, as ninety 
out of the ninety-five solutions re- 
ceived were correct." It also de- 
monstrated that suit-placing in 
general was much easier exercise 
for American whist-players than 
the more complicated ' ' perception 
problems" [q. v.). 

Two or three years ago I proposed to 
some friends desirous of improving- their 
whist that, as an exercise in drawing in- 
ferences, they should announce their 
ability to place the remainder of the suit 
after the first or second round. » * * 
The players not able to announce to be 
upon honor not to take advantage of in- 
ferences they could not draw, but to play 
on as though no remark had been made. 
No guessing to be allowed — i. e., the 
player announcing to give his reasons for 
placing either rank or number. I found 
this plan very improving. — '^Cavendish" 
[L. A .] , Whist, December, 18^4. 

Suit Signal. — The trump signal 
becomes a suit signal if made at any 
time when it is evident that trumps 
are not called for. It is a request 
for partner to lead from some other 
suit. (See, " Plain-Suit Signal.") 

Sumner, Charles, at Whist. — 

Charles Sumner played a good 
game of whist, but playing for 
stakes was very distasteful to him, 
as is shown by his letters from 
England, to be found in his pub- 
lished correspondence. He speaks 
of the universal rule in England of 
playing for money, limited "among 
sober persons" to the merest trifle, 
' ' such as sixpence a point — a term , ' ' 
he adds, " which I do not under- 
stand, although I have gained sev- 
eral points, as I have been told." 
One evening Lord Fitzwilliam was 
his partner, and their joint win- 
nings came to a pound, "which 
was duly paid and received. ' ' On 
another occasion two peers, Scar- 
borough and De Mauley, and a 
clergyman, made up the set. Mr. 
Sumner again proved the winner, 
and the dominie paid him five shil- 



lings. This was very uncongenial 
to him, although he said nothing, 
knowing that it was the custom 
among English players. " Cards, 
when allied to gaming, were un- 
lovely in his eyes," says Courtney, 
in commenting upon the incident. 

Superstition. — There has always 
been more or less superstition con- 
nected with games, and whist is no 
exception. Many people are natu- 
rally superstitious in everything 
they do, and when they play whist 
they cannot help showing their 
weakness in many little traits or 
peculiarities, such as choosing a 
certain seat at table, carrying a bit 
of metal or other mascot, touching 
certain spots on certain cards first, 
etc. It is a hard matter to argue 
them out of their delusion, for su- 
perstition is not founded on reason. 
That many amusing stories con- 
cerning its influence in the game 
might be told appears from the fol- 
lowing passage from The Adven- 
turer, an English journal, issue of 
March 6, 1753: 

"On Sunday last a terrible fire 
broke out at Lady Brag's, occa- 
sioned by the following accident: 
Mrs. Overall, the housekeeper, 
having lost three rubbers at whist 
running, without holding a swabber 
(notwithstanding she had changed 
chairs, furzed the cards, and ordered 
Jemmy, the foot-boy, to sit cross- 
legged for good luck), grew out of 
all patience; and, taking up the 
devil's books, as she called them, 
flung them into the fire, and the 
flames spread to the steward's 
room." 

Notes and Queries, in reprinting 
the story, explains: '^Swabbers are 
the ace of hearts, the knave of 
clubs, and the ace and the deuce of 
trumps, at whist. To furz ox fuzz 
is to shuffle the cards very care- 
fully, or to change the pack." 



:;i i 



SUPERSTITION 



413 



SUPERSTITION 



In England, the four of clubs is 
universally known as the devil's 
bed-posts. The deuce of spades, 
when turned up as the trump card, 
is to be tapped for luck, and the 
deuce of clubs is a sign of five 
trumps in the dealer's hand. 
Wherever cards are known the 
nine of diamonds is called "the 
curse of Scotland," and many in- 
genious explanations (none of them 
satisfactory) have been offered as 
to the origin of this phrase, which 
dates back as far at least as 1745. 
In October of that year a caricature 
was published which represents the 
young Chevalier trying to lead a 
herd of bulls, laden with curses, 
etc., across the Tweed, with the 
nine of diamonds lying before them. 

R. F. Foster, in his "Duplicate 
Whist and Whist Strategy" (page 
211), devotes some space to the 
subject of superstitions in the fol- 
lowing playful fashion: "In choos- 
ing seats, it is well to consider how 
the previous games have run. If 
the seats have been winning turn- 
about, choose those whose turn it is 
to win next. * * * In choosing 
cards, the same principles apply. 
* * * If a black deuce is turned, 
knock it with your knuckles be- 
fore anyone else touches it. Six 
times out of ten you will secure 
four or more trumps by so doing 
(585 times out of 1000, to be exact). 
If you turn the nine of diamonds, 
play a forward game with every 
hand. The curse of Scotland 
never lost a rubber. If you turn 
the four of clubs, play to save the 
game. The devil's bed-posts are 
very unlucky. Saltpetre will not 
save you. When you have a run 
of bad luck, consider a moment 
whether it is owing to bad play on 
your part, bad cards, or a bad part- 
ner. If the first, change your 
game, and try ruffing or short 
suits; if the second, walk around 



your chair three times, but be care- 
ful to walk around in the proper 
direction; if the third, next time 
you cut for partners wait until your 
Jonah has drawn his card, and then 
take the second one from it in 
either direction. If your own and 
your partner's hands never seem to 
fit each other, examine the grain 
of the table, and next time you 
have the choice of seats, sit with 
the grain." 

An amusing incident showing 
that superstition is by no means in 
danger of becoming extinct, even 
in the New World, is related in 
connection with the play for the 
Challenge Trophy, at the seventh 
congress of the American Whist 
League (Put-in-Bay, 1897) : One of 
the gentlemen comprising the win- 
ning team from the Philadelphia 
Whist Club was somewhat down- 
cast, but when Mrs. Henriques, of 
New York, gave him a four-leaf 
clover and predicted his success he 
had new courage. It appears one 
of the juniors met him usually be- 
fore going into a fresh conflict, and 
greeted him thus: 

" Go in and smash them." 
This advice was given thrice 
daily, and as many times carried 
into execution, but once the word 
was missing, and Captain Hart was 
defeated. Somehow he felt that 
the omission was a forerunner of 
failure. He lost courage, feeling 
the boy was losing faith in his 
team. So he left the table, walked 
out in the hall where the boy stood, 
and as he passed the junior wag 
called out: 

" Go in and knock them out." 
It was all he needed. He had 
found his lost courage. He went 
in and pulled his team on to a vic- 
tory. 

It is very rarely that we find any person 
who has played whist during many years 
who is entirely devoid of superstition. 



SUPPORTING-CARD GAME 4^4 



'SWEDISH WHIST" 



Some players will not admit that they 
have any superstition, but by their acts 
they demonstrate that they are supersti- 
tious. * * * The thoroughly supersti- 
tious player is rarely a strong player. — 
A. IV. Drayson [Z+^+]. 

The superstitions of the whist-player 
are beyond enumeration. They acquire 
a mysterious hold over his imagination, 
and "baffle every attempt to secure their 
expulsion. Some of them are to be found 
in every district of England, from the 
clubs of London to the retnotest ends of 
local life in the provinces; others are con- 
fined to particular towns or counties. — 
W.P. Courtney \L^O^^, "English IVkisV 

The most powerful intellect, the most 
profound science, is not proof against su- 
perstition; and it is curious to see how 
fastidious even the .best players will be 
about the choice of seats, or cards, or 
counters, or about other things which 
can have as little influence on their for- 
tunes as the changes of the moon. Some 
will insist on being the first to touch a 
black deuce turned up, some attach good 
omens to the hinges of the table, some 
think it advantageous to sit north and 
south, and so on. One cannot believe 
that any other than a born fool (and he 
could not be a whist-player) seriously 
thinks such things are of real importance, 
and the persons doing them are often un- 
mercifully bantered for their folly; but 
still they persevere, and it has often been 
a great puzzle how such an anomaly can 
be explained. We believe the explana- 
tion lies in a simple application of expe- 
rience in chance results. Toss up a penny 
a great number of times and record the 
results; you will find that you do not get 
heads and tails alternately, but that there 
is an almost constant tendency to produce 
r7.cns on one particular chance. * * * 
Now, as the tossing of a penny is an an- 
alogous case to the winning or losing of a 
rubber at whist (which is very nearly an 
even chance), people lay hold of the 
salient fact of the tendency to a run and 
apply it to this case. They argue that as 
the heads, after coming once, may be re- 
peated several times, so the seats or cards 
which have won once may win several 
times running. Of course the reasoning 
is fallacious, as the reasoners know full 
■well, but it is their only justification, and 
as the practices are very harmless, and 
are indeed expressly provided for by the 
laws, one need not be angry with them. — 
IVilham Pole [L. A+1, "Evolution of 
Whist r 

Supporting - Card Game. — A 

style of short-suit play at -whist in 
"which supporting, or strengthen- 
ing, cards are freely led to partner, 



the player himself having little or 
nothing to hope for in his hand. 
The Howell (short-suit) system 
makes use of the supporting-card 
game as in many respects the most 
important division of whist strategy, 
' ' because it is the most generally 
available, and the most frequently 
adopted." Mr. Howell regards it 
as " the essence of short-suit play, 
the theme, of which the other 
forms of strategy are but varia- 
tions." A supporting card is led 
by him if the hand does not con- 
tain the elements of strength neces- 
sary for an attempt to play the 
long-suit form of strategy, nor a 
plain suit so very strong as to jus- 
tify the high -card opening, nor 
trumps sufficient to warrant the 
trump attack, or if the conditions 
are not favorable for the ruffing 
lead, which is really but a modifica- 
tion or special instance of the sup- 
porting-card game. For the sup- 
porting-card opening four cards are 
used — queen, jack, ten, or nine — 
and these are generally led as the 
highest of short, weak suits, but 
they do not absolutely deny better 
cards in the suit opened, and are 
also sometimes used as interior 
leads. The general rule for lead- 
ing under the Howell system is: Of 
two supporting cards in sequence, 
lead the higher from a short suit, 
and the lower from a long suit. 

Swabbers. — See, " Whisk and 
Swabbers." 

<<Swedish Whist."— Preference, 

a modification of whist, is said to 
have superseded English whi.st in 
Sweden, and is therefore called 
"Swedish whist." In this game 
there are partners, as usual, but 
they change after each rubber. 5 
The trump is determined by bid- | 
ding, the leader having the first bid. f 
Each must bid a higher suit or ■ 



SYSTEM 



415 



SYSTEM 



pass. The suits rank as follows: 
clubs, spades, diamonds, hearts, 
the latter being the highest. Still 
higher than these is preference, in 
-which no trump is employed — the 
intrinsic value of the cards deter- 
mining the issue. If the side that 
makes the trump or demands pref- 
erence loses, the adversaries count 
double for each trick they obtain 
above six. The game is twenty 
points, and each trick above six 
counts, for a game in clubs, three; 
spades, four; diamonds, five; hearts, 
six; preference, eight points. Hon- 
ors count as in English whist. 

System. — Method of play; as, 
for instance, the system of Ameri- 
can leads, the long-suit system, the 
short-suit system; a complete 
scheme of play on certain well-de- 
fined lines. Systematic play is 
play in accordance with some rule, 
as distinguished from haphazard 
play, or bumblepuppy. 

In view of the numerous systems 
of play advocated and followed in 
this country, there has been a 
movement on foot from the incep- 
tion of the American Whist League 
to have that organization act as 
arbitrator, and decide upon some 
standard authority. At the sixth 
congress of the League President 
Schwarz again called attention to 
the matter (see, "American Whist 
League"), saying, among other 
things: " A whist-player cannot sit 
at a table with a stranger without 
asking him what system he plays. 
New conventions have arisen. The 
echo means two or three different 
things. There are half a dozen 
different methods of discard; there 
are long-suit theorists and short- 
suit theorists, and taken together 
there is a wider difference to-day 
than there was at the start. Now, 
it seems to me that it is the duty of 
the American Whist League to 



remedy this state of affairs, if it is 
possible. We can appoint a com- 
mittee of expert players, men who 
have fought their way to the front, 
and let them sift the different 
methods in vogue at the present 
time, and recommend to the whist- 
players of the country that which 
they think is best I do not mean 
by this that we should adopt any 
text-book upon the game, or that 
we should arbitrarily impose upon 
the players of the country any par- 
ticular system, nor would I restrain 
individual liberty of action. It 
would be simply in the nature of a 
recommendation, and would tell 
the players of the American Whist 
League, and the whist-players at 
large, just what we thought was 
the best, without preventing them 
from playing something else if they 
desired to do so." 

The matter was referred to an 
advisory committee, and that com- 
mittee recommended the appoint- 
ment of a standing committee on 
play, to report in favor of a sys- 
tem at the seventh congress. P. J. 
Tormey, chairman of the advisory 
committee, in a letter to Whist, 
subsequently said: 

"The question is asked, 'Why 
should the American Whist League 
do such a thing ? Is it the proper 
thing to say to a whist-player, you 
must lead ten from queen, jack, 
ten, and others, or ace from ace and 
four small, or from your long suit, 
or short suit ? Will the League say 
I must discard from my poorest 
suit, if it pleases me or not?' If 
this and many other such things 
was the object of this resolution, 
the League would certainly be as- 
suming too much authority. Such 
is not the case, by any manner of 
means. But in the judgment of 
President Schwarz and this advis- 
ory committee, the time has now 
come when the American Whist 



SYSTEM 



416 



SYSTEM, MIXED 



League should proclaim to the 
whist-players of the couutry, speak- 
ing through the League's official 
organ, that it does recommend and 
suggest this system of leads and 
follows, discards, etc. , or ' play, ' if 
you prefer to make it more gen- 
eral, and ask all League clubs to 
recommend it in turn to their mem- 
bers." 

When the seventh congress met 
at Put-in-Bay, in 1897, however, no 
recommendations were made or 
adopted, and the League once more 
temporized by appointing another 
committee on innovations in play, 
etc. It is hoped that some definite 
action may be taken in the near 
future. 



When it is claimed that players have 
won matches by using this or that sys- 
tem, such claim is to be distrusted. Play- 
ers win matches because they play good 
whist, or better whist than their adversa- 
ries. A system may give some slight ad- 
vantage as against a team or pair who 
do not understand it practically, but that 
a match game is lost or won by a differ- 
ence in system is very improbable. If it 
were so it would reflect little or no credit 
on the winners. — Fisher Ames \_L. A.}, 
Whist, October-November, i8g6. 

The whist practice of the American 
clubs has been at sea, so far as uniformity 
is concerned, differing as widely in system 
as in rules for play and penalties. In 
count, honors have become practically 
obsolete, but five points, seven poin-ts, 
continuous count, trebles, doubles, and 
singles, turning the trump from the live 
pack or cutting it from the dead pack, or 
announcing one suit for trump during a 
sitting, have all had their respectable 
following. The difference in system of 
play has been as pronounced. — C. S. 
Boutcher [L. A.], ^'JVkist Sketches," i8g2. 

As in all other matters largely con- 
trolled by chance, there is no system, as 
a system, which will win at whist. One 
cannot succeed by slavish adherence to 
either the long or the short-suit game; by 
the invariable giving of information, or 
the continual playing of false cards. The 
true elements of success in whist lie in 
the happy combination of all the re- 
sources of long and short suits, of finesse 
and tenace, of candor and deception, con- 
tinually adjusted to varying circum- 
stances, so as to result in the adversaries 



losing tricks.— J?. F. Foster {S. 0.1, ''Com- 
plete Hoyle." 

It may be stated as an axiom that any 
system is better than no system. No 
matter how ridiculous the system may 
appear, or what a trick-loser it may be at 
first, it is better than guessing. Experi- 
ence will soon show up the weak points 
in a trick-losing system, and probably 
suggest the necessary changes or im- 
provements. One of the be.st whist- 
players living started with the simple 
system of leading a card of a different 
color from the trump suit when he had a 
strong hand. He was on the right track; 
the demonstration of the general charac- 
ter of the hand to the partner, and all his 
future whist training carried out that 
idea. — R. F. Foster \S. C], Rochester Post- 
Express, October 31, i8g6. 



System, Mixed. — In the early 
part of 1897 we find many clubs 
playing what they call a mixed sys- 
tem, a compromise between the ex- 
tremists of the various schools. 
The captain of the Albany team 
describes one of these systems, used 
by a team which gave Albany one 
of the hardest fights it had for 
many a day. He says: 

' ' The system used by the Boston 
Duplicate Whist Club is the most 
rational of any of the so-called 
' mixed systems' that we have yet 
seen. Briefly it is as follows: Open 
originally from longest or best suit. 
Having honors in sequence, follow 
American leads— except from queen, 
jack, ten, and others, lead ten, and 
lead king in all cases where the 
American lead calls for queen. Use 
queen as strengthening card, or to 
show trump strength. When suit 
is headed by a card smaller than 
the nine, lead top of suit. From 
king, jack, ten, and others, lead 
fourth best. Do not open a four- 
card suit with one honor if you 
have a strengthening card which 
can be led. With king, jack, nine, 
eight, six, seven, or similar suits, 
lead fifth best. Discard from weak- 
est suit. Use reverse discard to 
show suit you wish led. In trumps, 



SYSTEM, MIXED 



417 



SYSTEM, MIXED 



from queen, jack, ten, and others 
lead top of suit; otherwise follow 
American leads. Echo with three 
trumps on partner's lead. Never 
finesse on partner's trump-lead. 

' ' These rules, with the exception 
of the discard, the number-showing 
play of the king and queen, and the 
play of small-card suits, do not 
difter essentially from the long-suit 
game as played by Albany." 

At the seventh congress of the 
American Whist League (Put-in- 
Bay, 1897), the Boston Duplicate 
team filed a copy of its system with 
the tournament committee. In it 
occurs this passage: "Since the 
last congress the method of using 
the small-card opening has been 
amended. A distinction is made 
in the lead between the lowest card 
of a suit and a small card above the 
lowest. The lowest card of a plain 
suit is led from a hand containing 
besides the suit opened at least four 
trumps, and some protection or re- 
entry strength in one or both of the 
other suits. A small card above 
the lowest is led from the same sort 
of plain-suit strength, accompanied 
by three trumps or less, including 
at least one honor. By this method 
of small-card openings, the part- 
ner of the original leader is ena- 
bled to draw quick and valuable 
inferences. It frequently happens 
that on the first round of a suit, 
partner cannot determine whether 
or not the small card led is the 
lowest in the leader's suit. In this 
event, if he is in the lead, he must 
not start trumps unless he has four 
or more himself and some plain- 
suit protection, but must return the 
leader's suit in order to establish it. 
Partner's duty is the same if he can 
absolutely tell from the drop that 
the leader has a smaller card of his 
suit than the one led. He is then 
very seldom justified in leading 
trumps short. If, however, the card 

27 



led is clearly the lowest of the suit, 
partner should generall}' start 
trumps at the earliest opportunity, 
provided he has either fair length 
or a good supporting trump at the 
top of three or less. ' ' 

Another mixed system, that suc- 
cessfully employed by the team 
from the Walbrook Club, of Balti- 
more, is thus described by Edwin 
C, Howell, in the Boston Herald, 
in the latter part of December, 1897: 

" But to the Walbrook system of 
play — what is it ? In a word, it is a 
trump-showing system. They have 
discarded the American leads, in- 
cluding the fourth best, and use 
both high and low cards to indi- 
cate the strength or weakness in 
trumps. With the high-card trump- 
showing leads — king and jack for 
strength, and ace and queen for 
weakness — nearly all whist-players 
are familiar. To these, however, 
the Wal brooks have added a trump- 
showing method of small-card play. 
They are pretty strict long-suiters, 
so that a small card led under their 
system, whatever its size — from a ten 
down to a deuce — shows the long- 
est suit in hand. Now if it is the 
lowest card of the suit it shows also 
weakness in trumps — that is, the 
lead declares, ' Here is my best 
suit, but I have not accompanying 
strength sufficient to bring it in 
without help from partner.' 

"If, on the other hand, the 
small card led is not the lowest of 
the suit, but the penultimate or 
antepenultimate, it tells partner, ' I 
have not only this suit, but four or 
more trumps behind it, and I hope 
to bring it in.' Of course, it is not 
always apparent on the first round 
of a suit whether or not the card 
led is the lowest, but experience 
has proved that the truth is di- 
vulged early enough. 

"Number in the suit led the 
Walbrooks do not attempt to 



TABLB 



418 



TACTICS, WHIST 



show. Their object is to indicate 
by the original lead, first, the long- 
est suit; and, secondly, the extent 
of its support in trump strength. 
Their system is certainly strategic. 
It affords the two partners a better 
opportunity of shaping their play 
early and intelligently along a com- 
mon line than the old game does. 
Nevertheless, I cannot overlook 
the faults of the system. They are 
two. In the first place, one is 
obliged by his original lead either 
to show strength, or, if he has not 
that, to show weakness in trumps. 
That a player must, if he is weak, 
acknowledge it seems to be a serious 
strategic defect in the system. In 
this criticism nearly all whist-play- 
ers will agree with me. As to my 
other objection — that the Walbrook 
system permits no other opening 
from a hand than that of the long- 
est suit — I suppose it will be con- 
sidered sound only by short-suit or 
' common-sense' players. I would 
not insist on it, indeed, if the first 
objection could be removed. If we 
must open long suits, I prefer the 
' modified' whist that the Pyramids, 
of Boston, are playing, under which 
system the opening of a two, three, 
or four shows trump strength, but 
that of a five, six, seven, eight, or 
nine does not deny it. As a matter 
of fact, however, not one of the 
Pyramid players sticks closely to 
the long-suit openings, scarcely 
more than the players of my own 
team do. We all use trump-show- 
ing leads to a certain extent, but 
with us it is a voluntary matter 
whether we shall declare strength 
or conceal it. Hence we are not 
obliged to declare weakness if we 
have not strength." 

Table. — A complete table at 
whist, under the rules, which apply 
more especially to play at the clubs, 
consists of six persons, although 



four are sufficient for play. It is 
only when there is more than the 
requisite number that the limit of 
six is observed, the first four then 
chosen by lot taking their first turn 
at a game in this country, or at a 
rubber in England, and the two 
others taking their turn subse- 
quently; fresh additions to the 
table, either of newcomers or those 
who have already played, being 
made from time to time. 

On ordinary social occasions, 
where whist is played, or in pri- 
vate, where the number of players 
is determined and limited before- 
hand, the above rules are not gen- 
erally observed. In duplicate whist, 
especially, the table is limited to 
four players. These, under the 
laws of duplicate whist, may be 
formed by cutting or agreement. 
(See, "Duplicate Whist, I^aws 
of.") 

Tables, Arrangement of. — See, 
"Duplicate Whist, Schedules for 
Playing." 

Tactics, Whist. — The tactics em- 
ployed at whist consist of the con- 
ventional movements of the game 
as laid down in the text-books or 
taught by instructors, such as the 
leads, play of the second, third, 
and fourth hand, etc. Tactics are 
the solid groundwork of general 
whist knowledge, by means of 
which the play is directed against 
the opponents. The superstructiire 
is whist strategy, or the higher art 
of planning and executing battles 
and campaigns, and making the 
best use of the forces at one's com- 
mand. 

Many persons confuse the terms " strat- 
egy" and "tactics." Strategy is the skill- 
ful handling of forces not actually en- 
gaged in battle, in order to secure 
advantages of position which shall be 
useful later on for purposes of attack, de- 
fense, or retreat; while tactics is simply 



TAKING A FORCE 



419 



TAKING UP CARDS 



the art of applying, on the field of battle, 
the movements learnt at drill. — R. F. Fos- 
ter is. C], ''Whist Tactics:' 

Taking a Force. — Trumping a 
■winning card led by an opponent, 
or a losing card led for the purpose 
by partner. 

When a player is forced to trump in be- 
fore he is able to answer a trump signal, 
his object should be at once to show the 
number remaining in his hand. * * * 
Having only three trumps, take the force 
with the lowest, and then lead the high- 
est, whatever it is. Having four, take the 
force with the third best, and return the 
lowest, no matter what the others are, 
unless you have the ace, or both king and 
queen. This taking the force with a card 
not your lowest must, of course, be re- 
stricted to comparatively small cards. 
With king, queen, ten, two, it would be a 
waste of ammunition to trump with the 
ten.— ^ F. Foster [S. C], " Whist Tactics." 

Taking in the Tricks. — Where 
ladies and gentlemen are playing 
as partners the gentlemen, of 
course, always gather in the tricks 
as they are won. Where gentlemen 
only are playing, the custom is for 
the player who takes the first trick 
in a hand to allow his partner to 
gather the cards for that hand, al- 
though there is no law or rule re- 
quiring this. In some clubs one 
partner takes in the tricks while 
the other keeps the score. In du- 
plicate whist each player takes care 
of his own tricks. 

Players may agree as to which partner 
in any hand may gather the tricks, but it 
is rulable that the first trick made should 
be gathered and turned bv the partner of 
the winner, who places it upon his left 
hand, and adds to it in order the tricks 
subsequently taken by his partner and 
himself in that hand. — Rules of the Des- 
chapelles Club, Boston. 

There is no rule as to which of the two 
partners should gather and turn the 
tricks. There is a tradition that the 
partner of the player who wins the first 
trick should gather it. There seems to 
me to be no sense in this. Let us inquire 
whether a reason can be given why one 
partner should turn the tricks rather 
than the other. I think a very good 



reason can be given by referring to the 
principle: Never have anything near 
your score if it can be avoided. In order 
to carry out this principle, let the part- 
ner of the player who scores [z. e., keeps 
the score] take the tricks. — "Cavendish " 
[L. A.], Whist, November, j8gj. 

Taking Up Cards During the 
Deal. — Many players, especially 
beginners and those not well versed 
in the rules, have a habit of picking 
up their cards while the latter are 
being dealt. They are surprised to 
learn that it is in any way an objec- 
tionable practice. It is objection- 
able because it may disturb the 
dealer, and cause him to misdeaL 
The American code (section 17) 
wisely provides that a misdeal does 
not lose the deal if during the deal 
either of the adversaries touches a 
card, or in, any other manner inter- 
rupts the dealer. 

Should a player deal out of turn, 
and his partner, on taking up the 
cards as they are dealt, discover 
that his hand is poor, he might 
obtain an additional unfair advan- 
tage by calling attention to the 
error in the deal. Two unscrupu- 
lous partners, by unfairly taking a 
deal not belonging to them, and 
then giving it up on finding the 
cards picked up by the one un- 
satisfactory, would, if detected in 
the practice, be expelled from the 
table as card-sharpers. At the same 
time, the very appearance of doing 
anything that might seem unfair, 
or give opportunity to obtain an 
unfair advantage, should be avoided 
by players who are known to be 
reputable and honest. The proper 
way is to let all the cards lie where 
they are dealt until the trump is 
turned by the dealer. 

There is no law to prevent a player 
taking up his cards during the deal. The 
law puts the ofiender under certain disa- 
bilities, and that is afl. We pointed out 
once that a player dealing out of turn has 
an advantage, but if, in addition to deal- 
ing out of turn, he has a partner who 



TALKING AT WHIST 420 TBACHBRS OF WHIST 



looks at his cards, and finding them bad 
calls attention to the fact that the player 
is dealing out of turn, then he obtained a 
great additional advantage according to 
law, but contrary to all right and pro- 
priety. We should think this point alone 
should be sufiBcient to prevent players 
taking up their cards. — Charles Mossop 
\^L-'rO], JVesiminster Papers, June j, i8y8. 

Talking at Whist.— George W. 

Pettes quotes this from a professor 
who loved the quiet game, and who 
was also of a humorous turn of 
mind: "One can no more play 
whist and talk than he can trans- 
late Ovid and turn somersaults at 
the same time. " (See, " Conversa- 
tion," "Silence.") 

Talleyrand's Wlot. — Talleyrand, 
the great French statesman, was 
also celebrated as a whist-player, 
and in his latter years he spent 
many hours almost every day at y 
his favorite game. His advice to* 
all was, play whist, and you will be 
spared a sorrowful old age, and 
this idea is embodied in his cele- 
brated mot, when addressing a 
young man who had confessed that 
he did not play whist: " Vous ne 
savez pas le whiste,jeune homnie? 
Quelle triste vieillesse vous vous 
priparez!" ("You do not know 
whist, young man ? What a sad old 
age you are preparing for your- 
self !") 

The provisional government 
which Talleyrand formed, upon 
Napoleon's abdication, was com- 
posed, with one exception, of his 
associates at the whist-table. 

The American-leads discussion in the 
Field was summed up by " Merry An- 
drevF," one of the participants, in a pam- 
phlet entitled, " The American-Leads 
Controversy." The title-page bore the 
motto, " Vous savez les American Leads, 
jeune ho-nn>ie f Quelle Trist(e) vieillesse 
vous vous priparezP'' — engrafting a pleas- 
antly on a jjarody of Talleyrand's well- 
known prediction of a cheerless old age 
to the youth who was ignorant of the 
game.— iV^. B. Trist \^L. A.], Harper's 
Monthly Magazine, March, i8gi. 



Teachers of Whist, — Hoyle was 
the first to teach the game of whist 
professionally, but it is a curious 
fact that although he was phenom- 
enally successful, his success did 
not inspire others to take up the 
work; and it was not until a cen- 
tury and a half after the publication 
of his famous treatise that the idea 
of professional teaching again oc- 
curred to anyone. The great inter- 
est manifested in the game when it 
was first improved and played with 
some degree of science, encouraged 
Hoyle to take up teaching as his 
lifework. Similarly, the great 
whist revival in this country, and 
the introduction of the modern sci- 
entific game, brought an eager de- 
mand for instruction. So great was 
this demand, however, that it was 
utterly impossible for one instructor 
to meet it; otherwise R. F. Foster, 
who was the first to give whist lec- 
tures in this country, might have 
become the sole successor of Hoyle. 
In 1888 his whist engagements be- 
came so numerous that he gave up 
his regular profession and devoted 
himself entirely to teaching and 
writing on the game. 

As it was, beginners anxious for 
instruction became so numerous — 
especially among women, who took 
an unprecedented interest in the 
improved American gatne — that for 
the first time in the history of whist 
women themselves took up the 
work of imparting knowledge con- 
cerning it. The first to do this 
professionally was Miss Kate 
Wheelock [q. v.), who was induced 
to teach by her friends in the city 
of Milwaukee, in 1886, two years 
before Mr. Foster began to devote 
all his time to the game. Miss 
Wheelock at first had no idea of 
accepting compensation for her in- 
struction, but the demand upon her 
time became so great that she was 
forced to adopt this course. The 



TEACHERS OP WHIST 42 1 TEACHERS OE WHIST 



pioneer in this good work, which 
has since been found so well 
adapted to women, the "whist 
queen," as she is affectionately 
called by thousands of pupils and 
the whist world generally, stands, 
by universal consent, at the head 
of her chosen profession, and at this 
writing (December, 1897,) has just 
concluded the most successful year 
in all her experience. 

About the same time Miss Whee- 
lock was responding to the demands 
of whist enthusiasts in Milwaukee, 
Miss Maude Gardner, the daughter 
of Ex-Governor John L. Gardner, 
of Massachusetts, was induced to 
take up the work in the city of 
Boston. She did not teach very 
long, however, her marriage and 
much-regretted death taking place 
shortly after. 

New York also caught the whist 
fever, and here Miss Anna C. Clapp 
(who shortly afterwards was mar- 
ried to the Rev. Mr. Frothingham, 
of New Bedford, Mass.) was the 
pioneer in the field, closely fol- 
lowed by her sister. Miss Gertrude 
E. Clapp {q. v.). The latter began 
in 1887, and has ever since taught 
in New York and in many other 
cities. She has won a high reputa- 
tion as a player as well as teacher, 
as will be seen from the following 
editorial expression in Whist for 
December, 1894. " L,et the man 
who thinks a woman cannot play 
whist, ' ' remarks the editor, ' ' cut 
into a game with Miss Clapp, and 
he will soon have an opportunity 
to divide his wonder between her 
information and his ignorance." 

That whist - teaching attracted 
much attention from the begin- 
ning, may be judged from an ap- 
preciative two - column editorial 
which appeared in the New York 
Nation of September 8, 1887. 
"One of the most curious social 
phenomena of the year," said the 



editor (E. L. Godkin), " is the 
success which has attended the 
attempt to teach whist in classes, 
both in this city and in Boston, last 
winter, and during the past sum- 
mer at some of the watering places. 
It has been found, as a matter of 
fact, that a good whist-plaj'er, pos- 
sessed of fair teaching capacity, has 
no difficulty in getting pupils 
enough to make it worth while to 
treat whist-teaching as a calling. 
The experiment thus far has re- 
vealed the fact that the number of 
people who want to play whist both 
in summer and winter is very large, 
and is probably increasing, and 
also that a very large proportion 
of those who have been playing the 
greater part of their lives are really 
ignorant of what is called scientific 
or modern whist. ' ' 

In 1888 Mrs. M. S. Jenks {q. v.) 
removed to Chicago, and in the 
year following her intimate knowl- 
edge of the game and high qualifi- 
cation for the work caused her 
services as a teacher to be eagerly 
sought by the ladies of that city. 
She, too, had no intention at first 
of giving instructions profession- 
ally, but the demands upon her 
time were such that she found it 
necessary to do so. She thus be- 
came one of the early workers in 
the field, and did much to set the 
wave of whist-improvement rolling 
westward from Chicago. 

The same year in which Mrs. 
Jenks began her teaching in the 
greatcity on Lake Michigan brought 
another man into the whist field as 
an instructor. It was William S. 
Fenollosa {q. v.), by many still 
called Professor Fenollosa, because 
of his previous successful career as 
a pianist and teacher of music, but 
which title he himself disclaims, 
and requests us not to use. Mr. 
Fenollosa became very successful 
and popular in his new field, and 



TEACHERS OF WHIST 422 TEACHERS OF WHIST 



numbers among his pupils hun- 
dreds of the leading people of New 
England. He is distinguished also 
as an analytical writer on the game, 
and as a whist-player. The follow- 
ing year (1890) another able and 
successful gentleman began giving 
lessons — George E. Duggan {q. v. ), 
a Canadian b}' birth, but an Ameri- 
can by adoption. Mr. Duggan 
branched out in New York; but, 
going to Chicago to visit the World's 
Fair, he was so struck with the fine 
quality of the whist played in the 
latter city, and the desire manifested 
for more knowledge, that he con- 
cluded to remain there. To-day he 
feels no little pride in the fact that 
many of Chicago's best players — 
men and women — are numbered 
among his pupils. 

The pioneer whist-teacher and 
leader in Philadelphia was Mrs. 
William Henry Newbold [q. v.), 
who began teaching in 1891, and 
soon found her services in great 
demand. Being prominent in so- 
cial circles, her example and de- 
votion to the game inspired others, 
so that to-day Philadelphia ranks 
first as a woman's whist centre. In 
1891 whist-teaching was also in- 
augurated in Denver, Colorado. 
Miss M. Ida Moore was the first to 
make a success as a teacher there, 
and she has many pupils. Miss 
Moore has pla}'ed the game from 
childhood, being, as she says, 
" brought up on whist." In 1886 
she began to study the modern sci- 
entific game, and several years later 
her services as a teacher were in 
great demand. 

One of the first to take an active 
part in the new whist movement 
among the women of Milwaukee 
was Mrs. Lavinia S. Nowell, who 
had played whist from child- 
hood up. When a young girl she 
often made a fourth hand with her 
father and two other gentlemen. 



It was a Hoyle game in those days, 
"second low and third hand high," 
regardless of sequences and the 
card led. Her father was a great 
admirer of whist, and thus Mrs. 
Nowell came naturally to love it 
also. Writing under date of Octo- 
ber 25, 1897, she says: ' ' I can hardly 
be classed as a professional teacher. 
A few years ago, when the ladies 
began to be greatly interested in 
the game, I was urged by many 
friends to give them the benefit of 
my experience, and I taught classes 
one winter, very successfully, I 
was told, but my health and de- 
mands on my time did not permit 
me to continue it after that season. 
Often a class is formed and its 
members insist upon my teaching 
them. Then I take this class, but 
no others." Hamilton is Mrs. 
Nowell's favorite authority on the 
game. Milwaukee is also the home 
of another whist-teacher of note, 
Miss Bessie E. Allen {q. v.), whose 
reputation is national, although 
she has not taught very often away 
from home, her time being fully 
occupied there. 

Whist-teachers had begun to in- 
crease so rapidly, and teaching was 
held in such high esteem, that in 
February, 1893, Cassius M. Paine, 
the editor of Whist, was moved to 
make the following reference to 
the subject in his journal: Whist- 
teaching " is fast forcing itself to 
the fore as the easiest and surest 
way of obtaining that understand- 
ing of the theory of the game, to- 
gether with the arbitrary conven- 
tionalities, which, being supple- 
mented by practice, makes the 
ready player. So thoi'oughly is 
this plan becoming established, 
and so satisfactory is it in its adap- 
tation, that the whist-teacher is now 
an acknowledged and valued factor, 
with much to do, and large classes 
in each whist-playing centre," 



TEACHERS OE WHIST 



423 



TEACHERS OF WHIST 



About this time Mrs. Lillian Cur- 
tis Noel (^. 1/.), a charming society 
woman, began to arouse a deeper 
interest in the game among the 
women of St. Ivouis. She, too, had 
been familiar with whist all her 
life, and, after studying it scientific- 
ally, was prevailed upon to teach 
others. Her labors in the whist 
field resulted in the organization of 
the largest whist club for women 
in this country. Similar good 
work was being done at the same 
time by Mrs. T. H. Andrews {g. v.), 
in Philadelphia. After arousing 
the whist enthusiasm of the women 
of Philadelphia and surrounding 
places to a high pitch by means of 
her teaching and the whist tourna- 
ments, in which she was the lead- 
ing spirit, she took hold of the pro- 
ject of organizing the Woman's 
Whist League of America, which 
had long been talked of, and now 
carried it to a successful issue. The 
proceeds of her teaching she de- 
voted mainly to the advancement 
of the cause of whist. One of her 
happy thoughts was the purchase 
of what have since been appropri- 
ately named the Andrews Trophies 
— four large heart-shaped silver 
dishes — to be competed for by 
teams of four. The}' are to the 
Woman's Whist League what the 
Challenge Trophy is to the Ameri- 
can Whist League, and are subject 
to somewhat similar rules. In fact, 
they were competed for before 
the formation of the woman's 
league, and to the enthusiasm 
created by the tournaments held 
for their possession was largely due 
the formation of the organization. 

Teachers of whist, of both sexes, 
now became more numerous still, 
for the demand for instruction 
seemed ever increasing. Miss 
Frances S. Dallam [q. v. ) took up 
the good work in Baltimore; Mrs. 
Sadie B. Farnum, an experienced 



and lifelong whist- player, began to 
teach in Chicago and its suburbs. 
On the Pacific coast, Mrs. Frank 
H. Atwater {q. v.) won a more than 
local reputation at Petal uma, Cal., 
and in San Francisco Mrs. Abbie 
E. Krebs was credited by Whist 
with ' ' having, in many ways, ac- 
tively contributed to promote in- 
terest in scientific whist by teach- 
ing, writing, and committee work, 
and last, but by no means least, by 
a series of whist talks at the San 
Francisco Whist Club." 

In the spring of 1894 Miss Ade- 
laide B. Hyde began giving v/hist 
lessons at New Haven, Conn. She 
had had the benefit of a very early 
whist training. As a child she 
never lost an opportunity to watch 
the game, and took a hand as soon 
as she was allowed to do so. I^ater 
she obtained her knowledge of the 
conventional game from the books, 
and a close watch of the methods 
of the best players of this country 
also helped to perfect her in her 
chosen profession. Miss Hyde has 
had classes in the Adirondacks 
summers, and at Lakewood, N. J., 
winters. In 1S97 she removed to 
New York City. Like all the 
women who teach whist. Miss 
Hyde is an advocate of the long- 
suit game, with American leads. 
First of all she endeavors to estab- 
lish the fact that rules are in no 
wise opposed to common sense, but 
simply a result of it; and their ap- 
plication can never become me- 
chanical if the best results are to 
be gained. 

The year 1894 also brought sev- 
eral more men into the field as 
whist teachers. Charles S. Street 
{q. V.) began to devote some time 
to it, aside from other duties, in 
Boston; Earle C. Quackenbush 
{q. V.) did likewise in Washings 
ton, D. C. Charles R. Keiley 
{q. v.), now of New York, began 



TEACHERS OF WHTST 424 TEACHERS OP WHIST 



to teach some also about this time, 
as did also E. T. Baker [q. v.), 
in Brooklyn. All of these gentle- 
men continue to give more or 
less time to it, and have many pu- 
pils. Another instructor who en- 
tered the field contemporaneously 
with the above was T. E. Otis 
{g. v.), of East Orange, N. J., but 
after teaching two years, and re- 
gaining his health, which had pre- 
viously been impaired, Mr. Otis re- 
entered other business, and now 
confines most of his teaching to the 
training of the team of which he is 
captain. It may be here noted also 
that while the ladies are, so far as we 
know, all orthodox in the long-suit 
faith, and true believers in Ameri- 
can leads, three of the gentlemen 
are pronounced advocates of the 
short-suit game — Messrs. Foster, 
Keiley, and Baker. 

A little over two years ago, Mrs. 
Harry Rogers, of Philadelphia, 
began teaching whist, and her 
eflforts were soon crowned with 
success. Mrs. Rogers was taught 
to play whist while a child, and 
among her early recollections is 
one of being made to stand in a 
corner because she could not re- 
member the cards. Her attention 
was called to the scientific game 
some five or six years ago. She 
subsequently took lessons from 
Miss Gertrude E. Clapp and Miss 
Wheelock, and is a strong advocate 
of the long-suit game. When her 
husband failed in business, she 
took up teaching, and met with 
great encouragement. She has 
taught in Pittsburgh, as well as 
Philadelphia, and has also had 
oflFers from Cleveland and other 
cities. All her pupils are enthusi- 
astic in their praise of her and her 
instructions. 

Among others who have taken 
up whist-teaching, Mrs. Henry E. 
Wallace {q. v. ), of Staten Island, N. 



Y., Mrs. Sarah C. H. Buell {g. v.),oi 
Providence, R. I., and Mrs. George 
de Benneville Keim {q. v.), now of 
Edgewater Park, N. J., have also 
won enviable reputations. Mrs. 
Keim is a native of Richmond, Va., 
and has the credit of organizing 
two whist clubs among the ladies 
of the Old Dominion capital, and 
arousing whist enthusiasm among 
the leading people of the city. 

While there are undoubtedly 
many more persons who teach 
whist, professionally or otherwise, 
we have prepared an alphabetical 
list of all those whose names and 
addresses could be learned by dili- 
gent and systematic inquiry. We 
have thirty-eight teachers repre- 
sented in all, twenty-nine women 
and nine men. Some of the most 
successful men who are engaged in 
teaching have many more female 
than male pupils. In fact, the 
great majority of whist-pupils now 
undergoing instruction are women, 
and this is significant. It means 
that in America women may event- 
ually distance the men in intimate 
knowledge of the game. It means 
also that through woman whist will 
be made more and more a game for 
the home circle, and a factor in the 
education and training of the 
young, a matter of vast importance 
and benefit to the nation at large. 
The list of teachers follows: 
Allen, Miss Bessie E., 474 Van 

Buren street, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Anderson, Mrs. Harriet Allen, 571 

Van Buren street, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Andrews, Mrs. T. H., 11 19 Spruce 

street, Philadelphia. 
Atwater, Mrs. Frank H., Petaluma, 

Cal. 
Baker, Mr. El wood T., 781 Pros- 
pect Place, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Brooke, Mrs. Gertrude, Earlham 

Terrace, Germantown, Pa. 
Buell, Mrs. S. C. H., 227 Bowen 

street, Providence, R. I. 



I 



TEACHERS OF WHIST 425 TEACHERS OF WHIST 



Clapp, Miss Gertrude E., The Iven- 

nox, New York City. 
Dallam, Miss Frances S., 1026 Bol- 
ton street, Baltimore, Md. 
Dolliver, Mrs. Sewall, 1008 Jones 

street, San Francisco. 
Duggan, Mr. George E., 305 East 

Chicago avenue, Chicago. 
Earle, Mrs. William E., Washing- 
ton, D. C. 
Farnum, Mrs. Sadie B., North 

Shore Hotel, Chicago. 
Fenollosa, Mr. William S., Salem, 

Mass. 
Foster, Mr. R. F., 560 Hancock 

street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Fuller, Mr. Robert, 47 Tremont 

street, Boston. 
Hess, Mrs. Minnie, Evanston, 111. 
Hyde, Miss Adelaide B., 53 West 

Forty-seventh street, New York 

City. 
Jenks, Mrs. M. S., care of Whist, 

Milwaukee, Wis. 
Keiley, Mr. Charles R., lor Lexing- 
ton avenue, New York City. 
Keim, Mrs. George de Benneville, 

Edgewater Park, N. J. 
Kernochan, Mrs. Frank, Albany, 

N. Y. 
Krebs, Mrs. Abbie E., 911 Sutter 

street, San Francisco. 
Moore, Miss M. Ida, 1031 Emerson 

street, Denver, Col. 
Newbold, Mrs. William H., 2212 

Trinity Place, Philadelphia. 
Noble, Miss Evelyn, 2005 St.Charles 

avenue. New Orleans, I/a. 
Noel, Mrs. Lillian C, 5925 Cates 

avenue, St. Louis, Mo. 
Nowell, Mrs. W. A., 667 Marshall 

street, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Otis, Mr. T. E., East Orange, 

N.J. 
Quackenbush, Mr. Earle C, 1408 G 

street. Northwest, Washington, 

D. C. 
Roberts, Miss Edith, Ridley Park, 

Pa. 
Rogers, Mrs. Harry, 2216 Trinity 

Place, Philadelphia. 



Shelby, Miss Annie Blanche, Port- 
land, Oregon. 
Snyder, Miss Edith, Pottsville, Pa. 
Street, Mr. Charles Stuart, 86 Bea- 
con street, Boston. 
Trist, Miss, 15 16 Baronne street, 

New Orleans. 
Wallace, Mrs. Henry E., 20 Tyson 
street. New Brighton, Staten 
Island, N. Y. 
Wheelock, Miss Kate, care of 
Whist, Milwaukee, Wis. 
Hoyle gave instructions at a 
guinea a lesson. The charges of 
the modern teachers are more 
moderate, as will appear from the 
following rate-card, submitted to 
her pupils by a leading teacher: 
Class of four, one hour session, $y, 
class of eight, one and a half 
hours' session, ^4; class of twelve, 
two hours' session, $5; class of six- 
teen, two and a half hours' session, 
$6. Private lessons, half-hour in- 
struction, ^i. Some teachers un- 
doubtedly charge more than this, 
and some less. 

Until recently the study of whist was 
undertaken only in a desultory sort of 
way over a "hand." But within a few 
years it has been so systematized that a 
course of lessons in whist is as common 
as a course of study on any other subject. 
Whist lessons can be given on exact 
lines up to a certain point, covering all 
the positive rules of the game. Bej'ond 
that it can be given in the way of point- 
ing out the pitfalls into which the un- 
skilled may stumble, and suggesting 
means by which they may be avoided, or 
if not avoided, neutralized. After that 
the student must depend on her.self, and 
her proficiency in the game will depend 
upon her powers of observation and con- 
centration, her ability to draw correct in- 
ferences, and her good judgment. — Har- 
riet Allen Anderson [L. A.], Home Maga- 
zine, July, 1895. 

Professional teaching became quite a 
feature of whist in America. Miss Kate 
Wheelock was the first in the field, begin- 
ning in Milwaukee and Chicago. The 
Misses Clapp followed in her footsteps, 
and before long every large city had its 
instructor. With the exception of the 
author, who was then lecturing on whist 
in New York, all these teachers educated 
their pupils in the number-showing 



TEACHERS OP WHIST 426 TECHNICAL TERMS 



school. Influenced bj' the later writings 
of " Cavendish," and the works of G. W. 
P., Fisher Ames, and others of that school, 
which was all the rage in 1S91, these 
teachers insisted on the pip-counting pro- 
cess as the highest order of whist. The 
invariable lead of the longest suit, show- 
ing number, and signaling were the 
drill tactics, and when the Milwaukee 
"Whist Club asked the whist-players of 
America to meet in Milwaukee for the 
purpose of organization, almost every 
delegate present was a follower of the 
scientific school. — R. F. Foster [S. C], 
Monthly Illustrator, i8^7- 

It is of ten said, in general terms, that 
the way to learn to play whist well is to 
play with good players. This is in part 
true, but it is mainly delusive. There is, 
to many people, not much use in seeing 
what good players do, without knowing 
the reason why they do it, and this good 
players are not ready to give, and in 
fact the rules of the game forbid their 
giving it while playing. All the instruc- 
tion the unfortunate whist-dunce receives 
while actually playing, he is apt to get 
from the contenaptuous reproaches of his 
partner, or the contemptuous silence of 
his opponents, after each hand. * * * 
All this makes a teacher of whist — that 
is, somebody who will deal tenderly with 
poor players, tell them why they have 
blundered, and what they ought to have 
done but did not do, in a spirit of kind- 
ness or even commiseration — wear the 
air of a ministering angel; and we should 
venture to predict, therefore, that the 
most successful teachers will be, as in- 
deed are now, women. — E. L. Godkin, 
New York Nation, September 8, 1887. 

Another evidence of the earnestness of 
the Americans in the game has been the 
fact that they have revived and encour- 
aged professional teaching, in the manner 
practiced by Hoyle. Nothing had been 
done since his day; but in 1871, when the 
author of the present work had occasion 
to describe the philosophical system, he 
inserted the following note (Quarterly 
Review, page 69) : " Why cannot whist be 
taught professionally, like chess and bil- 
liards ? Hoyle set the example, at a guinea 
a lesson, and there is now much more 
scope for instruction than there was in 
his day, from the game being reduced to 
so much more systematic and teachable a 
form." It is quite as practicable as the 
teaching of drawing or music, or any or- 
dinary accomplishment, and the Ameri- 
cans have made the experiment with 
great success. It is curious that the 
teaching began among the fair sex. About 
1886 a little circle of ladies, prominent in 
the society of Milwaukee (a city often dis- 
tinguished in whist matters), despairing 
of solving for themselves the mysteries 



of "Cavendish," sought aid from others 
of their sex who had been more fortunate. 
And this led to regular paid instruction. 
The pioneers in the venture were a Miss 
Kate Wheelock, of Milwaukee, and a 
Miss Gardner, of Boston. The fir.st- 
named lady has since earned a very wide 
reputation. Her classes in one season 
numbered nearly 150 members, and she 
has received so many applications from 
various towns that she has been obliged 
to make periodical tours to satisfy them. 
She has turned out many distinguished 
pupils, and is known by the name of the 
"whist queen." A Mrs. M. S. Jenksisalso 
a celebrated teacher, who has advocated 
whist-teaching in schools; and many 
others are so engaged. Some of these 
ladies have visited London, and have 
given a high impression of their abilities. 
The terms charged by the best teachers 
are two dollars per lesson for each person 
in a class of four, and the income of one 
teacher is given at the rate of ^150 per 
week. Many classes are said to exist 
in every large town, and the pupils often 
belong to the best society. — William Pole 
\L. A -f ], ''Evolution of iVhist." 

Team. — A number of players 
who play together against an equal 
number of other players, or against 
other teams, each composed of an 
equal number. A team generally 
is selected with care from the best 
players of a club, and represents 
such club in matches and tourna- 
ments. A team may consist of two 
players, but in that case pair is 
the more correct designation. The 
team of four players is the most 
popular, although in some contests 
teams of eight and even larger 
numbers are frequently entered; as, 
for instance, in the contest for the 
trophy of the auxiliary associa- 
tions (see, " American Whist 
League, Seventh Congress"), in 
which teams of sixteen represented 
the rival whist associations. The 
play of teams, at duplicate whist, 
requires every member of a team to 
play with every other player an 
equal number of times. 

Technical Terms. — Expressions 
peculiar to whist; words or phrases 
describing some condition, compo- 



TEMPER, CONTROIy OP 427 



TENACE 



nent part, or play incident to the 
game; as, age, book, bumblepuppy, 
coup, dummy, etc. 

Temper, Control of. — Whist is 
a game for gentlemen (and for 
ladies, too, for that matter), and 
this fact should never be lost sight 
of. It is just as wrong to lose con- 
trol of your temper at the whist- 
table at it would be at any function 
in society, where good breeding and 
refinement are supposed to be the 
rule. To get angry at whist never 
mends, but makes matters worse. 

Should you unfortunately discover that 
constitutional infirmity robs you of the 
power of controlling your temper, aban- 
don at once and forever all idea of becom- 
ing a whist-player. By this generous 
self-denial 5'ou will be spared the morti- 
fying reflection which must disturb those 
conscious of having so repeatedly marred 
the pleasure and enjoyment of others. — 
" Lieutenant- Colonel B." [£,. (?.]. 

Ten.— See, "Ten-Spot." 

Tenace. — The best and third-best 
card held by a player in a suit. 
The first and third-best cards are 
tenace major; the second and fourth 
best, tenace minor; the first, third, 
and fifth best constitute a tenace 
double. Tenace also means the 
position in which the cards are held 
as above. Tenace is an important 
element of command in whist strat- 
egy, and much used in the short- 
suit game, or the play of the weak 
hand. The player possessing ten- 
ace strength has the cards in a posi- 
tion to gain the most tricks if his 
suit is led up to. Therefore, many 
experts will not lead away from 
such suit, even though obliged to 
open a short suit. 

The word tenace is generally sup- 
posed to be derived from the Latin 
tenax, tenacious, holding fast, the 
idea being to hold back certain 
cards instead of leading them. Val. 



W. Starnes, in his book on " Short- 
Suit Whist," is inclined to doubt 
the correctness of this derivation, 
and to place some confidence in the 
ingenious definition suggested by 
the young lady who asked him 
wherein lay the special advantage 
of holding an ace and a ten. "It 
might well be," he argues, "that 
the term actually originated from 
' ten' and ' ace,' for these two cards 
constitute an excellent tenace when 
any two of the three remaining 
honors fall on the first trick. The 
ten and ace may have been the first 
representatives of the tenace species 
noticed by whist naturalists; or, 
perhaps, the word may have been 
coined to indicate the double ten- 
ace, first, last, all-embracing, ten- 
queen-ace." 

In his " Whist Strategy" (1894), 
on page 203, R. F. Foster gives a 
hand, and shows the result when 
played in disregard of tenace, and 
when played tenace. In the first 
instance A leads, the nine of hearts 
being turned in trumps: 



•a 

{-1 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 

4- 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

1 1 

12 

13 


41 K 

4. 

7 
♦ 8 
K 4k 


♦ 4. 
60 
90 

4k 7 
2 # 
AO 
4. 4k 
6 « 

8 4k 

9 4k 
^ 4. 

<^ 5 

10 4k 


♦ 5 

5 
^ 6 


« A 


QO 


100 
4k 3 
4k J 

2 
^ 2 


*io 


5 4k 

^ 7 


KO 
A 4k 

4k 9 

*Q 

^ 10 


3 4k 

^ 8 


J 
^ A 


Q 4k 

♦ 6 

4k 2 
7 4k 
J « 


8 

c;? 9 
^ J 

3 


^ K 


^ Q 


^ 3 











Score: A-B, 9; Y-Z, 4. 



TBNACE 



428 



TEN-SPOT 



"In the original play," says Fos- 
ter, " Z, not having been educated 
in tenace, has no conception of the 
possibilities of his hand. In the 
overplay Z leaves the lead with A, 
who, supposing his suit to be good, 
ace with his partner, leads trumps. 
It is only the plain-suit echo on a 
king led that saves A at the tenth 
trick. The tenace play of the hand 
makes eighteen tricks against eight, 
a gain often." The tenace play is 
as follows: 



.1 

t-i 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


4 K 


A 4 

cr? 4 
^ 5 

6 
* 7 

9 

AO 


* 5 
Z> 6 
^ 7 

5 
^ 8 
A 6 

* 10 

J ♦ 
3 ♦ 
5 # 

* 2 

7 « 


* 3 

^ 2 

^ 9 


^ K 


c;? 3 
4 

7 

KO 
K# 
<^ Q 


QO 


^ A 


J 


100 
^ J 


10 ♦ 
2 4^ 
4 « 
6 « 

8 « 

9 ♦ 


8 

♦ J 

♦ A 


A « 


♦ 8 

♦ 9 

♦ Q 


3 


2 





Score : A-B, 4; Y-Z, 9. 

With or without the establishment of a 
suit, you may pick up tricks here and 
there with high cards, and if you make 
all the high cards you have, never fret- 
ting about the small ones, you may con- 
sider yourself lucky. If you play with 
this end definitely in view, preserving 
your high cards and tenace strength, and 
leading cards worthless in your own 
hand, but of such size that they may 
help partner, then your method is what 
we generally call the supporting-card 
game. Foster uses the expression "ten- 
ace game," but I prefer to retain the 
usual, restricted meaning of the word 
"tenace," as applied to the best and 
third-best of a suit and a couple of similar 
combinations.— £■. C. Howell \S. H!\, 
' ' Whist Openings. ' ' 



When you hold a single or double 
tenace, major or minor, it is very im- 
portant to avoid leading the suit, if pos- 
sible, for it will be much more to your 
advantage to have it led by some other 
playerj unless j'ou have so many cards of 
the suit that it is unlikely to go round 
more than once. For example: If you 
lead from the single major tenace, you 
are sure of only one trick. If you wait 
for the lead from some other player you 
are likely to make two tricks. If the 
lead comes from your left-hand adver- 
sary, you are sure of two tricks, bar 
trumping. If you lead from a double 
major tenace, you are sure of but one 
trick. By waiting you may make three, 
and if the lead comes twice from your 
left, nothing but trumping will prevent 
your so doing. — Val. IV. Starnes \S. C], 
'■'Shori-Su.it Whist." 

Hoyle sas^s: " Tenace is possessing the 
first and third-best cards, and being the 
last player;" Mathews, "When the last 
to play holds the best and third-best of a 
suit." " Last to play" and " last player" 
are here used only relatively to the holder 
of the second best; so that their defini- 
tions really mean that tenace is the hold- 
ing of best and third best of any suit 
under such circumstances that the lead 
must come up to them from or through 
the holder of second best. The same 
term was also used to indicate the posi- 
tion wherein a player might be led up to 
regardless of, or in ignorance of, what 
cards he held. "Cavendish," Clay, et id 
genus omtie, in defining, limit the 
meaning of tenace to the holding of 
cards irrespective of position. Pole adds: 
" The essence of the tenace, which gives 
the character and importance to the com- 
bination is that if the holder of the tenace, 
he mu.st (bar trumping) make tricks with 
both cards." Ames, in his excellent 
treatise, uses the term indifferently to ex- 
press either the holding of the cards or 
the holding of the position; and " Cav- 
endish" uses it in the latter sense in his 
"Card-Table Talk." As a matter of sci- 
entific accuracy, it is to be regretted that 
separate terms cannot be assigned to 
these separate meanings; for instance, 
major fourchette for best and third best; 
minor fourchette for second and fourth 
best; vantage, the position; major tenace, 
the combination of major fourchette and 
vantage; and minor tenace, minor four- 
chette and vantage. — Emery Boardman 
[L+A.'], ''Winning Whist." 

Ten-Lead.— See, "Ten-Spot." 

Ten-Spot.— The fifth highest 
card in the pack; one of the five 



TEN-SPOT 



429 THACKERAY ON WHIST 



iiigli cards in whist; also called 
simply, the ten. 

The ten is led, in both the system 
of old leads and in the American 
leads, from one combination only 
— that of king, jack, ten, and one 
or more smaller cards. It has fre- 
quently been objected to in the 
past and still more in recent years. 
" Pembridge" pointed out its 
weakness in his " Whist, or Bum- 
blepuppy?" (second lecture). In 
trumps Lord Bentinck, the inven- 
tor of the trump signal, led a small 
card from the king, jack, ten com- 
bination. 

It is now proposed (and many of 
the very best players have already 
adopted the suggestion) to substi- 
tute for the ten the lead of fourth 
best, and to transfer the ten-lead to 
the queen, jack, ten combination, 
thereby relieving the queen-leads 
from a much-complained-of am- 
biguity in the American leads. 
This change seems to have grown 
out of a suggestion made by 
Charles Stuart Street, in Whist for 
January, 1893. He proposed that 
the ten be led, instead of the queen, 
from the queen , jack, ten combina- 
tion, but he did not provide for any 
change in the ten-lead from king, 
jack, ten. His idea was to lead the 
ten from both combinations. Fisher 
Ames and other American authori- 
ties endorsed Mr. Street's sugges- 
tion, but N. B. Trist and " Caven- 
dish" declared against it, as they 
also did subsequently against the 
further innovation of leading 
fourth best instead of ten from 
king, jack, ten, first brought into 
prominence by Milton C. Work and 
his team from the Hamilton Club. 
(See, also, " American Leads, Pro- 
posed Changes in," and " Hamil- 
ton Leads.") 

In the Howell (short-suit) system 
the lead of the ten indicates the sup- 
porting-card game {q, v.). In the 



New York (Keiley's) system, the 
ten is usually led as the top of the 
suit, but may be an intermediate 
lead [q. v.). A long suit, headed 
by the ten, is opened with it. 

Personally, I think there is an advan- 
tage in leading the ten, as against a small 
one, from king, knave, ten, etc., both in 
plain suits and in trumps; but I allow, if 
any departure from this well-established 
rule is to be made, that it may be at- 
tempted in the trump suit with better 
chance of success than in plain suits. — 
'•Cavendish" [L. A.], IVhist, October, i8gs- 

When ten is led as an original lead, 
from more than four in suit, and wins the 
trick, the second lead, in the writer's 
opinion, should be the original fourth 
best, and not the lowest of the suit. The 
ten winning the trick, the nature of the 
combination led from and the position of 
the high cards are proclaimed. * * * 
It is clearly an advantage for partner to 
be able to read the numerical strength of 
an established suit as early as the second 
round. — C, D. P. Hamilton [L.A.], ''Mod- 
em Scientific Whist.'" 

Text- Book. — A book for the use 
of beginners and students, who 
wish to perfect themselves in the 
game; a whist lesson-book. (See, 
"Books on. Whist") 

Thackeray on Whist. — In "The 

"Virginians," by William Make- 
peace Thackeray, the hero, Harry 
Warrington, experiences much 
whist-play, and some of it is down- 
right gambling. One Sunday even- 
ing Dr. Sampson, Lord Castle- 
wood'' s chaplain, participates in a 
game of the more innocent sort. 
The evening was beautiful, "and 
there was talk of adjourning to a 
cool tankard and a game of whist 
in a summer-house; but the com- 
pany voted to sit indoors, the ladies 
declaring that they thought the 
aspect of three honors in their 
hand, and some good court cards, 
more beautiful than the loveliest 
scene of nature. And so the sun 
went behind the elms, and still 
they were at their cards; and the 
rooks came home, cawing their 



THEORY 



430 



THIRD HAND 



evensong, and they never stirred, 
except to change partners; and the 
chapel clock tolled hour after hour 
unheeded, so delightfully were they 
spent over the pasteboards; and the 
moon and stars came out, and it 
was nine o'clock, and the groom of 
the chambers announced that sup- 
per was ready." 

Young Warrington plays day 
after day, and night after night, 
and when he goes to Tunbridge 
Wells he continues the game for 
higher stakes, with the most distin- 
guished gamblers of the day. "iJ/r. 
Warrington and my Lord Chester- 
field found themselves partners 
against Mr. Morris and the Earl 
of March, ' ' we are told. The Vir- 
ginian's luck is phenomenal at first, 
but he finally meets with disaster, 
and is reduced to curious straits. 

Theory. — The theory of whist is 
the general plan or system of the 
game, based upon its established 
principles. A player should be 
well grounded in the theory of the 
game, and add to such knowledge 
careful and industrious practice. 
Dr. Pole was the first to thoroughly 
describe the theory of whist, treat- 
ing it from a philosophical and sci- 
entific standpoint. He says, in his 
" Theory of the Modern Scientific 
Game of Whist: " "It has been the 
invariable custom to lay down 
practical rules and directions for 
play, sometimes in their naked 
simplicity, and sometimes accom- 
panied with more or less argument 
or explanation (as done to a cer- 
tain extent originally by Hoyle and 
Mathews), but always leaving the 
student to extract for himself, from 
this mass of detail, the general 
principles on which these rules 
were based. Just as if a student of 
chemistry were put into a working 
druggist's shop, and expected to 
acquire all his knowledge of the 



science, by inference, from the 
operations he was taught to carry 
on there. In other words, no at- 
tempt has ever been made to w^ork 
out or to explain the fundamental 
theory of the game; and, believing 
that the thorough understanding of 
this is the best possible preparation 
for using the rules aright, and for 
acquiring an intelligent style of 
play, we propose to state this 
theory somewhat fully, and to show 
how it becomes developed in the 
shape of practical rules." He then 
goes on to show that the basis of 
the theory lies in the relations ex- 
isting between the players; that 
the players are intended to act, not 
singly, but as partners, and play 
the two hands combined as if they 
were one. He shows how, in order 
to carry out this idea, they enter 
into a system of legalized corre- 
spondence, and then he explains 
how the theory influences the man- 
agement of trumps, plain suits, the 
lead, and other details of play. 
(See, also, "Long-Suit Game.") 

Third Hand. — The player who 
plays the third card to a round or 
trick; the leader's partner. In the 
first or opening round of the game 
he is " B," or " south." 

It is the duty of the third hand 
generally to play high, especi- 
ally if his partner has led a low 
card. Should he in such case, how- 
ever, hold the ace and queen, he 
ought to finesse with the queen, 
and play the ace out immediately 
if the queen wins. It is the third 
hand's duty to assist partner in es- 
tablishing his suit, and to make as 
many tricks as possible by judicious 
finesses. He, of course, plays a low 
card in case his partner leads, from 
a high card combination, a card 
which should go round. When the 
adversaries are very strong, and lead 
trumps, he finesses deeply in them. 



THIRD HAND 



431 



THIRD HAND 



In case the third hand wins the 
first trick in a suit led by his part- 
ner, he should do one of four things: 
First of all he should lead trumps 
if sufficiently strong, taking into 
consideration his entire hand, his 
partner's hand, as far as disclosed, 
and the cards played by the adver- 
saries. If unable to lead trumps 
he should return the best card of 
partner's suit, if held by him. 
However, with fair strength in 
trumps and suit, it is the practice 
of J. H. Briggs and other fine 
players to hold back the best card 
of partner's suit as a card of re- 
entry, should they find themselves 
in a better position later in the 
hand to bring in the suit them- 
selves. As a third matter of choice 
(not holding the best card in part- 
ner's suit), the third hand should 
open his own long suit if he has 
sufiicient strength. If not, then 
the fourth alternative presents it- 
self — he should return partner's 
suit. Most good players agree with 
Drayson, that it is not customary 
to at once return partner's suit un- 
less you are weak in all other suits, 
and find it unadvisable to open a 
fresh suit. 

The g-olden rule is an excellent maxim 
for the guidance of the third hand. Let 
him do for his partner what he would like 
his partner to do for him. — R. F. Foster 
[S. O.], ''IVhist Tactics." 

The general rule for third hand is to 
play the highest you have. This rule is 
subject, however, to the peculiar attri- 
bute of the third hand as regards finess- 
ing.— PFzV/zawz Pole {L.A+]. 

You should play the highest card in 
your hand as third player, unless you 
finesse or hold a sequence, when you play 
the lowest card of this sequence, provided 
you have not a higher card than those 
comprising the sequence.—^. H^. Drayson 
[L+A^-], "The Art 0/ Practical Whist:' 

It sometimes happens that the third 
hand who originally opened a suit can, 
on its return, read that the best card of it 
is without a guard in the fourth hand, in 
which case he should play his lowest 
card, regardless of card played by the sec- 



ond hand. — Milton C. Work \L. A. ff.], 
" Whist of To-day:' 

Always play your highest card, except 
when your highest cards are in sequence 
(then the lowest of the sequence), on your 
partner's lead of a small card. This rule 
of third hand high has but a single excep- 
tion, and that is when you hold the ace 
and queen. In this case the queen should 
be inessed.— Milton C. Work [L. A. H.], 
"Whist of To-day:' 

Third hand high. The play of the high 
card is (1) to take the trick; or (2) to force 
out an opponent's higher card. In either 
case it gets high cards out of the way and 
helps to clear and establish the suit. But 
this rule is too general, and particular 
rules are prescribed according to the cards 
led and held, etc. — Fisher Ames [L. A.], 
"Practical Guide to Whist:' 

The third hand is, as a general rule, ex- 
pected to play his best card to the suit 
which his partner has led, and which, in 
the case of an original lead, is, or in the 
vast majority of cases ought to be, his 
partner's strongest suit. By playing your 
best card, therefore, to your partner's 
lead, if j'ou do not take the trick, you 
at least assist him to establish his strong 
suit. — James Clay \L. 0+]. 

The general principles which should 
guide the play of third hand are: First, 
and chiefly, to help and strengthen your 
partner as much as possible in his own. 
suit; secondly, to derive all possible ad- 
vantage from any strengthening card he 
may play in your own suit; and, thirdly, 
to retain as long as possible such partial 
command as you may have in an oppo- 
nent's suit. — R. A. Proctor [Z,. 0.]. 

In the play of third hand, the main 
point to have in mind is, that the suit led 
IS your partner's, and you are to assist in 
establishing it as follows: (a) by winning 
the trick if necessary, and as cheaply as 
possible; {b) by preventing fourth hand 
from winning too cheaply, thus forcing 
out the adverse high cards; (c) by getting 
rid of your high cards of that suit as soon 
as po.ssible, to avoid blocking. — C. E. Cof- 
fin [L. A.], "Gist of Whist:' 

Until within the last decade the anaU'sis 
of the play of third hand was very inade- 
quate and unsatisfactory. The books dis- 
missed the subject almost with the single 
line — "generally play your highest card 
third hand." The new order for leads 
from high-card sequences, together with 
the fourth-best principle, revolutionized 
the game and rendered obsolete, to a 
great extent, the text-books of the day. — 
C. D. P.Hamilton {L. A.}, "Modern Sci- 
entific Whist:' 

While partners shotild play for each 
other, and while third hand should gener- 



THIRTEENTH CARD 



432 THOMSON, ALEXANDER 



ally assist first player in the development 
of his suit and of his plan, nevertheless 
third-hand player is an important factor 
in the quartette, and may at any time as- 
sume to be an independent one. Third- 
hand finesse at times from an original 
lead, and frequently upon the after leads, 
will v^in trick or throw the lead to advan- 
tage. When the trumps are declared 
strong against, deep finesse by third hand 
may be the only plan that can save a 
game— Geoixe VV. PMes [L. A. P.], 
"Atnerican IVhist Illustrated." 

On the first round of a suit you should 
generally play your highest card third 
hand, in order to strengthen your part- 
ner. You presume that he leads from his 
strong suit, and wants to have the win- 
ning cards of it out of his way; }'ou, there- 
fore, do not finesse, but play your high- 
est, remembering that you play the 
lowest of a sequence. With ace, queen 
(and, of course, ace, queen, knave, etc., in 
sequence), you do finesse; for, in this case, 
the finesse cannot be left to your partner. 
In trumps you may finesse ace, knave, if 
an honor is turned up to j'our right. 
Some players finesse knave, with king, 
knave, etc., but it is contrary to principle 
to finesse in your partner's strong suit. If 
your partner leads a high card originally 
you assume it is led from one of the com- 
binations given in the analysis of leads, 
and your play third hand must be guided 
by a consideration of the combination led 
from. * * * If your partner opens a 
suit late in hand with a high card, your 
play, third hand, will depend on your 
judgment of the character of the lead. 
* * * On the second round of a suit, if 
you (third player) hold the best and 
third-best cards, and you have no indica- 
tion as to the position of the intermedi- 
ate card, your play should again depend 
on your strength in trumps. If weak 
in trumps, secure the trick at once; if 
strong in trumps, and especially if strong 
enough to lead a trump should the finesse 
succeed, it is generally well to make it. — 
^'Cavendish" [L. A.], "Laws and Princi- 
ples of IVkist." 

Thirteenth Card. — The last card 
of any suit held by a player, the 
other twelve having been played. 

The thirteenth card is very use- 
ful, especially tovsrard the close of a 
hand. If held with the last trump, 
or trumps, it becomes as valuable 
as a trump. A thirteenth card 
should be led only for the purpose 
of having partner play his best 
trump, and so prevent it falling 



with your own high trump; or to 
throw the lead into the adversaries' 
hands, so that you or your partner 
may be led up to. When trumps 
are against you, do not lead a thir- 
teenth, unless it be to force the 
strong hand of an opponent. 

It is sometimes played because the 
leader considers he cannot pla5' any 
other card to advantage. To play a thir- 
teenth under these circumstances may, 
and most probably will, mislead your 
partner; and if he does not rufi' very high 
it gives an easily acquired trick to the 
last plaver. — A. IV. Drayson [Z,+.<4-|-], 
"The Art of Practical Whist." 

Thirteenth Trump. — The last 
trump held by a player, twelve 
having been played. It is a most 
important card to retain, if possi- 
ble, in order to obtain the lead 
again when your suit is established, 
especially if you have no other card 
of re-entry. 

It is a good plan when you have the 
thirteenth trump to pass the winning 
cards. The reason of this is not apparent, 
but in practice I know several players 
who do so, and in the multitude of coun- 
sellors there is wisdom. — Westminster 
Papers [Z,+ 0.] 

If two plaj'ers have an equal number 
of trumps, each of them having an estab- 
lished suit, it will be the object of both to 
remain with the last trump, which must 
bring in the suit. The tactics of each 
will be to win the third round of trumps; 
and then, if the best trump is against 
him, to force it out with the established 
suit, coming into the lead again with the 
last trump.— i?. F. Foster \_S. 0.\ "Com- 
plete Hoyle.'" 

Thomson, Alexander. — Author 
of " Whist: a Poem in Twelve 
Cantos; London, 1791;" was born 
in Scotland, on the Dee, about 
1763, and educated at the Univer- 
sity of Aberdeen, although he af- 
terwards removed to Edinburgh. 
During the winter of i793-'94 ^^ 
was married, and his death occurred 
on November 7, 1803. He was the 
author of a number of other 
poems, and many translations from 
the German. 



THREE-TRUMP ECHO 433 THREE-TRUMP ECHO 



Three-Trump Echo. — A con- 
ventional play originally suggested 
by Dr. H. E. Greene, of Crawfords- 
ville, Ind., is 1895, and now made 
as follows; When a player, third 
hand, is not obliged to play a high 
trump on partner's original trump- 
lead, he shows the possession of 
three trumps by playing his second 
best on the first round, and his 
third best on the second round. 

" Cavendish" originated and 
published in 1874 the regular echo 
to the signal for trumps, in order 
to show the possession of four 
trumps or more. It is made by 
repeating the trump signal in 
trumps or plain suits ; i. e. , by play- 
ing an unnecessarily high card, fol- 
lowed by a lower one. Dr. Greene 
extends the principle to the hold- 
ing of three trumps as well, but 
confines his echo to the strong 
trump-suit led by partner. The 
idea occurred to him during the 
Christmas holidays, in 1894, as he 
tells in a letter, from which we 
quote the following: "I am able to 
give you the hand and the circum- 
stances which suggested the play 
to me. My play at that time may 
not have been a good one, but it 
turned out well and set me to 
thinking." The hands were as 
follows, the jack of spades being 
turned for trumps, north being the 
leader: 



North. 

♦ 9, 3. 2- 
^ 6, 5, 3- 

♦ A, O, J, 5, 4, 3, 2, 
(^ None. 

East. 

♦ J, 10. 
<y A, K, 7, 2. 
4 10,8. 
O K, Q, 7, 6, 2. 



South. 

♦ A, K, Q, 7, 5, 4. 
^ J, 4. 
4k K, 6. 
10,4,3. 

West. 

♦ S, 6. 
^ Q, 10, 9, 8. 

♦ 9. 7- 

A,j, 9, 8,5. 

I was seated north, " continues 
28 



Dr. Greene, " and led the ace of 
clubs, then jack, and my suit was 
established, but I had no possible 
chance of re-entry, except with 
trumps. My partner started trumps 
with the queen, then ace, and I 
echoed with three and two. My 
idea in so doing was to mislead 
partner and make him stop leading, 
(He afterwards told me that he 
knew I could not hold four, but 
thought I was able to read the 
hands, and was showing that I held 
the last trump.) He stopped the 
trump-lead and started diamonds. 
I trumped and we made all the 
tricks. On that board we made a 
gain of five. During my subse- 
quent play I frequently noticed op- 
portunities for echoing fi-om three 
with advantage, and finally formu- 
lated the system as published in 
Whist, in March, 1895." 

In that issue he said: " The lead 
of an honor in the trump suit indi- 
cates great strength, and it is very 
seldom that a player has four 
trumps when his partner opens 
with ace, queen, or jack. It very 
often happens, however, that he 
does have three, and if partner only 
knew this he might be able to leave 
him with a trump, where otherwise 
he would have drawn it. To obvi- 
ate this difficulty my partner and I 
have adopted the following rule 
for such cases: We echo from 
three, play the lowest one from one 
or two, and hold the lowest one 
from four until the third hand. 
The rule applies only to leads of 
ace, king, queen, or jack. On low- 
card leads we play the old rules. ' ' 

In Whist for December, 1895, Dr. 
Greene, taking cognizance of a 
number of criticisms, admitted that 
the play, as originally suggested, 
was open to two objections: (i) 
False-carding interfered with show- 
ing four. (2) Certain situations 
might arise where it would be im- 



THREE-TRUMP ECHO 434 THREE-TRUMP ECHO 



possible for the leader to tell 
whether his partner was out or still 
held two trumps. He also accepted 
a remedy suggested by Fisher 
Ames, which, in his opinion, " en- 
tirely obviates the latter objection, 
and partially the first. ' ' Mr. Ames' 
remedy was this: Third hand, 
holding four or more, should play 
his second best on the first round, 
and should follow with his third 
best, and so on down. " In this 
way," says Dr. Greene, '"the echo 
is made from three or more, and ex- 
cept in very rare instances partner 
can tell which on the second round. 
Milton C. Work, in his ' Whist of 
To-day, ' still further widens the field 
of usefulness of the play by making 
it apply to every case where third 
hand does not have to play a high 
card on his partner's original lead. 
This last might result badly in case 
the lead was made from a weak 
trump-lead, but a good partner 
would be no more likely to err here 
than he would be to unblock on a 
forced lead. At present I play the 
system as follows: In all cases 
where third hand does not attempt 
to win the trick he plays the next 
to the highest card which he holds, 
and on each, succeeding round fol- 
lows with the next lower card. As 
long as he plays cards lower than 
the first one played by him he still 
has at least one trump remaining. 
In this way I do not think I exag- 
gerate when I claim that the second 
round will show the exact numeri- 
cal holding in nine cases out of ten. 
It will be apparent at once that this 
is an improvement over the old 
four-card echo. Of course false 
cards will occasionally interfere, by 
leaving the leader in doubt as to 
whether his partner has one or 
more remaining, but it is surprising 
how seldom this occurs in play, 
and how little harm it does when 
it occurs." 



There are several other methods 
by which third hand may show the 
possession of three trumps on part- 
ner's lead or call: (i) If third 
hand refuses to echo, and show four 
or more, it is negatively inferred 
that he has three or less. ( 2 ) The 
sub-echo (^. v.) indicates still more 
definitely the exact possession of 
three. It is made by refusing to 
echo on partner's trump-lead, but 
echoing in a plain suit instead. 
(3) A later idea, and one favored 
by Miss Kate Wheelock in her 
" Whist Rules" (second edition, 
1897), is to make the three-trump 
echo as follows when not trying to 
win the trick: Holding exactly 
three trumps, if partner signals for 
or leads them from strength, echo 
(either in trumps or plain suits) 
the first opportunity. Holding 
more than three trumps, refuse to 
echo the first opportunity, thereby 
denying three, but echo (sub-echo) 
the next opportunity, either in 
trumps or plain suits. When try- 
ing to win the trick the echo means 
more than three. This is changing 
the meaning of the echo as origi- 
nally invented by "Cavendish," and 
making it show three instead of 
four or more, except when trying 
to win the trick, in which case the 
old meaning is adhered to. Miss 
Wheelock adds: "Many players, 
holding exactly three trumps, echo, 
whether trying to win the trick or 
not." 

The idea of the play known as the three- 
echo was originally suggested by Dr. H. 
S. Greene, but in the form advocated by 
him found little favor. The writer has 
varied it somewhat, doing away with the 
greatest objection urged against it. * * * 
The idea is that as the partner of a trump 
leader more frequently holds two or three 
trumps than four, it is more important to 
show the exact number than merely 
whether the suit is long or short. With 
this end in view it is proposed in every 
case in which the third hand does not 
have to play a high trump on his part- 
ner's original lead, for him to play his 



THREE-TRUMP ECHO 435 THROWING CARDS DOWN 



second best, and on the second trick to 
follow with the third best. — Milton C. 
JVork [L. A.H.],'' Whist of To-day." 

This convention, as well as all others, 
is often disregarded by good players 
•when the situation demands it. For in- 
stance, it would be manifestly unwise to 
echo with three trumps upon partner's 
weak lead of that suit; such a play would 
only impart information which the adver- 
sary would hasten to use to your discom- 
fiture. Again, the retention of a high 
card in your hand as an entry for your 
established suit may be of far more im- 
portance than the mere disclosure of 
three trumps — in truth, it may be the one 
play essential to making a great score. 
Such departures, of course, require the 
nicest discrimination and judgment, as 
well as a superb confidence in the sagac- 
ity of your partner and his abilty to read 
the situation, for one of the most remote 
inferences, even among good whist-play- 
ers, is that an unconventional play is 
being made by a player familiar with 
conventions, for the purpose of making a 
great score. — Beverley IV. Smith \L. A\ 
Baltijnore News, iSgj. 

In March Whist, 1895, Mr. H. E. Greene 
suggested an improvement in trump 
echoing. To an honor led it was proposed 
to " echo from three, play the highest from 
one or two, and hold the lowest ixorafour 
until the third round." Mr. Fisher Ames 
at once suggested, as a probable improve- 
ment on Mr. Greene's method, that the 
partner of the trump leader— holding 
three or more trumps — might play his 
second best trump to the first round, and 
his third best to the second round. Work, 
in his "Whist of To-day," extends the 
scope of this echo to cover all cases when 
third hand does not have to trytowin 
the first round. The proposed innova- 
tions, like most new plays that are from 
time to time suggested, work both ways 
— for harm and for good. Often they seem 
to be trick-winners— in theory— but prove 
to be trick-losers in practice. This idea, 
however, seems to have sufficient merit 
to justify whist-players in closely exam- 
ining it, and giving it a practical test. — 
C. D. P. Hamilton \L. A.}, "Afodern Scien- 
tific Whist.''' 

Having found it a good thing to show 
four trumps to partner, the question was 
raised, why not show three also ? And 
forthwith the sub-echo was invented. In 
order to accomplish the sub-echo, how- 
ever, it was necessary to do away with the 
command signal, or the show of weak- 
ness. * * * Then another theorist came 
to the front with a plan to show three 
trumps, and at the same time keep the 
command signal intact. This plan con- 
sisted in showing four when you only had 
three, provided your partner showeci five 



or more by his original lead. When your 
partner has five trumps, it is unlikely 
that you will hold four anyway, and if 
you echo, you show him you have at least 
three. * * * The latest three-echo con- 
sists in partner playing his second lowest 
trump on first trick, and third lowest on 
second trick, in every case in which he is 
not compelled to play a high trump on 
the original lead. That is to say, you 
play the same card on first trick whether 
you have three or four, and you go up on 
second round if you have only three, and 
down if you have four. The absence of 
the small card in the case of three locates 
it in your hand— yo^w T. Mitchell [L. A.], 
'''Duplicate Whist and Modern Leads,''' 
1897. 

Three-Spot. — The lowest card in 
whist but one. It is led only as a 
fourth best in the American leads, 
and as a penultimate or antepenul- 
timate (or fourth best) in the old 
leads. 

In the Howell (short-suit) sys- 
tem it indicates the long-suit game, 
with a probable good suit and trump 
strength. It commands partner to 
lead trumps if he gets in early. In 
the New York (Keiley) short-suit 
system it is one of the cards led 
from the bottom of long and mod- 
erately well supported suits. 

Throwing Cards Down. — Should 
a player be fortunate enough to 
deal himself thirteen trumps (a 
rather remote possibility) , he would 
perhaps be justified in laying his 
cards on the table, and claiming all 
the tricks without going through 
the formality of playing the hand. 
But the ordinary hand at whist 
should be played out to the end, to 
save the possibility of a misunder- 
standing or dispute. The laws of 
whist require the complete play of 
the hand, except in cases where all 
four players throw down their 
cards. (See, sections 58 and 59, 
English code; sections 20 and 27, 
American code.) 

Do not throw your cards down, think- 
ing you have won the game; it does not 
save time, and may result in your having 



THROWING THE LEAD 436 



TORMEY, P.J. 



the cards called to your detriment.— W. 
M. Deane [L. A+]. 

Throwing the Lead. — Playing a 
card that will compel some other 
player to take the trick and the 
lead. It is a very important piece 
of whist strategy, and especiallj' ef- 
fective toward the end of the hand. 

Suppose you have a very bad hand; no 
court cards, no long suit, only two or 
three trumps. It is unlikely that you 
■will ever take a trick or have a lead, but 
if you do you should try to keep the lead 
on your ri^ht, in order that the suits may 
be led up to your partner; your only hope 
being that he is strong, and may make 
some teriaces if led up to, which he could 
not do if led through.—.^. K Foster [S. C] . 

There is nothing more ingenious in 
Tt'hist than the act of properly throwing 
the lead. It is in this respect that the 
player of finesse makes his especial gain. 
The "moderate player" only sees the 
trick that could have been surely won, 
but he does not see the two tricks after- 
v^ard made, one of wiiich could not have 
been obtained if the lead had not been 
thrown.— C W. Pettes \L. A. P.], ^^ Ameri- 
can Whist Illustrated y 

With a wretchedly weak hand, having 
by any chance obtained the lead, and 
having no information concerning your 
partner's strong suit, if the previous play 
of the adversaries and an inspection of 
your own hand cannot guide you to it 
with any satisfactory degree of probabil- 
ity, it would be well to lead from a suit of 
which you know your right-hand oppo- 
nent to hold the best, in order that he 
may be obliged to open a suit in which 
your partner may be strong, and will 
have the advantage of position. Desiring 
the advantage of tenace yourself, it may 
sometimes be expedient, toward the close 
of the hand, to drop a trick to your left- 
hand adversary if he must, or probably 
will, lead your suit. Whenever, at the 
end of the hand, you hold the best and 
third-best trump, or second best guarded 
over the player at your right, he having 
the lead, be sure to get rid of the control 
of his plain suit before the eleventh trick. 
Trie play will be similar to unblocking, 
but in an adversary's suit. — Emery Board- 
man \L-\-A.\ '■'Winning W/iist." 

Tierce. — A sequence of three 
cards. (See, "Sequence.") 

Tie. — In whist matches, a tie oc- 
curs when two or more players, 
pairs, or teams make exactly the 



same score. Ties are usually played 
off by those who were tied, unless 
some other fair method of deciding 
who is the final winner suggests 
itself. 

** Tiresias." — In his romance of 
"The Infernal Marriage" (origi- 
nally published in \h.^ New Monthly 
Magazine, in 1834), Disraeli de- 
votes an interesting chapter to 
whist. It is entitled, " Tiresias at 
His Rubber." Of the sage we are 
told: " Tiresias loved a rubber. 
It was true that he was blind, but 
then, being a prophet, that did not 
signify. Tiresias, I say, loved a 
rubber, and was a first-class pla3'er, 
though perhaps given a little too 
much to finesse. ' ' 

Top-of- Nothing Lead. — In short- 
suit play the lead ' ' from the top of 
nothing' ' is the lead of a top card 
from a short suit, when the hand is 
worthless for any other purpose 
than ruffing or leading supporting 
cards to partner. In the Howell 
system the eight, seven, and six- 
spots are always led from the ' ' top 
of nothing," and nearly always 
from not more than two in suit; 
queen, jack, ten, and nine are also 
led from ' ' top of nothing, ' ' but do 
not absolutely deny the possession 
of better cards in the suit opened, 
as is the case with the three lower 
cards. 

In the New York (Keiley) sys- 
tem the jack is always led from the 
top of the short suit; the ten, while 
usually led from the top, may also 
be an intermediate lead; the nine 
is only led as the top of nothing; 
the rest of the small cards are led 
either as the top of short, weak 
suits, or the bottom of long and 
moderately well-supported suits. 

To r m ey, P. J . — A leading worker 
in the cause of good whist, and a 



TORMEY, P. J. 



437 



TORMEY, P. J. 



clear and forcible writer on the 
game, as well as the originator of a 
number of important whist im- 
provements. Mr. Tormey was born 
at Plattsburgh, N. Y., in 1847, 
and received his education in the 
common schools and an academy. 
At an early age he learned the 
drug business in his native town, 
and some time thereafter departed 
for New York, where he became 
connected with the well-known 
firm of L,azell, Marsh & Gardner, 
wholesale druggists. From there 
he went to Boston, in 1872, accept- 
ing a position with a large import- 
ing house. After fourteen years of 
continuous service with this house, 
he decided to embark in business 
for himself. He went to California 
in 1886, and is now one of the lead- 
ing wholesale merchants in drug- 
gists' sundries, in San Francisco. 
He is also one of the proprietors 
of the Owl Drug Company, which 
has stores in San Francisco, Los 
Angeles, and Oakland. 

We recently asked Mr. Tormey 
when he first became interested in 
whist, and his answer is so charac- 
teristic that we cannot forbear giv- 
ing it entire. "This question," he 
says, " is one I am unable to an- 
swer. I think it was a birth-mark 
with me. Up to about fifteen years 
ago I knew more about whist than 
Trist, Hamilton, our 'whist queen,' 
Miss Wheelock, or even Pole, 
Drayson, or 'Cavendish.' About 
that time I had my eye-teeth cut. 
It happened in this way: I was 
crossing from the continent, coming 
from the East, and somewhere in 
what is now the State of Wyoming, 
I was asked by a fellow-traveler if 
I played whist, and if I would be 
one to make up a table. I replied, 
' Certainly; glad to.' From boy- 
hood up I had played whist, and 
in my estimation I was at the top 
notch, and what I didn't know 



about the game wasn't worth know- 
ing. We started in to play, and it 
didn't take a great while for me to 
learn that my newly-found whist- 
partner knew nothing of the game. 
I could not resist the temptation of 
blowing him up at the end of every 
deal. He took it good-naturedly, 
and once or twice he even smiled 
when I was ' going' for him. 

' ' After it was all over we went 
to the smoking-room, lit our cigars 
and entered into conversation about 
the game we had just finished. 
The gentleman said to me: ' Mr. 
Tormey, you seem to like whist; 
why don't you study it a little?' 
'Study! Study whistli' I remarked. 
'Yes,' he answered, as cool as an 
iceberg, ' I think if you studied 
the game a little, and practiced a 
good deal, you would make a fair 
player.' I must say I was wrath- 
ful — I was too hot to answer him. 
Fortunately, just at that moment 
the conductor passed through the 
car, calling out, ' Che3'enne, twen- 
ty-five minutes for supper.' I 
pocketed the afiront, and the bal- 
ance of our trip we were strangers. 

" The next winter I was in Bos- 
ton, and was invited to the Boston 
Whist Club, and introduced as a 
whist-player from the far West. We 
were soon in the midst of the game. 
A play which I made, and which I 
knew was right, was looked upon, 
in my opinion, with suspicion by 
one of my adversaries. I thought 
I would teach the man a lesson, 
and after the deal had been played, 
I asked my partner (who, I after- 
ward learned, was one of the best 
players in Boston) what I should 
have played on the trick in ques- 
tion. I knew, of course, he would 
name the card I did pla}'; but he 
didn't, much to my chagrin and 
annoyance. Not long after this 
incident, I excused myself from 
playing any longer, claiming I had 



TORMEY, P. J. 



438 



TORMEY, P. J. 



a headache, and I watched the 
game for the balance of the even- 
ing. 

" The next day I went to the 
gentleman's office, and brought up 
the question of the night before. I 
asked him how I could tell what 
card to play and know I was right 
as well as he could. His answer 
was very simple. He said : ' Easily 
enough, if you will study a little.' 
For a moment I was back in the 
smoking-room of that car; but my 
intimate acquaintance with the 
gentleman was of such a nature 
that I knew he intended it as an 
honest answer to my possibly silly 
question. 

" He advised me to buy a whist- 
book. I was astonished to know 
such a thing existed. I asked him 
to give me the name of it. He 
said: 'Get any one; they are all 
good.' I was more surprised to 
learn that there were several books 
written on the game. 

' ' I obtained permission to send 
one of his office boys out, and gave 
him instructions to 'get me some 
whist-books; all they had.' The 
young man hesitated a little, and I 
assured him I wanted one of each 
kind to be found in the store. Hes- 
itating again, my friend told him 
to go and get Mr. Tormey just 
what he asked for. 

" In half an hour he returned, 
carrying a bundle just about as 
large as he could lift, and, after 
wiping the perspiration from his 
forehead, he took out of his pocket 
a bill and handed it to me, amount- 
ing to sixty-five dollars. 

" Californians, as a rule, don't 
squeal. I took my medicine good- 
naturedly, paid the bill, after re- 
covering my breath, and asked to 
have the books shipped to me by 
ocean freight, with some goods I 
had coming around the Horn. 

' ' I think it took me two years to 



sneak that lot of books into my 
home and library without exciting 
my wife's suspicions; but it was 
money well spent. After reading 
one or two of the books, it did not 
take me long to fully realize that I 
did not know the first letter of the 
whist alphabet. What a revelation 
it was to me! And, after wading 
through the whole storehouse of 
whist literature, I came to the wise 
conclusion that I had been all 
these years on what I have always 
since called ' Fool Hill, ' and from 
that day to this I never claimed 
that I was more than a mere whist 
student. 

"If any of the rough edges in 
whist have been polished off, I am 
chiefly indebted to Nicholas Browse 
Trist, for years a close friend, and 
one of the noblest gentlemen that 
ever walked the earth ; and also to 
our little ' whist queen,' Miss Kate 
Wheelock." 

Due allowance, we know, will be 
made for the humorous self-depre- 
ciation which Mr. Tormey indulges 
in, in the above reminiscence. Cer- 
tain it is, that whatever the value 
of the lesson he learned fifteen 
years ago (and it was one that 
would do many others good, too), 
to-day he ranks as one of the whist 
leaders. He is one of the founders 
of the San Francisco Whist Club, a 
large and efScient organization, 
and has taken an active interest in 
the American Whist League almost 
from its inception, being elected 
one of its directors in 1893. The 
widespread interest in League mat- 
ters taken on the Pacific coast is 
largely due to his individual efforts, 
and he has helped to organize and 
build up clubs and auxiliary asso- 
ciations in several places, among 
these being the Pacific Whist Asso- 
ciation, of which he was elected 
president. He was the first to rec- 
ognize and urge the importance 



TORMBY, P. J. 



439 



TORMEY, P. J. 



of encouraging the formation of 
auxiliary associations {q. v. ) under 
League auspices. Of his unselfish 
labors in behalf of the League, at 
its annual gatherings, much might 
be said. Eugene S. Elliott, in 
Whist for August, 1897, has the 
following to say concerning his 
noble action at the seventh annual 
congress: "P.J. Tormey, of San 
Francisco, upon whose broad shoul- 
ders the work of the tournament 
committee has heretofore largely 
rested, anticipated a respite from 
work i:pon this occasion, and, in- 
deed, had been promised that no 
more would be asked of him than 
to fill in, when necessary, a broken 
set; but his experience and eflS- 
ciency were not to be thus ignored, 
so that before the fight began he 
was found in his accustomed place 
at the head of the tournament com- 
mittee. Thus he exemplified whist 
patriotism of the most gilt-edged 
grade. Just think of it! A man 
who would rather play whist than 
eat his dinner comes thousands of 
miles to attend a convention of 
whist-players, and then devotes 
himself so assiduously to the task 
of making others comfortable that 
after an entire week of what should 
have been an outing, he finds him- 
self at the close without having 
played a single game, and too tired 
to propose one. If there is any 
other man in the League who can 
make truthful claim to equal self- 
sacrifice, his name does not occur 
to me. ' ' 

For a number of years Mr. Tor- 
mey has contributed articles on the 
game to Whist, and also to some 
of the leading journals of the Pa- 
cific coast. At present he is editor 
of the excellent whist department 
in the San Francisco Call. He 
contributes about two and a half 
columns of matter each week, and 
it is all a labor of love, for he says: 



" I have never received a cent for 
any whist work in my life, and am 
at liberty to say just what I please 
in my whist department." 

As a close student of the game, 
Mr. Tormey has from time to time 
made suggestions and improve- 
ments whose value has been recog- 
nized by the whist world. In 1893 
he formulated what is known as 
the "fourteen rule" {q. v.), as an 
elaboration of Foster's eleven rule. 
In January, 1895, he announced the 
rotary discard {q. v. ) , which is still 
the subject of much controversy, 
being strongly condemned by ' 'Cav- 
endish," Foster, and others, but 
upheld and practiced by some of 
the very best players in this country. 

His improved system of scoring 
and announcing match-play, adop- 
ted by the American Whist League 
in 1897, earned for him the grati- 
tude of all whist-players taking 
part. It was something that was 
sorely needed, in order that the re- 
sult of the various contests might 
be made known at once. A full 
description will be found in the 
article on "Scoring." 

The importance of whist as a 
scientific study and an art is deeply 
appreciated by Mr. Tormey, as was 
shown by an able paper, read be- 
fore the fourth congress of the 
League, in which he advocated the 
study of whist in universities, as 
something fully as important as the 
study of dead languages. (See, 
" Whist in Colleges and Universi- 
ties.") 

While Mr. Tormey is essentially 
an advocate of the long-suit game 
and American leads, as exemplified 
by " Cavendish" and Trist, he is 
liberally disposed toward all sound 
play which is conducive to trick- 
taking. He says: " I don't believe 
in classifying whist -players as long 
and short-suiters. When I am the 
original leader of a deal I find it 



TOURNAMENT 



440 



TREBIvE 



necessary sometimes to open a 
singleton, or from a suit containing 
two, three, four, five, six, seven, or 
more cards, always with the express 
purpose of taking every trick I pos- 
sibly can, trying the best I know 
how to combine my hand with 
my partner's, and playing twenty- 
six cards against twenty-six." He 
is among those who advocate the 
change in the lead of the ten in 
the system of American leads. 
(See, "American Leads, Proposed 
Changes in. " ) His ideas were set 
forth in a pamphlet entitled, 
"Whist Dont's," which he pub- 
lished for free distribution in 1896, 
and which included also liberal sug- 
gestions for forced, or " short-suit, " 
leads as adjuncts to the long-suit 
game. (See, "Short-Suit Leads, 
Tormey's.") 

Mr. Tormey has traveled a good deal, 
and is reported to have had many amus- 
ing experiences in the whist clubs of 
Vienna, Berlin, and Paris. * * * Al- 
though he only claims to be a student of 
the game, he is nevertheless recognized 
as an expert. — JVktst [L. A.}, /November, 
J893. 

P. J. Tormey, whose ingenious and fer- 
tile brain seems to be always evolving 
some useful contrivance for the greater 
convenience of whist-players, has just 
brought out a new form of trump-card, 
for use in connection with the Paine 
whist-trays. They are stiff and well- 
printed. The pips are large, clear, and 
printed in two colors, and we think the 
cards are, in every way, admirable. — 
Wkisi [L. A.I, October, 1897. 

Tournament. — A whist tourna- 
ment is a meeting of players for the 
purpose of competing with one an- 
other for championships, or prizes, 
or both. It may consist of one or 
more matches between individuals, 
pairs, teams of four, or clubs. While 
a match and tournament are some- 
times spoken of synonymously, the 
latter is the broader term. Also 
sometimes called a tourney. 

The most important whist tour- 
nament is that connected with the 



annual congress of the American 
Whist League, in which matches 
of all kinds are played, including 
those for the Hamilton Trophy, the 
Challenge Trophy, the Brooklyn 
Trophy, the Minneapolis Trophy, 
etc. All match play is in charge 
of a tournament committee, which 
receives the entries, prescriljes the 
proper rules, oversees the contests, 
and declares the winners. 

Tournee. — At English dummy, 
three rubbers are usuallj' played, in 
order that each player may have 
dummy for a partner once, and the 
three rubbers are called a toum^e. 

To u rn ey. — See, ' ' Tournament. ' ' 

Tray. — In duplicate whist, the ap- 
paratus used for holding the hands 
in such a manner that they are kept 
separate and ready for the dupli- 
cate or overplay. The trays are 
sometimes also spoken of as boards. 
The first tray was the joint inven- 
tion of Cassius M. Paine and J. L. 
Sebring, and Mr. Paine has since 
perfected several notable improve- 
ments in the apparatus. 

Until the invention of the Kalamazoo 
tray, the playing of duplicate whist was 
considered a more or less tedious affair, 
especially when it was deemed advisable 
to preserve a record of the play, and, in 
fact, it is questionable if duplicate whist 
V70uld have become the popular game it 
is to-day but for that invtnWon.— John 
T. Mitchell {L.A.I, "Duplicate Whist." 

In Milwaukee they did not like the 
movement of the players [at early dupli- 
cate whist], and they carried the cards 
from one table to the other on little trays, 
often spilling them in transit. The fre- 
quent recurrence of this accident sug- 
gested some appliance being attached to 
the tray to keep the cards of each player 
separate, and thus the placing of rubber 
bands on the trays was first suggested, 
and, being afterwards patented and 
manufactured by a firm in Kalamazoo, 
Michigan, got to be known as the Kala- 
mazoo method. — R. F. Foster {S. O.], "Du- 
plicate Whist and Whist Strategy," i8g4. 

Treble. — In English whist, the 
winners make a treble (and score 



.j2iHW b g^fioBsT 



>1 sshfiriv 



-OCWjJ 



': mfilliiW 




tJ?AMENT 



440 



TREBI^E 



sometimes to open a annual conj^ress of the American 
.. or from a suit containing ^hi^. T.eu;nic iu which matchet^ 
•ee, four, five, six, seven, or '\y^<i, including 

cards, always with the express on Trophy, the 

fmrpose of takmg every trick 1 pos- ' Brooklyn 

sibly can, trying the best I know -■ Trophy, 

how to combine my hand with ......... 

my partner's, and playing twenty- 
six cards against twenty-six." H« 

is among those who advocate the - 

change in the lead of the ten in 
the system of American leads. 
(See, "American Leads, Proposed 
Changes in.") His ideas were set 
forth in a pamphlet entitled, 
"Whiit Dont's," which he pub- 
lished for free distributiou in 1896, 
and v.'hich included also liberal suc^- 

fSS^^'a^^' Xeaell«l¥sfirf WhiSt.-In duplicate whist, the ap- 

game, (bee, "Short-omt Leads, 

Tormey's.") 

MrJi'.onTiev iia.s frayeied a good deal, 
and ilUSff>Ofldlto Eia*@^vd many amus- 
ing experiences in tlie n'liist clnba of 
Vieuua, Berlin, and Paris. ♦ * * a'- 
though he only claitn.s tiDiJrfir,-5U.Ad 
the game, he is neverthere^ 



1; 

ihr. ---- ..-- ... .''. ■,■:■-■■- \ - 

order that each 'player may have 
dummy for a partner once, and the 
three rubbers are called a toum^e. 

Tourney. — See, "Tournament" 



as an expert.- 

P. G^inEv 

tik- hrfii'i .' "?i 

Ct!} 

fc- 



■IVhist [L. A.I, November, 



t)aratus used for holding the hands 
in such a manner that they are kept 
sepff-n*^" r"-"'' --'t-dv for the dupli- 

5om, . . . ^ -eft of as boards. 

The first tray was the joint inven- 
^;2>,|^noUe9aof Cassius M. Paine and J. L. 
*^'' Sebring. and Mr. Paine has since 

perfected several notable improve- 

mt' • ■ "F. gtpSrtifeus. 

tTi i'rinnfthe Kalamazoo 

■ ■•'■ -<■' - '■•'* "-as 



lact 

won 

c ii'kzst." 

,'ot like the 



le 
purp:.^ :. ■^' \u- 

otber for c'l s. 

or both. It .i.^j ■-._ .-. v.. ..:.v. or 
more matches between individuals, 
pairs, teams of four, or clubs. While 
a match and tournament are some- 
times spoken of synonymously, the 
latter is the broader term. Also 
soiTjatimes called a tourne}^. 

The most important whist tour- 
nament is that connected with the 



cate 

froTi, 
often spi. 
quent reri 
gestf'l so 
the t 
Sep. 



winnen; 



le ire- 
,t sug- 
'-M to 



itegy," jS<)4. 

whist, the 
(and score 



1 



TREY 



441 



TRICK 



three rubber points) if they win 
the game before their adversaries 
score anything. 

The winners gain a treble, or game ot 
three points, when their adversaries have 
not scored.— Laws of Whist {English 
Code), Section 8. 

Trey. — A card containing three 
spots or pips. (See, ""Three- 
Spot.") 

Trick. — The four cards played 
consecutively in any round, taken 
and turned; one card led and three 
cards played to it by second, third, 
and fourth hands. Each trick taken 
above six counts one point towards 
game, on the score. In the Ameri- 
can game, the side first scoring 
seven points in this manner wins 
the game. In the English game, 
five points are necessary to win a 
game, and two consecutive games, 
or two out of three, to win the 
rubber. In the English game 
players are allowed to look at the 
last trick turned and quitted, but 
not so in the American game. 
(See, "Quitted;" also, " Taking in 
the Tricks.") 

Tricks are made by mastercards, 
such as aces and kings ; by taking 
advantage of position or finessing; 
by trumping, and by establishing 
and bringing in a long suit, there- 
by giving to low cards a trick -tak- 
ing power they do not naturally 
possess. Gains are also made some- 
times by refusing to win certain 
tricks, although such play is dan- 
gerous, except in the hands of ex- 
perts. 

In straight whist the cards of 
each round or trick are played pro- 
miscuously toward the centre of 
the table, gathered into a packet 
by the winning side, and laid away 
face downward, each packet being 
placed in a position overlapping 
the preceding one, in order to fa- 
cilitate the count. In duplicate 



whist the cards are all kept sepa- 
rated, each card during the play 
being placed directly in front of the 
player playing it. Upon the com- 
pletion of the trick each player 
turns his card face downward; and 
the best way to keep an accurate 
and easily-proved count of the 
tricks is to place the card of each 
winning trick in a perpendicular 
position, and the card of each los- 
ing trick in a horizontal position. 
A. G. SafiFord, in Whist for De- 
cember, 1893, first called attention 
to the fact that this mode of play- 
ing the cards and placing the tricks 
is also well adapted to straight 
whist. 

Never try to make two tricks when one 
will suffice. — Sir William Cusack-Smith 
[L. O.]. 

The highest order of play does not al- 
ways make the most tricks. — C. D. P. 
Hamilton [L. A.]. 

The primary object of the whist-player 
is to obtain the highest results, in tricks, 
that his hand warrants. — T. E. Otis [L, 
A.], Whist, January, iSg6. 

Another instance of what so frequently 
occurs at whist— that a player endeavors 
to make more tricks than are necessary 
to win the game. — R. A . Proctor [L. O.} . 

Avoid such unwarrantable mistakes as 
making up the tricks in such a slovenly 
manner that neither yourself nor your 
partner can obser\'e how the hand stands. 
— W. M. Deane [L. A+]. 

Place the tricks taken overlapping each 
other, so that you and j'our partner can 
tell at a glance just how many you have. 
The play may depend upon this in criti- 
cal junctures. It is a convenient arrange- 
ment for one partner to take in the tricks 
and the other to keep the score. — Fisher 
Ames [L.A.I, "Practical Guide to Whist." 

It is not brilliant play that wins tricks 
so much as it is bad tactics that loses 
them. After the first half of the finals for 
the championship in 1894, I asked Mr. H. 
Trumbull, captain of the winning team, 
what he thought of his chances. "I 
think they will drop more tricks than we 
shall," he replied.— /?. E. Foster [S. C], 
"Whist Tactics." 

The most astonishing feature of whist 
is the immense variety that may arise out 
of a very simple elementary structure. It 
is really one of the simplest card games 
known, consisting merely in "making 



TRICK-LOSING LEADS 442 TRICK-TAKING VALUB 



tricks," according to certain conditions 
which a child may learn in a few min- 
utes. And yet how to do this in the most 
advantageous way is a problem that has 
occupied the most powerful minds for 
centuries. — William Pole [L, A+l, "Evo- 
lution of WAisi.'' 

Trick-Losing Leads. — Every 
new lead or variation in whist is 
subjected to a crucial test by ex- 
perts, and that test is whether it is 
a trick-loser or winner. As a nat- 
ural consequence there is generally 
a diversity of opinion, although in 
the long run the majority usually 
settles the question one way or an- 
other. Many leads that were con- 
sidered by their advocates as posi- 
tive trick-winners have been subse- 
quently abandoned. Such was the 
well-known Pettes lead of the nine 
from king, jack, nine, which found 
favor for a time. As it necessitated 
the lead of the ace from ace, queen, 
ten, nine, and ace, jack, ten, nine 
(distinctly trick-losing plays), and 
as it gave too much information to 
the adversaries, it was, in the opin- 
ion of Milton C. Work and other 
distinguished authorities, " the 
most unsound lead that had ever at- 
tained any considerable notoriety." 

Other trick-losing leads are: The 
lead from ace and king without any 
small cards, which conflicts with 
American leads, and frequently en- 
ables the adversaries to establish 
their suit; the lead of the king or 
ace from ace, king, jack, and then 
jumping the suit for the finesse, a 
play which Mr. Work considers un- 
sound, unless in trumps under fav- 
orable circumstances; finally, the 
lead of a face-card of a long plain 
suit, and then a singleton, in the 
hope of obtaining a ruff — a foxy 
proceeding which may produce a 
gain, but which is apt to sacrifice a 
face-card in partner's hand, and 
give the adversaries important in- 
formation, which they can use with 
great effect. 



Trick-Taking Value of Cards. — 

The first writer on whist to make a 
systematic inquiry into the com- 
parative trick-taking value of the 
various cards was R. F. Foster, 
and his views are given at length 
in the Rochester (N. Y.) Posi- 
Express, beginning with the issue 
for October 31, 1896. Mr. Foster 
argues that " the object in whist- 
play is to take tricks, and these 
tricks are taken with the cards; 
therefore, these cards must have a 
certain trick-taking value, and as 
some cards will win other cards 
there must be a great difference in 
their value, some being absolutely 
certain to win tricks, such as the 
ace of trumps; while others are al- 
most worthless, such as the small 
cards in plain suits. Between these 
two extremes there is a graduated 
scale of values which every whist- 
player should know, in order that 
he may be able to judge of the 
strength or weakness of his 
hand." 

After considering the trick-taking 
value of each card in plain suits 
and in trumps, he also considers 
the trick-taking value of certain 
cards in combination with other 
cards. He says: " In every deal 
the whole fifty-two cards are dis- 
tributed among the players, but 
only one-fourth of these cards can 
take tricks, because there are only 
thirteen tricks to be taken. It has 
been found, by careful examination 
of many hundreds of hands, that 
an average of six and one-quarter 
tricks in every deal fall to the 
trumps. Of these at least four 
must do so as a matter of course, 
because at least one player must 
hold four trumps every deal. This 
leaves nine tricks to be won with 
the remaining or scattering trumps 
and the plain suits, which is an 
average of two and one-quarter 
tricks to each suit." 



"TRIPLB-DUMMY " 443 TRIST, NICHOLAS BROWSB 



*• Triple-Dummy." — Whist, 'or 
alleged whist, as played by persons 
■who surreptitiously obtain informa- 
tion concerning the other hands at 
a table. So called because a player 
of this kind is humorously sup- 
posed to have before him three 
dummy hands. 

Then there is the player whose eyes are 
all around the table, who is humorously 
said to play triple-dummy, and who 
makes wonderful and successful finesses. 
I have known two triple-dummy players 
to cut as partners against an unsuspect- 
ing youth and an "old soldier." The 
triple-dummy players had had a lengthy 
inspection of the youth's hand, when the 
"old soldier" rather astonished them by 
saying, "Partner, you had better show 
me your hand, as both the adversaries 
have seen it." — "Cavendisk" [L. A.], 
"Card-Table Talk." 

Trist, Nicholas Browse. — One 

of the foremost names in recent 
whist history is that of Nicholas 
Browse Trist, inventor (with " Cav- 
endish' ' ) of the system of American 
leads. Although he has published 
no book on the game, and his 
writings have been confined to the 
magazines and other periodicals of 
the day, his name is a familiar one 
wherever whist is played. 

Mr. Trist was born in Louisiana, 
March 30, 1835. His grandfather 
(the only son of an English officer 
who came to America with his reg- 
iment before the Revolutionary 
war and married a Philadelphia 
girl ) was appointed the first collec- 
tor of the port of New Orleans by 
President Jefferson. His eldest son 
(Mr. Trist's father's only brother) 
married Jefferson's granddaughter, 
and negotiated the treaty of Gua- 
daloupe-Hidalgo at the close of the 
Mexican war. Mr. Trist himself 
received his education in this coun- 
try and in Germany. He studied 
law, and was admitted to the bar in 
1859, but soon afterwards became a 
sugar-planter on the Atchafulaya 
river, in his native State. After 



the war of secession (during which 
he served in the ordnance depart- 
ment, C. S. A., with the rank of 
captain of artillery ) he resumed the 
practice of law, in which he is still 
engaged. 

He began the study of whist 
about the year 1867, with some 
friends whom he interested in the 
game, and who turned out some 
fine players, among them L. A. 
Bringier (a maternal uncle), N. P. 
Trist (his brother), W.J. Hare, and 
J. M. Kennedy, all natives of 
Louisiana, "Cavendish," Clay, 
and Pole were their guides and 
favorite authorities. In 1881 Mr, 
Trist sent to "Cavendish" a whist 
position from actual play, which 
was duly published in the Field, 
and this led to an acquaintance that 
was destined to have an important 
influence on the game. 

While the system of American 
leads, with which Mr. Trist's name 
is inseparably connected, had its 
inception in numerous improve- 
ments and conventions all tending 
to establish a better code of com- 
munication between partners and 
the playing of both hands as one, 
to him belongs the chief credit of 
rounding out the whole structure 
by a series of master-strokes of 
whist philosophy. He it was who 
put the cap-sheaf upon what is 
familiarly known as the modern 
signaling game. Intimately asso- 
ciated with him in his labors, 
advising, weighing, discussing, sug- 
gesting, was "Cavendish," and it 
is a curious fact that upon several 
important occasions the very same 
ideas occurred to both, and a still 
more curious fact that each there- 
upon contended that the other was 
entitled to the first credit. 

"Cavendish" had been many 
years in the field prior to this, and 
had made a number of suggestions 
tending unconsciously in the direc- 



TRIST, NICHOLAS BROWSE 444 TRIST, NICHOLAS BROWSE 



tion of American leadvS. Among 
these were his protective discard 
from strength, his echo to the 
trump signal, his penultimate lead, 
and his changes in the leads from 
several high-card combinations for 
unblocking purposes. Another 
forerunner of American leads be- 
longing to this period was Dray- 
son's antepenultimate lead; but, as 
"Cavendish" himself puts it, in 
his article on whist in the " Ency- 
clopEedia Britannica, " "it yet re- 
mained for some one to propouud 
a constant method of treating all 
leads, and to classify the isolated 
rules so as to render it possible to 
lay down general principles. This 
was accomplished in i883-'84, by 
Nicholas Bi-owse Trist, of New Or- 
leans, U. S. A.; and hence the 
method of leading reduced to form 
by him is known as the American 
leads. ' ' 

One of the general principles 
which Mr. Trist developed was that 
of invariably and accurately show- 
ing number as well as character in 
suit, by means of variations in the 
leads of high indifferent cards. As 
early as the time of Hoyle it was 
customary to show more than four 
in suit in the leader's hand by 
means of cards led in a certain 
manner from high-card combina- 
tions. " Cavendish" added several 
more such leads by means of his 
improvements in unblocking. Mr. 
Trist added still another combina- 
tion to the list, in July, 1883, that 
of king, jack, ten, stating that in 
suits headed by these cards it was 
his custom to lead the ten, and, the 
queen being forced out, to follow 
with the king in order to show five 
or more in suit. " Up to this time," 
says "Cavendish," "it does not 
seem to have occurred to any one 
that information of number might 
be conveyed to partner by selecting 
one rather than the other of these 



two indifferent cards. When queen 
is out, king and knave become in- 
different so far as trick-making is 
concerned." {Scribner^s Maga- 
zine, November, 1896.) Then, 
after nearly another year of thought 
upon the subject, Mr. Trist wrote 
an article for the Field in which he 
showed that the idea was suscep- 
tible of being carried still farther. 
He thereupon formulated the now 
generally accepted rule covering 
the whole subject, and which was 
subsequently made to read as fol- 
lows: "When you remain with 
two high indifferent cards, lead the 
higher if you opened a suit of four; 
the lower if you opened a suit of 
more than four." "Cavendish," 
in his account of the origin of 
American leads (on page 20 of this 
volume), fell into an error in regard 
to the above, which Mr. Trist, at 
our request, corrects as follows: 
' ' The use of high indifferent cards 
to show number was not suggested 
by ' Cavendish,' and no letter of 
his on the subject crossed mine. 
When he wrote his article his mem- 
ory did not serve him. He knew 
that he had, independently of me, 
suggested one of the maxims of 
American leads, but gave the 
wrong one. It was in regard to the 
fourth best that our letters crossed 
each other. ' Cavendish, ' however, 
elaborated the high indifferent card 
system, and afterwards simplified 
the leads which we had originally 
extended to the third round. ' ' 

Perhaps the most distinctive and 
characteristic feature of American 
leads is the fourth-best principle, 
which was embodied in their first 
maxim, as follows: "When you 
open a strong suit with a low card, 
lead the fourth best." In arriving 
at this admirable generalization, we 
are assured by "Cavendish," that 
Mr. Trist was undoubtedly ahead; 
but the latter, as quoted above, and 



TRIST, NICHOIvAS BROWSE 445 TRIST, NICHOLAS BROWSE 



also in another letter whicli lies 
before us as we write, declares: 
" ' Cavendish' suggested the fourth- 
best lead independently of me, our 
letters on the subject crossing 
each other. Therefore, he is en- 
titled to full credit for introducing 
the lead. ' ' With all the desire in 
the world to give each his just due 
and to detract from the efforts of 
neither, we believe that the fourth 
best fairly belongs to Mr. Trist, on 
the testimony of "Cavendish." 
Priority always establishes the 
right to an invention or discovery. 
While in this case each indepen- 
dently arrived at aboutthesamecon- 
clusions, it is asserted on the one 
hand, and not denied on the other, 
that Mr. Trist was first in point of 
time, even though his letter crossed 
that of his able co-worker. 

The principle of the fourth best 
(^. v.), like the principle of vary- 
ing the leads from high indifferent 
cards, was a thing of gradual devel- 
opment, or evolution, as Dr. Pole 
would say. Its first distinct and 
generally accepted manifestations 
consisted of " Cavendish's " penul- 
timate lead from five, and Dray- 
son's antepenultimate lead from 
six. But while these were counted 
from the bottom of the suit, Mr, 
Trist' s rule simplified matters by 
counting from the top and cover- 
ing leads from all suits of four or 
more. He treated every long suit 
opened with a low card as if it con- 
tained four cards only, and invari- 
ably showed by the lead of the 
fourth best three cards higher than 
the one led. So admirable has this 
generalization been found that it is 
to-day used even by the advocates 
of the old leads who reject the rest 
of the American leads and kindred 
conventions with scorn. Further 
than this, it is adopted in the lead 
of trumps even by the most radical 
short-suiters. 



The third maxim of American 
leads was formulated after consulta- 
tion and due discussion between 
Trist and " Cavendish," as follows: 
"When you open a strong suit 
with a high card, and next lead a 
low card, lead the original fourth 
best." Mr. Trist adheres to this 
to-day, as do the majority of play- 
ers, but " Cavendish " subsequently 
declared in favor of leading the 
fourth best of those remaining in 
hand, and this is the only point of 
any importance upon which the 
two are unable to agree. 

Mr. Trist also invented and intro- 
duced the sub-echo {q. v.) into the 
game, at New Orleans, in 1884. It 
was a natural sequel to the echo, and 
still holds its own to-day, although 
other modes of showing three 
trumps have since found favor as 
well. As already intimated, his 
contributions to whist literature 
have been confined to his articles 
in Harper^ s Magazine, the London 
Field, the Spirit of the South, the 
Chicago Inter-Ocean, Whist, and a 
paper on ' ' American Whist Devel- 
opments " in Harper'' s Weekly for 
July 4, 1896. In one of his articles 
in the Inter-Ocean, he made a sug- 
gestion which has had an important 
bearing on whist-play ever since, 
and that was to use not only the 
ace and king, as then practiced, 
but all equal high cards at top of 
suit, to echo on partner's lead of 
trumps. He swept away the then 
existing objection of the high card 
— when the trick is taken by the 
adversary — denying the next low- 
est, by simply extending the infer- 
ence in the trump suit, that part- 
ner might hold the next lowest as 
well as the next highest, when 
playing third hand to your lead of 
trumps. 

Mr. Trist took an active part in 
the work of the American Whist 
League from its inception. Al- 



TRIST, NICHOLAS BROWSB 446 TRIST, NICHOLAS BROWSE 



though unable to attend the first 
congress, at Milwaukee, in 1891, 
he communicated his views in a 
letter which had great weight in 
shaping the policy of the organiza- 
tion. He was for several years one 
of the directors of the League, and 
was a member of the committee 
which revised the whist laws at the 
third congress, in which line of 
work his fine legal talent found 
ample scope. The League, in 
recognition of his services in the 
cause of modern scientific whist, 
elected him an honorary member, 
April 17, 1891. (See, also, " Amer- 
ican Leads," and "Fourth Best.") 

In reply to a request for his 
opinion on the changes in the 
American leads, which have been 
adopted by many first-class players 
(see, "American Leads, Proposed 
Changes in," and "Hamilton 
Leads"), Mr. Trist said, on Octo- 
ber 2, 1897: " I am still of the opin- 
ion that the ten-lead from king, 
jack, ten, is a much better one 
than the fourth best, excepting from 
four trumps, when the lead of the 
small card is generally preferable; 
therefore I adhere to the old queen- 
leads, which do not bother me a bit 
onaccountoftheirdualsignification. 
I also prefer the present lead of 
jack from ace, king, queen, jack, 
five or more, to the queen as pro- 
posed, because it possesses the con- 
siderable advantage of keeping the 
adversaries in the dark as to the 
position of the ace, if jack takes the 
trick — presuming, of course, that if 
either of them held the ace he 
would have taken the trick — whilst 
if jack denies the ace it must be in 
third hand, a fact which it is better 
the opponents should not know. ' ' 

Mr. Trist is a whist-player of fine 
skill and reputation, and was among 
the first in this countr}' to intro- 
duce duplicate whist at his club as 
a means of determining the per- 



sonal skill of players. (See, *' Du- 
plicate Whist, History of.") The 
incident occurred in the New 
Orleans Chess, Checker, and 
Whist Club, in 1882. The defeated 
players in the annual tournament 
having complained of their bad 
luck in holding poor cards, Mr. 
Trist and three others of the vic- 
torious side issued a challenge for 
a match, in which the luck of cards 
should be entirely eliminated, and 
this proposal being accepted, they 
again proved their superiority. 

C. S. Boutcher, in his "Whist 
Sketches," states that Mr. Trist 
played whist frequently with the 
celebrated chess champions, Stein - 
itz and Zuckertort, who have at 
diff'erent times visited New Or- 
leans under engagements with the 
Chess and Whist Club, and who 
finished, under the auspices of the 
club, their great match for the 
chess championship of the world. 
They were both devoted to whist, 
and it was amusing to see with what 
eagerness they would hasten to the 
card-room for a rubber, whenever 
their chess engagements permitted 
them to do so. They appeared not 
to be well-grounded in the rules of 
play, but soon showed considerable 
improvement in that respect after 
practicing with the best players of 
the club, and, as they had reten- 
tive memories, they played fairly 
well by the time of their departure. 
Steinitz at one time gave an exhi- 
bition of his blindfold play. He 
varied the usual performance by 
playing a hand at whist, at inter- 
vals of about ten minutes, to show 
that he could turn his attention to 
other matters without losing the 
thread of the various combinations 
of the seven games which he was 
carrying on simultaneously. Mr. 
Trist was his partner in this novel 
exhibition, and testifies to the effect 
that Steinitz's play of the cards 



TRIST, NICHOLAS BROWSE 447 



TROPHY 



was very accurate, considering the 
fact that he was carrying in some 
recess of his mind the pictures of 
seven chess-boards with the men, 
grouped or scattered thereon in an 
infinite variety. 

As a matter of historic interest, we 
take pleasure in reproducing here- 
with a hand which Messrs. Trist 
and Jones ("Cavendish") played 
together at the sixth annual con- 
gress of the American Whist 
League, at Manhattan Beach. They 
were partners against W. H. Whit- 
feld and Robert H. Weems. One 
curious feature about the hand is 
" Cavendish's" lead of the king of 
trumps at trick seven, and this has 
occasioned some criticism. The 
five of hearts was trumps, and west 
(N. B. Trist) led: 



0) 

'u 


West. 
Trist. 


North. 
Whitf. 


East. 


South. 
IVeems. 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
1 1 
12 
13 


^ Q 
4 6 

* 2 
AO 


^ A 


^ 3 
* 8 
*Q 

8 

^ 7 
QO 


Zl 5 
* 3 

A4. 
KO 

(3? 8 
7 
2 4k 
6 4k 
A 4k 


A K 


* A 


2 

<:? 2 

4-0 
5 
4- 4k 

5 4k 
* 9 

6 
A J 

J 


C?lO 


90 
<2? 4- 
K 4k 


^ K 


3 4^ 

8 4k 

3 

rQ4k 


J ♦ 

<:? 6 


♦ 5 

10 • 

♦ 7 

*io 


7 4k 
^ 9 


9 « 

100 


^ J 





Score: N-S, 4; E-W, 9. 

"I had forgotten all about the 
hand," writes Mr. Trist, in reply to 
our inquiry, "until I saw it pub- 
lished in Whist. I remembered 
then that Tormey got us to play 
one as a reminiscence of our meet- 



ing. I do not recollect whether 
' Cavendish's ' lead of king of 
trumps at trick seven was discussed 
at the time. It may perhaps be 
accounted for in this way: When I 
stopped leading trumps at trick six 
(knowing that he held the king), 
he may have reasoned thus: ' Trist 
either has all the remaining trumps, 
or he has all but one, and in the 
latter case, he is trying to give me 
the opportunity to make my king 
on a ruff, and then extract the 
other trumps from the adversary. 
As I am not short in any suit except 
clubs, and he has none (or else he 
would have forced me in that suit), 
I had better extract the adversary's 
possible trump, rather than give 
him a chance to ruff the spade suit 
in case he had only five trumps 
originally. ' My call in trumps on 
tricks two and three was intended 
to show five trumps, at least, as the 
queen-lead does not necessarily in- 
dicate that number until followed 
by the ten. If I had had the op- 
portunity to follow with the ten of 
trumps before the club suit was 
opened by the adversary, I would 
consider my call as indicating six 
trumps at least." 

Mr. Trist had previously played 
with ' ' Cavendish ' ' at the third 
congress, at Chicago. He says: 
"After the adjournment of the 
Brooklyn congress, ' Cavendish,' 
Tormey, Weems, and I played for 
several hours in search of an inter- 
esting hand, but unsuccessfully." 

Trophy. — A formally designed 
prize, or memento, indicative of 
victory, which is contested for at 
whist by individuals, pairs, teams 
of four, or any larger number of 
players. Some trophies immedi- 
ately become the property of the 
winners; some must be won a num- 
ber of times in succession before 
becoming permanent property, and 



TROPHY 



448 



TRUMP ATTACK 



some can be won and held only for 
a year. To the latter belong the 
Hamilton (championship for teams 
of four) and Minneapolis (cham- 
pionship pair) trophies of the 
American Whist League. Its Chal- 
lenge Trophy (for teams of four) 
must be won twenty times before 
permanent possession is given. The 
first Challenge Trophy was thus 
won by the celebrated Hamilton 
team, and a new trophy was there- 
upon purchased by the League. It 
is contested for at each annual con- 
gress, as well as in the interim be- 
tween congresses. The Brooklyn 
Trophy of the League is contested 
for, in a like manner, by teams from 
auxiliary associations, but cannot 
be won permanently. 

Of the trophies of the Woman's 
Whist League, the Washington 
Trophy (championship for teams 
of four) and the Philadelphia Cup 
(championship pair) are contested 
for annually, and each must be won 
three times before permanent pos- 
session is given. The Andrews 
Shields ( constituting the challenge 
trophy of the League) are held sub- 
ject to challenge during the year, 
and must be won twelve times be- 
fore they become the property of 
the winners. 

The rules for trophy-play at the 
various congresses are announced 
in advance each year, and also pub- 
lished in the annual proceedings. 
They vary but little each year, al- 
though recommendations for radi- 
cal changes in the Hamilton and 
Challenge trophies of the American 
Whist League have been frequently 
made and discussed. 

The present arrangement of the annual 
tournament contest for the national 
(Hamilton) and American Whist I,eague 
(Challenge) trophies seems to me gener- 
ally conceded to be unsatisfactory. The 
result too often depends upon physical 
endurance or some fluke. It is a mistake 
to allow any and every team to enter, re- 



gardless of their previous record. The 
contests should be truly representative, 
and should mean much more than they 
do. Some time ago I suggested, and now 
venture to repeat the suggestion, that 
representative teams be selected by a 
series of competitive tournaments in 
each local association or subdivision of 
the I<eague, to represent and contest for 
their respective associations in the na- 
tional contest. A series of tournaments 
should be held monthly, with suitable 
prizes, etc., in each association, with, say, 
three final contests for the leading teams, 
the final victors to be entitled to contest 
in the national tournament for the na- 
tional trophy. A small fee should be 
charged, or assessments made in such a 
way as to provide the whole or a portion 
of the expense of the team in attending 
the annual tournament. As it now is, 
many good teams from a distance give up 
all idea of competing, as they cannot afibrd 
to attend. The details of such a plan could 
be easily arranged. It would greatly in- 
crease the interest in the local associa- 
tions, and in the national I^eague also. 
The contesting teams would thus be lim- 
ited in number, and could play and win 
the games on merit. Opportunity would 
be given for several rounds with each 
other, and the result would mean very 
much more than it does now. All the 
other features of the congress and tourna- 
ment would be as attractive as ever, and 
perhaps more so, by the liberation from 
the principal contest of teams who would 
find more amusement and profit in the 
lesser contests. Why cannot this plan 
be tried for the perpetual trophy? — Fisher 
A mes [L. A .] , Whist, October, iSgy. 

True Cards. — Cards which are 
played according to rule, and do 
not deceive; the opposite of false 
cards. 

Trump, Ace, nor Court Card. — 

See, " New Deal, Not Entitled to a." 

Trump Attack. — The original 
lead of trumps. In the long-suit 
game this is the play of the very 
strong hand. In the Howell (short- 
suit) system the trump attack means 
(i) a strong all-around hand, re- 
gardless of the number of trumps; 
(2) five or more trumps (or four 
very good ones), and one good 
plain suit; or (3) just five trumps, 
and no four-card suit. 



TRUMP-CARD 



449 



TRUMP, TURNING 



Trump - Card. — The last card 
dealt by the dealer, and turned face 
upward on the table by him. It 
should be placed slightly to his 
right. In duplicate whist it is usu- 
ally placed on the tray in the 
centre of the table. 

The word trump is a corruption 
of triumph. It was first applied to 
an old game which preceded and 
bore some resemblance to whist. 
The term finally came to mean the 
suit of cards (or one of the cards) 
■which has a superior or command- 
ing value in taking tricks. 

When you deal, put the trump turned 
up to the right of all your trumps, and 
keep it as long as you can, that your 
partner may, knowing that you have that 
trump left, play accorditigly. —jEdmond 
Hoyle [0.]i '^Treatise on Whist." 

By the English code, if the trump-card 
be left on the table after the first trick is 
turned and quitted, it is liable to be 
called. By the American code, if the 
trump-card be left on the table after the 
second trick is turned and quitted, it is 
liable to be called (law i8). This is an 
unimportant difference. — A. W. Drayson 
\L-\-Ay[, ''Whist Laws and Whist Deci- 
sions." 

The dealer ought to leave in view upon 
the table his trump-card, till it is his turn 
to play; and after he has mixed it up with 
his cards, nobody is entitled to demand 
what card is turned, but may ask what 
is trumps. This consequence attends 
such a law, that the dealer cannot name 
a wrong card which otherwise he might 
have 6.o-a^.—Edmond Hoyle [C] , " Treatise 
on Whist." 

The dealer must leave the trump-card 
face upwards on the table until it is his 
turn to play to the first trick; if it is left 
on the table until after the second trick 
has been turned and quitted, it is liable 
to be called. After it has been lawfully 
taken up, it must not be named, and 
any player naming it is liable to 
have his" highest or his lowest trump 
called by either adversary. A player 
may, however, ask what the trump-suit 
is. — Laws of Whist {American Code), Sec- 
tion i8. 

The dealer, when it is his turn to play 
to the first trick, should take the trump- 
card into his hand; if left on the table 
after the first trick be turned and quitted, 
it is liable to be called; his partner may 
at any time remind him of the liability. 
After the dealer has taken the trump-card 

29 



into his hand it cannot be asked for; a 
player naming it at any time during the 
play of that hand, is liable to have his 
highest or lowest trump called. If the 
dealer take the trump-card into his hand 
before it is his turn to play, he may be 
desired to lay it upon the table; should 
he show a wrong card, this card may be 
called, as also a second, a third, etc., until 
the trump-card be produced. If the dealer 
declare himself unable to recollect the 
trump-card, his highest or lowest trump 
may be called at any time during that 
hand, and, unless it cause him to revoke, 
must be played; the call may be repeated, 
but not changed — i. e., from highest to 
lowest, or vice versa — until such card is 
played.— i^aze/i of Whist {English Code), 
Sections s^SS ■ 

"Trump, Jr., A."— A pseu- 
donym of William Pembroke Fet- 
ridge, an English writer on whist, 
who published " The Laws and 
Regulations of Short Whist" (Lon- 
don and Paris, 1882; New York, 



This work is remarkable for a long pre- 
face on the point whether a player can, 
with freedom from all penalty, show his 
entire hand to the other three persons at 
the table, provided that he retains them 
in his hand in one group, and does not 
detach any card from the rest. — W. P. 
Courtney \L-\-0.\, ''English Whist." 

Trump, Turning, from a Still 
Pack. — For many years prior to 
the organization of the American 
Whist League, it was the custom in 
the Milwaukee Whist Club to turn 
the trump from a still pack — i. e., 
from a pack not in play. This was 
equivalent to the method of declar- 
ing trump for a series or sitting, at 
duplicate whist, for in each case the 
dealer, on the one hand, loses the 
advantage of holding the extra 
trump, and the other players forego 
the advantage of knowing the 
value of one of his trumps and 
shaping their play accordingly. 
The practice of turning the trump 
from the still pack is an old one, 
and is a feature of ' ' Prussian 
whist." It is said to have origi- 
nated with a Welsh baronet, ac- 



TRUMPING 



450 TRUMP-LBAD, ORIGINAL 



cording to Southey, who mentions 
it in his " Letters of Espriella." 

Although the laws of the Ameri- 
can Whist League do not permit 
the turning of trump from the still 
pack, and the practice is abandoned 
in League clubs, many players in 
this country favor the practice of 
declaring trump (which is made 
optional under the code in single- 
table duplicate whist). Players 
outside of the League games fre- 
quently make use of the declared 
trump in all kinds of whist. (See, 
" Declared Trump," and " National 
Trump.") 

The Leag-ue laws governing duplicate 
play prescribe that the trump shall be 
turned, and that is an end of the argu- 
ment. But it is still an open question 
whether the laws would not be improved 
by amending them so as to leave the 
method of making the trump to the dis- 
cretion of the clubs. — Casshis M. Paine 
[/.. A.l, IVhisi, December^ 1895. 

A year or two before the first congress, 
■whilst playing whist in the rooms of the 
Milwaukee Whist CUib, I invariably, from 
force of habit, turned the trump from the 
live pack. The custom of the club, as is 
well known, was to turn the trump from 
the still pack. I asked some of the mem- 
bers of the club who originated this cus- 
tom, and how it came about. No one 
could give me any definite information. 
I was told, however, that such had been 
the practice for many years previous. I 
inquired the reason for it. They said 
they believed no card should be exposed 
except in the regular course of play. 
I had supposed Mr. Rheinart brought the 
custom over with him from France, be- 
cause a French treatise mentions that it 
■was practiced in certain localities in 
France. I was informed, however, that 
Mr. Rheinart was at first opposed to it, 
and it was fully a year after joining their 
club before he adhered to the custom. 
After that he was its ardent advocate. — 
"■'Prex,'^ Whist, January^ i8g6. 

Trumping a Doubtful Trick. — 

When you are second hand and 
have none of the suit led, the ques- 
tion often arises, ' ' Shall I trump 
it ?' ' If the trick is really a doubt- 
ful one you should trump it if weak 
in trumps, but pass it if strong in 
trumps. (See, "Doubtful Trick,") 



Trumping In. — Trumping a suit 
in a trick in which you are not the 
last player; usually applied to sec- 
ond hand trumping a doubtful 
trick. 

Trump - Lead, Original. — The 

first lead of trumps made by a 
player during the play of a hand. 
The best players will make their 
original, or opening, lead of the 
hand from trumps when possessed 
of great strength in them. They 
will also make an original lead in 
trumps when possessing over- 
whelming strength in plain suits. 
The strength of the hand always 
determines the trump attack. 

A lead from six trumps is always 
justifiable, but other things must 
be taken into consideration when 
leading from a smaller number. 
Many good players nearly always 
lead from five. A lead from four 
trumps must be made with caution. 
They may generally be led when 
holding two honors and plain-suit 
strength. Advanced players will 
lead from four, when holding three 
high trump cards in sequence; 
when partner has shown trump 
strength and there is no chance for 
a ruff; or when the player and 
partner have an established plain 
suit, and the adversaries have not 
shown trump strength, although 
having had the opportunity to do 
so. 

Original trump-leads are made in 
the same manner as leads from 
plain suits in the S5'stem of Ameri- 
can leads, whenever the trump-suit 
contains at least three honors; the 
ten with two honors; or any seven 
cards. Otherwise the fourth-best 
trump is led. 

The American leads are now em- 
ployed in leading trumps by whist- 
players of all schools, including 
adherents of the old leads and ad- 
vocates of the short-suit game. 



TRUMP-LEAD, ORIGINAL 45 1 TRUMP MANAGEMENT 



(See, also, " Special Trump- 
Leads.") 

Lead trumps from a strong hand, but 
never from a weak one. By which means 
you will secure j'^our good cards from 
being trumped. — William Payne [L. O.], 
'^ IVhist Maxims," 1770. 

It does not follow that because a player 
holds many trumps he should lead a 
trump. It may or may not be best. * * * 
A former plan of always leading trumps 
from five is obsolete.— C W. Peties [L. A. 
PJ\, '' American Whist Illustrated," i8g6. 

It is a sign of weak play if you first lead 
out your winning cards, and then lead 
trumps; it shows ignorance of the princi- 
ples of the game. If it was advisable to 
lead trumps at all it should be done be- 
fore you led out your winning cards. — 
Westminster Papers [L+O.l. 

The advanced player knows that in 
many hands leading trumps from five is 
very expensive, and that he is not bound 
by any hard and fast rule on the subject, 
but must exercise his best judgment in 
deciding what to do. — Milton C. Work 
[L. A. H\ ''Whist of To-day." 

The selection of card, when a trump 
is led originally, is the same as in plain 
suits; subject to one variation when lead- 
ing from knave, ten, nine, etc. It may 
also be slightly varied in consequence of 
the value of the turn-up card. — ''Caven- 
dish" \L.Ai\, " Whist Developments " i8gi. 

It has been recommended by some writ- 
ers on whist that you should always lead 
a trump if you hold five; with this recom- 
mendation I cannot agree. If you hold 
six it would almost always be right to 
lead one, but with five it is a more doubt- 
ful proceeding. — A . W. Drayson [L+A -(-], 
"The Art of Pi-actical Whist." 

Some players always lead trumps from 
five. I have known very good players 
who made it a rule to lead trumps from 
one or two only when they had a very 
superior hand, and all suits well pro- 
tected. * * * Many players, who have 
great confidence in their skill in the man- 
agement of plain suits, will always lead 
the trumps iirst, if opposed to very weak 
players. It is entirely a matter of judg- 
ment, depending upon the score, the rest 
of your hand, the turn-up trump, and 
such matters. — R. F. Foster [5. O.]. 

A lead ixomfive trumps does not neces- 
sarily indicate ■&wy good suit. A lead from 
four trumps (unless on the initial lead) 
requires protection in all suits; that is, 
one trick at least in each suit. A lead from 
three trumps requires not only protection 
in all suits, hut great strength in at least 
one. A lead from two trumps requires 
great strength in every suit. A lead from 



one trump r&qmres overwhelming strength 
in every suit. The weaker the trump-lead 
the stronger the plain suit must be. — Kate 
Wheelock [L. A.], " Whist Rules." 

It was formerly the practice very mate- 
rially to vary the leads in the trump suits, 
but this has lately gone out of fashion. 
The only material difference is when 
trumps are not led for the purpose of 
exhausting them, but simply as the best 
suit. In such cases it is usually best not 
to lead a high card unless you have three 
honors, or at least seven trumps. There 
is one important exception to this, and 
that is the combination of king, queen, 
ten, and others, from which the high 
card should always be led. — R. F. Foster 
[S. O.], "Whist Tactics," i8g6. 

If you hold five trumps, lead them; if 
they contain an honor, call for them. If 
your partner leads trumps it is imperative 
that you return them the first opportu- 
nity. If he calls for them, you must lead 
them for him as early as you can; if you 
hold three or less, play out your best; if 
more than three, your lowest. Do not 
force your partner if he has shown 
strength in trumps, or if (being in igno- 
rance of this) you are weak in them your- 
self. But force a strong adverse trump 
hand whenever you can. Do not trump 
a doubtful trick second hand if you have 
four or more trumps; if you have less, do 
so. — Williajn Pole [L. A-\-'\, "Philosophy 
of Whist." 

Trump Management. — A very 
important branch of whist strat- 
egy. It has aptly been said that 
trumps are the artillery of whist- 
play. How to use them to the best 
advantage is the all-important ques- 
tion, which all text-books on the 
game try to answer, but which, in 
addition thereto, every player must 
answer for himself by means of 
knowledge gained from practical 
experience. The most obvious and ' 
simple plan is to so manage your 
trumps as to draw all those of the 
adversaries and bring in your own 
suit. This depends, however, upon 
several important considerations: 
(i) Strength in trumps. (2) Strength 
in the rest of your hand. Also, 
sometimes, later in the play, on 
ascertained strength in partner's 
hand, etc. "While the management 
of trumps is a comparatively easy 



TRUMP MANAGEMENT 452 TRUMP-SHOWING LEADS 



matter when holding a normal or 
strong hand, with many hands 
not so fortunately distributed the 
original leader will find it very dif- 
ficult to decide upon the best course. 
This must, however, be quickly 
done, after surveying the cards and 
before one is led. Individual judg- 
ment, backed by rules as far as 
they can be made to apply, and by 
the experience and advice of expert 
players in similar situations, must 
govern his action. 

The management of trumps is, per- 
haps, the most diflScult of the problems 
presented to the whist- player. — '^Caven- 
dish" [L. A.]. 

The fine points occurring in a hand 
at whist cannot be provided for by set 
rules, but must be met by the ingenuity 
and originality of the player. There is 
no test of skill so absolute as the apti- 
tude displayed by the player in handling 
his trumps. The whist-player must select 
the proper moment for a trump-lead. A 
trick too soon or a round too late may 
ruin a great game, The correct manage- 
ment of trumps is by far the most diffi- 
cult thing in whist strategy, and few 
players ever become proficient in this 
regard.— C D. P. Hamilton [L. A.'], ''Mod- 
ern Scientific IV/tist." 

Take, for instance, the management of 
trumps, which was, under the old forms, 
a great stumbling-block to ill-educated 
players. It is obvious that the chief 
obstacle to making long suits is their 
being ruffed, and that the advantage will 
be with that party who, having predom- 
inant numerical strength in trumps, can 
succeed in drawing those of the adver- 
saries. Five trumps are generally suffi- 
cient for the purpose; and hence the rule 
that if you hold this number, or more, 
you should lead them. Three or four 
leads will usually disarm both opponents, 
and you will still have one or more left to 
bring in your own or your partner's long 
suit and stop those of the enemy. — IVil- 
liam Pole [/,. ^4-], "Evolution of Whist.'''' 

The writer recently had the pleasure of 
quite a long talk with a man who had 
been intimate with Deschapelles' old 
partner in Paris, and 'gathered from him 
that the chief strength of Deschapelles' 
game lay in his adroit management of the 
trump suit. Upon first taking up his 
hand he would study its possibilities, and 
glance at the score to see what he had to 
hope or fear. If he thought his hand 
would be better if there were no trumps 
to interfere with it, he would lead trumps. 
If he thought, on the other hand, that his 



trumps would be necessary for self-pro- 
tection, he would lead a plain suit. As 
his partner followed the same principle, 
it was Deschapelles' custom, when he 
was not the original leader, to govern his 
play by the indications given in his part- 
ner's opening. If his partner led trumps, 
Deschapelles made every effort to assist 
him in getting them out; but if the part- 
ner did not "lead trumps Deschapelles 
■would require unusual strength in his 
own hand to justify him in running coun- 
ter to his partner's game, and as a gen- 
eral thing he would be very slow to draw 
his partner's trumps, and very prompt to 
stop the adversaries from exhausting 
them.—/?. F. Foster [5. O.], New York 
Sun, December 26, iSgy. 

Trump-Showing Leads. — Orig- 
inal leads, based upon a mutually 
understood code, by means of which 
the original leader shows the num- 
ber of trumps held by him. The 
first system of this kind seems to 
have been employed by the team of 
the Capital Bicycle Club, of Wash- 
ington, D. C, who used the regu- 
lar (old style) leads for the normal 
hand, but led ace from ace, king, 
and others; and queen from king, 
queen, and others, to show strength 
in trumps, but not enough to lead 
them. A more elaborate system 
was devised by Milton C. Work, 
and published by him in May, 
1894, in a small pamphlet, entitled, 
" New Whist Ideas." 

The theory of this system is to 
show by the high card of a plain 
suit the number of trumps in hand, 
instead of, as under the American 
leads, the number and character of 
the suit led. It makes no change, 
however, in the American system 
of trump-leads. The lead of a 
king, jack, or irregular card is 
made at once to show the presence 
of four or more trumps in the lead- 
er's hand. The lead of a queen 
shows less than four trumps. The 
lead of the ace also shows less than 
four trumps, unless followed by 
jack or the lowest of the suit. The 
following table sums up the code in 
its entirety: 



TRUMP-SHOWING LEADS 453 TRUMP-SHOWING LEADS 





With Short Trumps. 


With Long Trumps. 


HOLDINO. 


Original 
lead. 


Followed 
by 


Original 
lead. 


Followed 
by 


Ace, king, queen, jack 

Ace, king, queen, jack, and one or 

more others 

Ace, king, queen, and one other . . . 
Ace, king, queen, and two or more 


Queen. 

Queen. 
Queen. 

Queen. 
Ace. 

Ace. 
Ace. 
Ace. 
Ten. 

Ten. 
Queen. 

Queen. 
Queen. 

Ten. 
Queen. 

Queen. 

4th best. 


King. 

Jack. 
Ace. 

King. 
King. 

Queen. 
4th best. 
4th best. 
Queen. 

Jack. 
King. 

King. 

Jack. 
Ten. 


King. 

King. 
King. 

King. 
King. 

Ace. 
4th best. 
Ace. 
King. 

Jack. 
King. 

Jack. 
King. 

Jack. 
Jack. 

Jack. 

Jack. 


Queen. 

Jack. 
Queen. 

Queen. 
Ace. 

Jack. 
Ace. 
Lowest. 
Ten. 

King. 
Jack. 

King. 


Ace, king, and others 

Ace, queen, jack, and one or more 


Ace and four others 

Ace and more than four others . . . 

King, queen, jack, ten 

King, queen, jack, ten, and one or 

more others 

King, queen, jack, and one other . . 
King, queen, jack, and two or more 


King, queen, and others 

King, jack, ten, and one or more 


Queen, jack, ten, and one other . . . 
Queen, jack, ten, and two or more 


Queen. 
Ten. 


Jack, ten, nine, and one or more 
others 





Length in trumps may also be shown by the lead of an irregular card. 



Ofher arrangements were as fol- 
lows: (i) Having shown short 
trumps, a trump signal subsequently- 
made shows exactly three; a refu- 
sal to signal shows not more than 
two. (2) Having shown long 
trumps, an echo subsequently made 
shows five or more; a refusal to 
echo shows exactly four. (3) Hav- 
ing shown short trumps, ruffing 
with an eight or under, and subse- 
quently playing the smaller trump, 
shows one or more; ruffing with a 
small trump, and subsequently 
playing a larger one, not above an 
eight, shows no more. (4) Having 
shown long trumps, ruffing with a 
higher, and subsequently playing 
a lower, shows five or more; ruffing, 
and subsequently playing a higher, 
shows exactly four. (5) Not hav- 
shown either short or long trumps, 



ruffing with a higher, and subse- 
quently playing a lower, shows at 
least one more; ruffing with a small 
trump, and subsequently playing a 
larger one, not above an eight, 
shows no more. 

The system received a partial test 
in 1894, at the fourth congress of 
the American Whist League, when 
it was used by Mr. Work's team 
(the Hamiltons) in the match 
for the championship. The team 
remained in until the final round, 
when it was defeated by Chicago. 

The system did not meet with 
general adoption, the main objec- 
tion urged against it being that it 
gives too much information; that 
the knowledge whether a hand is 
weak or strong in trumps is very 
often more advantageous to the ad- 
versaries than to partner, especially 



TRUMP SIGNAL 



454 



TRUMP SIGNAL 



■when the adversaries are as keen 
players as those employing the sys- 
tem. We have said nothing about 
the ease or difficulty of learning 
the system. On this point Foster, 
who opposed it with might and 
main, sagely remarks in the New 
York Sti^n of December 19, 1897: 
"There is no evidence that any 
member of the Hamilton team was 
laid up with paresis after playing 
this system through three long trial 
matches, a semi-final, and a final, 
which is certainly a remarkable 
evidence of the intellectual staying 
powers of the team." Mr. Work 
subsequently changed the system 
to " optional trump-showing leads" 
{q. V. ). To do this he took the old 
leads as a standard, and had it un- 
derstood that when the leader de- 
parted from the old leads he showed 
trump strength. Mr. Work and 
his team did not continue to play 
the system, however, preferring 
American leads, with Hamilton 
modifications. 

The Walbrook team, of Balti- 
more, in the winter of iSgy-'gS were 
playing a mixed system, in which 
trump-showing leads also figured. 
Their chief peculiarity lay in lead- 
ing the lowest card of a plain suit 
when holding less than four trumps, 
the fourth best when holding four 
or more. 

Trump-showing leads every now and 
then come up as new ideas, and supposed 
trick-winning devices. But they soon 
disappear again — as soon as learned by 
the other side. In regard to them, it is 
perfectly safe to assume it to be an axiom 
of whist almost as binding as an axiom 
of geometry, that any system which pro- 
claims weakness in trumps (as these sys- 
tems must) is disadvantageous. — Fisher 
Ames \L. Ai\^ Whist, December, iSgy. 

Trump Signal. — A conventional 
signal, by means of which partner 
is asked to lead trumps at the first 
opportunity; the call for trumps. 
It is made in plain suits, and con- 



sists in playing an unnecessarily 
high card, followed by a smaller 
one of the same suit. 

It is a curious fact that trumps 
were once asked for orally, in the 
old English or Hoyle game, and 
that the custom was universally 
sanctioned, although not without 
protest on the part of some writers. 
At the score of eight (the game 
being ten points) a player holding 
two honors was allowed to say to 
his partner, ' ' Can you one ?' ' which, 
being interpreted, meant, "Have 
you an honor ? I have two. " If 
the reply was in the affirmative the 
hand was not played, as the side 
holding three honors was entitled 
to score two by honors, which put 
them out. This play, termed calling 
honors, was used as a call for trumps, 
or to convey other important infor- 
mation to partner, in the following 
manner: If a player, third hand, 
held two honors, with the game at 
the point of eight in his favor, 
and desired his partner either to 
show an honor or lead trumps, he 
would ask before the latter led, 
"Can you one?" Holding no 
honor, partner would lead trumps 
at once. Again, if a player, third 
hand, held two honors, but did not 
want a trump led unless it suited 
his partner's hand, he would wait 
until it was his own turn to play, 
and then ask, before playing, 
' ' Partner, can you one ?' ' This 
was, in effect, saying to partner: 
"I hold two honors, but am not 
strong enough otherwise to ask for 
an original lead of trumps. Use 
your judgment as to what is best 
under the circumstances." Ad- 
miral Burney thought this was " an 
intrusion on the plainness and in- 
tegrity of whist," but added that, 
"having been allowed, and gener- 
ally practiced, it now stands and is 
to be received as part of the game." 
When the ten-point game went out 



TRUMP SIGNAL 



455 



TRUMP SIGNAL 



of fashion, calling for honors, and 
■with it the old way of calling for 
trumps, went out also. 

The more modern, and now gen- 
erally practiced, call for trumps, or 
trump signal, was invented by Lord 
Henry Bentinck, and first intro- 
duced by him at Graham's Coffee- 
House, 87 James street, London, in 
1834. He had noticed or employed 
the common artifice whereby a 
high card is played on the adversa- 
ries' lead to induce the belief that 
you can trump next round, and 
thereby get trumps led to stop a 
supposed impending ruff. Being 
very particular and chary of throw- 
ing away good cards, and a firm 
believer in the utility of small 
cards, it occurred to him that he 
might bring about a lead of trumps 
on the part of his partner by sim- 
ply playing the low cards in the 
inverted order, a higher before a 
lower one. The contrivance was 
first humorously dubbed the ' ' blue 
peter" {q. v.), and is first men- 
tioned by " Caelebs" in his " Laws 
and Practice of Whist" (1851), as 
follows: "Generally, whenever a 
higher card is seen to fall, pas- 
sively — i. e. , without a substantive 
object — before a lower, exhaustion 
of the suit may be expected. * * * 
Many persons adopt another theory 
with regard to playing the higher 
card first, viz. , that it is an intima- 
tion of wishing trumps to be led." 
In the third edition of his book 
(^1858) " Cselebs" speaks more pos- 
itively on the subject, as follows: 
"Whenever a superior card is un- 
necessarily played before an infe- 
rior — e. g. , the trey before deuce — ^it 
is the strongest indication of the 
player wishing for trumps. This 
signal, metaphorically termed the 
•blue peter,' is in diametrical an- 
tagonism to the theory in ' Major 
A.'s' period, when playing the 
higher card first indicated exhaus- 



tion of the suit and a wish to ruff." 
As ' ' Cselebs' ' must have been well 
acquainted with the Portland Club, 
then the headquarters of whist, 
Pole thinks that the quoted pas- 
sages establish an important histor- 
ical fact, namely, that in 1851 the 
device was not in general use 
there, but that before 1858 it had 
become an acknowledged rule of 
play. 

The signal was accepted as part 
of the game by all succeeding 
writers on whist, although under 
protest by some, who declared that 
Lord Bentinck himself had in later 
life abandoned it and regretted its 
invention. The London Field of 
February 13 and 27, 1864, con- 
tained a full discussion of the new 
convention, and many articles ap- 
peared concerning it in other Eng- 
lish publications, including the 
leading reviews and magazines, and 
a great deal of hostility was mani- 
fested towards it. One writer in 
the Westminster Papers s,a.ys: "It 
can scarcely be called whist any 
longer, but a new game, 'peter;' 
for your partner calls upon you to 
abandon your game and blindly 
play his by leading him a trump. 
Your opponents immediately aban- 
don the legitimate game, and direct 
all their efforts to thwarting your 
intentions, and all the rules of the 
game are cast aside." 

Many good players at first ob, 
jected to the signal, but were forced 
to adopt it when it came into gen- 
eral use. In France it was severely 
condemned. James Clay, whose 
opinion carried great weight, while 
he did not like it personally, de- 
clared it to be open to no objection 
on the score of unfairness, although 
he thought it greatly diminished 
the advantage of skill by simplify- 
ing the game. He considered it so 
natural that he is reported to have 
said that if a tribe of savages were 



TRUMP SIGNAL 



456 



TRUMP SIGNAI, 



taught wliist they would arrive at 
the signal in course of time by 
their own intuition. 

The trump signal is made by any 
player except the first hand or 
leader, who, if he wants trumps 
led, can lead them himself. The 
question. When is a player justified 
in signaling ? is one that cannot 
be answered by any hard and fast 
rule. Good judgment is required, 
but in a general way it may be 
stated that a hand that you would 
lead trumps from is a good one to 
signal from. A player ought to 
have four trumps containing two 
honors, or five trumps containing 
one honor, and reasonable strength 
in other suits, so that there is no 
danger of a suit being brought in 
against him by the adversaries. 
The signal should be used only 
when partner is in a position to ob- 
tain the lead. When the signal is 
made later in the hand, after the 
player employing it has himself 
had the lead, or had an opportunity 
to signal without doing so, the 
command to partner is not impera- 
tive, nor does the signal in that 
case denote the same strength on 
the part of the signaler as if made 
at the first opportunity. 

In responding to the trump sig- 
nal, care should be taken by be- 
ginners not to mistake for it an 
efibrt, on the part of second hand, 
to win the trick. Lead your part- 
ner the best trump, if you hold it, 
or one of the second and third best 
if you hold them. Otherwise give 
him the highest from less than four, 
the fourth best from four or more. 

The trump signal is also made in 
two other ways by many good 
plaj^ers. One consists in discard- 
ing from an unopened suit a card 
not lower than a nine, although 
George W. Pettes, who originated 
it, also used the eight for the pur- 
pose. (See, " Single-Discard Call 



for Trumps.") The other signal 
consists in refusing to trump an ad- 
verse winning card. It is some- 
times unadvisable to employ the 
latter mode, especially when the 
adversaries are in position to con- 
tinue to lead winning cards in the 
same suit. In such case the best 
thing is to accept the force and 
make the best of it. 

Foster says: " By some short-suit 
players, the lead of a five, four, 
three, or two is considered a posi- 
tive call for trumps if an honor is 
turned; not otherwise." In the 
Howell (short-suit) system, how- 
ever, the lead of any of the cards 
mentioned indicates the long-suit 
game, and commands partner, if he 
gets in early, to lead trumps, irre- 
spective of the turning of an 
honor. 

Before the introduction of the leads 
showing number, the lead of the ace, 
then king, then small, was a call for 
trumps —JR. jF. J^oster [S. O.}, "IVhist Tac- 
tics." 

Many good players are more cautious 
in asking for trumps than in leading 
them , and will not signal unless they hold 
at least one honor. — William Pole \L. 
A+l 

The trump call must be used with dis- 
cretion. It should only be given when 
you are convinced that a trump lead 
would be for your advantage. — Fisher 
A mes \L. A .] . 

The signal for trumps is now so con- 
stantly in use, that we must set aside all 
discussion as to whether whist has been 
improved or impaired by its invention. — 
R.A. Proctor {L. O.]. 

It has not only done good to those who 
profit by it, but has also improved the 
play generally by requiring more atten- 
tion to be paid to the fall of the cards, 
particularly of small ones. — William Pole 
[L. A+], "Evolution of Whist." 

If your object be to win at whist, never 
"call" for trumps, or " echo" in reply. If 
your partner "calls," use your discretion. 
If your adversaries " call," they will pro- 
bably give you a chance of saving a game 
you might otherwise have easily lost. — 
William Cusack-Smith [L. O.} . 

In a game that has so much of the ruflP' 
ing element about it, the player should 



TRUMP SIGNAIv 



457 



TRUMP SIGNAIv 



prepare a trump-call early, if he want 
to have trumps led by partner. There- 
fore we use the call perhaps oftener than 
the long-suiters. — Edwin C. Howell [S. 
Jf.J ^^ IVhist Openings." 

This conventional sign consists in 
throwing away an unnecessarily high 
card. * * * The origin of this prac- 
tice is so perfectly in the spirit ot our 
game, when well played, that I am sur- 
prised at the length of time which was 
required to reduce it to an understood 
signification.— :/a»ziS.j Clay \L. 0+]. 

Asking for trumps means playing a 
totally unnecessarily high card, when by 
subsequent play you show you could have 
played a lower card. You must be care- 
ful to distinguish between a totally un- 
necessarily high card, and a card plaj'ed 
to cover another card, or to protect your 
partner.—^. W. Drayson [Z,+^+], ''The 
Art of Practical IVhistV 

" We do not know whetheranyone has 
ever kept a record of the number of tricks 
lost by petering. During the past year, 
in the whist we have witnessed, we feel 
confident that more tricks have been lost 
than won by this practice." — Westminster 
Papers {Old School). After many years 
of further experience I am quite of the 
same opinion. — "Pe7nbridge''' [Z+O.], 
" IVhist, or Bumblepuppy ?" 

Among some players the lead of a 
strengthening card, when an honor is 
turned, is a call for trumps to be led 
through that honor at the very first op- 
portunity, but it is not good play. Pass- 
ing a certain winning card is regarded by 
most players as an imperative call for 
trumps. The discard of any card higher 
than a seven is known as a single-card 
call. — i?. P. Poster [S. O.], "Complete 
Hoyle." 

An article which the doctor [William 
Pole] contributed to the Portnightly Re- 
view, in April, 1879, on "Conventions at 
Whist," merits notice. In it he argues 
against the fairness of the call for trumps, 
and seems to doubt the propriety of some 
other modern developments of the game. 
But he has long since, I believe, become 
a convert to the lawfulness, if not to the 
expediencv, of the call. — IV. P. Courtney 
[£+0.], "English IVliist." 

Many players contend that the leader 
cannot call for trumps on his lead, and 
that he should lead them himself, if that 
is what he wants. But there are many 
positions in which such a course would 
be injudicious. The leader may lie ten- 
ace; he may want to know his partner's 
best trump; he maj' want a lead through 
the turn-up; or he" may hope to win the 
second or third round by not leading first 
himself — .^. P. Poster \_S. O.j, "Whist 
Tactics.^' 



It is a common artifice, if you wish a 
trump to be led, to drop a high card to 
the adversary's lead, to induce him to be- 
lieve that you will trump it next round, 
whereupon the leader will very likely 
change the suit, and perhaps lead trumps. 
* * * By a conventional extension of 
this system to lower cards it is understood 
that, whenever you throw away an unne- 
cessarily high card, it is a sign (after the 
smaller card drops) that you want trumps 
led. — "Cavendish" [L. A.}, "Laws and 
Principles of Whist." 

When you do this \i. e., call for trumps] 
— when you ask partner to play your 
game — you should be reasonably certain 
of making the odd trick at least. The 
m.ere fact of holding four, five, or even 
six trumps, is not sufficient reason for is- 
suing such an arbitrary command. Your 
only object in drawing trumps is to enable 
you to bring in a long suit, or to protect 
master cards in other suits; and without 
these features of strength you should not 
call, even though you may be strong in 
trumps. — C. D. P. Hamilton \L. A.'\y 
"Modern Scientific Whist." 

When everything is going nicely, and 
your partner making the tricks, that you 
should interfere with this merely because 
you have five trumps — or nine, for the 
matter of that — is the height of absur- 
dity. It may be an interesting fact for him 
to know, on the second round of a plain 
suit, that you hold five trumps, just as 
there are other interesting facts which he 
may also ascertain at the same time — 
e.g., that you have led a singleton, that 
you hold no honor in your own suit, and 
so on — but none of them justifies him in 
ruining his own hand, and devoting his 
best trump to destruction. — " Pembridge" 
\L\0.\ "Whist, or Bumblepuppy ?" 

Fortj^ 3'ears ago calling for trumps con- 
stituted the whole art and practice of sci- 
entific whist. The man who could see a 
trump signal without looking at the last 
trick was a genius, and the player who 
would notice such a little one as a three 
played before a deuce was a marvel. The 
story of the rise and progress of the trump 
signal is one of the most interesting chap- 
ters in the history of the game. Like the 
love of money in life, it has been the root 
of all evil in play. From it has sprung 
that poisonous undergrowth of private 
conventions that has choked up all the 
individuality, all the dash and brilliancy, 
all the keen perception that is proper to 
the game. Although at first it was be- 
lieved to be a benefit to good and bad 
players alike, its injurious influence was 
soon recognized, and no one regretted its 
introduction more than its inventor. — R. 
F. Poster {S. 0.], New York Sun, Decem- 
ber 12, 1897. 



TRUMP SIGNAL 



458 



' TRUMPS ' 



Trump Signal to Show no 
More of a Suit. — It has been sug- 
gested by some players that it 
might be well to make a trump 
signal mean : * ' I have no more of 
this suit and want to ruflf it." Mil- 
ton C. Work, in "Whist of To- 
day," punctures the suggestion as 
follows: "When it is considered 
that such a plan would probably 
make one trick in one deal, while 
a trump signal was making several 
in each of a dozen deals, the im- 
becility of the idea at once becomes 
apparent. ' ' 

Trump Strength, Showing. — 

The showing of trump strength is 
a very important feature of the 
partnership game. Modern players 
deem it essential to the success of 
their play to indicate such strength 
not only by leading or calling for 
trumps, but by echoing in various 
ways to show the exact number 
which can be relied upon from part- 
ner. Foster, in his ' ' Whist Man- 
ual" (third edition, 1896), says: 

"Some of our best players, 
among them Milton C. Work, are 
of the opinion that the chief char- 
acteristic of the whist of the future 
will be the indication of trump 
strength. In addition to the usual 
methods of passing doubtful tricks, 
signaling, forcing a partner, etc., 
all of which show trump strength, 
an artifice known as the four-signal 
is frequently used." 

He then proceeds to describe this 
convention, and also the trump- 
showing leads, for a time adopted 
by the Hamilton team, under Mr. 
Work's leadership. The Capital 
Bicycle Club used much the same 
idea some years ago; but, continues 
Foster, ' ' I think the system 
advocated by Mr. B. C. Howell, of 
Boston, better than any of these. 
It is based on the principle that 
with trump strength you should 



give your partner as much informa- 
tion as possible concerning your 
best suit, whereas with weakness in 
trumps it may pay you to conceal 
its exact character. With strong 
trumps he opens the game in reg- 
ular conventional manner; but 
with weak trumps he follows a 
schedule of ' reversed leads. ' He 
gives the system in full in Whist, 
May, 1894. The 'Albany lead' is a 
strengthening card originally, for 
the sole purpose of showing four 
trumps, apart from any other indi- 
cation. The objection to all these 
systems is that they are not under 
control of the judgment of the 
player. If he gives no sign, his 
partner infers negatively, and is 
misled. The advantage of the 
trump signal is that one can signal 
with two trumps, if he wants 
trumps led, or refrain from signaling 
with ten, if he feels so disposed. 
The moment you compel a man to 
play whist by machinery, you de- 
stroy the chief beauty of the game 
— individuality of thought and ex- 
pression." (See, also, "Trump- 
Showing Leads.") 

Trump Suit. — The suit to which 
the card belongs which the dealer 
last dealt from the pack and turned 
up, in the regular course of play; 
the suit whose cards, for that hand, 
will take the cards of any other 
suit regardless of rank. 

Were it not for the existence of the 
trump suit, whist would lose a great por- 
tion of its charm and popularity, and 
would rank much lower as a game of 
skill. — E. J., in IVesiminsier Papers, May 
I, 1878. 

'* Trumps." — A pseudonym used 
by William Brisbane Dick, who 
published a " Handbook of Whist," 
New York, 1884. He also edited 
" The American Hoyle," published 
in New York about 1863 (thir- 
teenth edition in 1880), and the 



TRUMPS 



459 



TRUMPS 



"Pocket Hoyle" (1868). In speak- 
ing of his " Standard Hoyle," pub- 
lished about 1887, W. P. Courtney 
says: " It is remarkable through the 
circumstance that the contents of 
the sections on whist are innocent 
of any connection with Hoyle." 

Trumps. — The cards of a suit 
which have been given a higher 
value or trick-taking power than 
the three remaining suits, by the 
turning of the trump card on the 
part of the dealer; the trump suit. 

George W. Pettes called trumps 
"the artillery of the hand," and 
C. D. P. Hamilton, in carrying out 
the same idea, says: "They are 
the ordnance — the heavy guns — in 
the engagement, and after you 
have silenced the enemy with 
them, you may gather in the fruits 
of victory with your established 
suits." The possession of great 
trump strength and a good plain 
suit means victory. As l/owell 
said of Phoebus, in his ' ' Fable for 
Critics," he was 

Quite irresistible, 
Z,ike a man with eight trumps in his 
hand at a whist-table. 

The main uses of trumps are: To 
disarm the opponents, to make 
tricks by trumping, and to play and 
make tricks the same as with cards 
in plain suits. By exhausting the 
adverse trumps, establishing a 
strong plain suit, and regaining the 
lead and bringing it in, you use 
trumps to the best possible advan- 
tage. Trumps are also used to ob- 
struct the efforts of the opponents 
to bring in a suit. When strong in 
trumps you lead them ; when weak, 
you endeavor to make good use of 
what you have by trumping in. 

It is important to count the 
trumps as they are played, in order 
that you may know how many are 
sttLl unplayed. Partner's lead of 



trumps should, as a rule, be 
promptly returned, and his trump 
signal responded to at the first op- 
portunity. 

If weak in trumps, keep guard on your 
adversaries' suits. If strong, throw away 
from them. — Thomas Matliews [L. O.]. 
"Advice to the Young IVhisi-Piayer," 1804. 

Always return your partner's lead in 
trumps, unless the card he led shows he 
only intended to strengthen your hand, 
or to lead through an honor. — H. i^ Mor- 
gan [0.1. 

The trump-lead is so much more im- 
portant than any other, that you 
should almost always return your part- 
ner's lead of trumps immediately, except 
he has led from weakness, when you are 
not bound to return it unless it suits your 
hand. — "Cavendish" [L. A.\ "Laws and 
Principles of IVhist." 

The skill of a whist-player is shown 
more, perhaps, by his aptitude in select- 
ing the proper moment when trumps 
should be led, or the enemy's strength in 
trumps reduced by forcing, or their lead 
of trumps delayed by properly placing 
the lead, than by any other part of whist 
strategy.— i?. A. Proctor \_L. O.]. 

If the trumps remain divided between 
you and your partner, and you have no 
winning card yourself, it is good play to 
lead a small trump, to put in his handto 
play off any that he may have, to give 
you an opportunity to throw away your 
losing carcfs. — Thoinas Mathews [L. O.], 
"Advice to the Young IVhist-Player.'^ 

If you find one of the adversaries with- 
out a trump, you should mostly proceed 
to establish your long suit, and abstain 
froin drawing two trumps for one; to say 
nothing of the probability that the ad- 
versary who has not renounced is unu- 
sually strong in trumps. — "Cavendish^'' 
\L. .4.], "Laws and Pi-inciples of IVhist." 

The objection evinced by a great ma- 
jority 01 players to part with their 
trumps is quite incomprehensible. They 
will not understand that the grand object 
is not to make as many tricks in trumps 
as possible, but by skillfully wielding 
them, to establish superiority and com- 
mand in other suits. — "Lieutenant- Colonel 
B." [L. O.]. 

Trumps are the controlling factors in 
the game, and their proper handling is to 
every whist-player, no matter how pro- 
ficient, a matter of profound mental con- 
cern. They are the ordnance— the heavy 
gT.ms — in the engagement, and after you 
have silenced the enemy with them you 
may gather in the fruits of victory with 
your established suits.* * * If you 



TRUMPS, NOT LEADING 460 TRUMPS, REPEATING 



have no master cards to tnake, it is, as a 
rule, better to keep your batteries masked 
for the middle or end play, or until the 
master cards have declared their pres- 
ence in partner's hand. * * * With 
the best players, trumps are used only for 
distinct purposes. The object in leading 
trumps must be apparent from the hand 
or developed by the play. — C. D. P, Ham- 
ilton \L. AP[, ^'Modern Scientific Whist.'''' 



Trumps, Not Leading. — While 
exceptional hands may be held 
from which an expert would not 
lead trumps originally if holding 
five with an honor, players, as a 
rule, are admonished by the au- 
thorities to make such a trump- 
lead at the first opportunity, or to 
signal partner to lead. The im- 
portance of making the lead has 
been frequently and solemnly im- 
pressed upon beginners and upon a 
certain class of players who might 
aptly be termed trump-misers, be- 
cause they invariably hoard them 
up until the close of the hand, un- 
less drawn by other players. " Four 
you may — five you must," is a 
maxim frequently recited for their 
benefit. 

In times gone by women whist- 
players were generally suspected 
of this tendency to keep back 
trumps, and the London Spectator 
once related the story of an emi- 
nent whist-player who, whenever 
he found himself seated at the 
whist-table with ladies, was wont 
to tell them the following tale as a 
kind of prologue to the game: "I 
once knew a lady who held five 
trumps in her hand, and who failed 
to lead them. She ended sadly," 
and here his voice sank to an im- 
pressive whisper — " she died in the 
workhouse." Whether or not this 
precautionary measure was attended 
with success tradition does not say. 

" Lieutenant-Colonel B.," in his 
"Whist-Player" (1856), has this: 
" I once heard a first-rate whist- 
player say that, with four trumps 



in your hand, it was mostly right 
to lead them ; but that he who held 
five, and did not lead them, was fit 
only for a lunatic asylum." 

The most impressive and widely 
circulated utterance on the subject, 
however, is that correctly attributed 
to James Clay {q. v.). It was first 
published in " Sans Merci," a pop- 
ular novel in its day in England, in 
which Clay appears under the name 
of Castleniaine. He is asked by a 
young man, who has just lost 
heavily on a game (heavy stakes 
being then the rule in Europe), 
whether with knave, five, he ought 
to have led trumps. "It is com- 
puted," replies Castlemaine, with 
great calmness and dignity, "that 
eleven thousand young English- 
men, once heirs to fair fortunes, 
are wandering about the continent 
in a state of utter destitution, be- 
cause they would not lead trumps 
with five and an honor in their 
hand." 

"When you have five trumps it is al- 
ways right to lead them." This old rule 
for trump-leading has many exceptions. 
* * * It is nearly always right to lead 
trumps when the trump suit is your only 
long suit, because if you are weak in all 
plain suits it is only fair to presume that 
your partner is the more likely to be 
strong in them. * * * in many cases 
[where just five trumps are held] there is 
a better lead than the trump-lead for the 
original lead. Suppose (as original 
leader) you hold five trumps (hearts), 
ace and four small diamonds, two small 
clubs, and a small spade. You should 
open your fourth-best diamond and await 
developments. Again, you hold five 
trumps (hearts), ace, king, knave, and 
small diamonds, two small each in spades 
and clubs. You open with king of dia- 
monds, showing your suit, then a trump, 
if you deem it best. It is generally best 
with any five trumps to show your suit 
first, especially if not longer than five 
cards.— C D. P. Hamilton [L.A.], "Modern 
Scientific Whist." 

Trumps, Repeating the Signal 
to Show Six. — A player who sig- 
nals successively in two different 
plain suits thereby is considered by 



TRUMPS, RETURNING 46 1 TRUMPS, SHOWING 



some to show his partner six trumps. 
Milton C. Work deems the play 
wise for those who do not desire, in 
such a case, to use the plain-suit 
signal {^q. v.) in the second suit. 

Trumps, Returning. — Careful 
attention to partner's strength or 
weakness in trumps, and prompt- 
ness in returning his lead of 
trumps, or in leading them in re- 
sponse to his signal, marks the 
modern scientific player who plays 
twenty -six instead of thirteen cards. 
The bumblepuppist who plays his 
hand as if partner did not exist, 
has no use for any rule in this or 
any other whist matter. 

It is not proposed to adhere to 
any iron-clad rule, and say that 
under every circumstance, without 
exception, partner's trump-lead 
must be returned instantly. The 
general rule is to so return trumps, 
and should be adhered to unless an 
intelligent and excellent reason ex- 
ists for not so doing. For instance, 
it may be expedient for a player 
holding a great suit to show tiiis 
suit, by a lead from it, before re- 
turning his partner's trump-lead. 
Hamilton also lays down the fol- 
lowing cases in which a player 
would be justified in not returning 
partner's lead of trumps: (i) When 
partner has led trumps from four 
simply because it was his only four- 
card suit; (2) when you win the 
trick cheaply, and it is demon- 
strable that your right-hand oppo- 
nent must hold over your partner 
with a strong tenace; (3) when an 
honor is turned up to your right, 
and you win by a deep finesse; (4) 
when partner has led from evident 
weakness and finds you weak. 

It is an aphorism of traditional respec- 
tability that the only excuses for not re- 
turning partner's trump are a fit of 
apoplexy or not having any, and the same 
applies m the case of trumps being asked 
tor.— Arthur Campbell- IValker [L. O.]. 



In the first place, suppose your partner 
leads trumps. You infer that he wants to 
get them out; and it is your duty to help 
him in this olaject. Hence, * * * you 
are bound to return trumps immediately. 
This is, perhaps, the most imperative of 
all whist rules. — IVilliam Pole {L. A-\-\, 
^^ Philosophy of IVhist." 

Trumps, Showing Number of. 
After a Signal. — "When a player 
has signaled, and his partner leads, 
in answer to that signal, a high 
trump which the signaler decides 
to pass," says Milton C. Work, "he 
by one method plays his fourth best 
in order to most accurately show 
both size and number, while by 
another plan he makes a signal in 
such a case only to show six or 
more trumps. Some players object 
to both these plays, believing it to 
be unwise.under the circumstances, 
to give any accurate information, 
as the suit is not partner's, and one 
of the adversaries may be strong in 
it. In view of the latter possibil- 
ity, the writer doubts the wisdom 
of always playing the fourth best, 
but sees no harm in allowing a 
player the option of showing six in 
such case by a signal, if for any 
reason he thinks it wise to do so." 

Trumps, Showing Number of, 
by Signal. — There are many who 
believe with " Cavendish" that 
every system of showing less than 
four trumps by signal is bad, be- 
cause it exposes to the adversaries 
the weakness of the signaler's 
hand. But others consider that 
this is fully compensated for by 
other advantages, and especially 
the knowledge imparted to partner. 
Such is the position taken by W. 
S. Fenollosa, of Salem, Mass., who 
has devised a system of showing the 
number of trumps when partner 
has led or signaled. It is made by 
utilizing any three small cards in a 
plain suit by playing them in the 
following manner: 



TRUMPS, SHOWING 



462 



TURN-UP 



First Trick. Second Trick. Third Trick 



One trump at most . 
Two trumps .... 
Three trumps . . . 
Four trumps .... 
Five or more trumps 



Two. 
Two. 
Four. 
Four. 
Six. 



Four. 

Six. 

Six. 

Two. 

Four. 



Six. 

Four. 

Two. 

Six. 

Two. 



Milton C. Work, ia his "Whist 
of To-day," tells of a somewhat 
similar scheme which he adopted 
in connection with the four-signal. 



to indicate short trumps, and four, 
five, six, and seven or more. The 
schedule prepared by him is as 
follows: 



Play. 



First Trick. Second Trick. Third Trick, 



Short trumps 

Four trumps 

Five trumps 

Six trumps 

Seven or more trumps 



Two. 

Four. 

Four. 

Six. 

Six. 



Four. 

Six. 

Two. 

Two. 

Four. 



Six. 

Two. 

Six. 

Four. 

Two. 



About the same period a good deal of 
ingenuity was expended in inventing sys- 
tems to show two, three, or four trumps. 
They raaj' be briefly dismissed. The an- 
swer to most oflhemi (with the exception 
of the sub-echo) is, that exhibition of 
weakness in trumps is more likely to be 
of advantage to the adversaries than to 
the exhibitor. — "Cavendish''^ [L. A.], 
Scrtbner^s Magazine, July, i^97- 

Trumps, Showing Number of, 
on Adversary's Lead. — Here is 
another elaboration of the trump- 
showing ideas of modern whist, as 
described by Milton C. Work in his 
" Whist of To-day:" " As there are 
occasions when it is advantageous 
to show the number of trumps held 
by the player when the adversary 
is leading (such as when the lead is 
probably a weak one, or when it is 
known, by reason of an honor 
turned, that the partner will win 
the second trick, and there is a suit 



the player can ruff), it has been 
suggested that an echo on the ad- 
versary's lead of trumps should 
show no more. The play is not re- 
commended as a universal rule, as 
the information it gives is apt to be 
of more value to the adversary than 
to the partner. * * * The prac- 
tical difficulty would be to have 
two partners understand just when 
it was to be used and when not. 
For this reason it seems a danger- 
ous innovation." 

Turf Club. —See, "Arlington 
Club." 

Turning Trump. — See, "Trump 
Card." 

Turn-Up. — The jlast card of a 
deal turned and p aced face up on 



TWELFTH CARD 



463 



TWO-SPOT 



the table, where it is allowed to re- 
main during the first round; the 
trump card. (See, ' ' Trump Card. ' ' ) 

Sometimes the turn-up, or trump-card, 
is thrown down without being turned up 
or shown; this card is of such importance 
that the punishment of making the deal 
lost cannot be dispensed with in this 
case. — Deschapelles [C], "Traiii du 
fVktsie," Article ji. 

As the dealer has no right to show the 
turn-up card before it is turned, he has 
still less right to look at it himself. He is 
then more guilty than another in yielding 
to a spirit of caviling; he deserves a more 
severe punishment, and we have inflicted 
it on him by making him lose his deal. — 
Deschapelles [C], "Tratie du IV/izsie." 

Twelfth Card. — One of the two 

cards remaining in a suit after 
eleven have been pl-ayed. If the 
lower one is in your right-hand ad- 
versar3''s hand, the lead of the win- 
ning twelfth will afford an oppor- 
tunity for partner to discard or 
overtrump. In case it is the lower 
card, it can be led for the purpose 
of throwing the lead. If both are 
held by yourself and partner, 
neither should be led until the ad- 
verse trumps are first exhausted. 

The twelfth card may be either a master 
or a losing card of any two cards of a suit 
in play. — C. D. P. Hamilton \L. A,], "Mod- 
ern Scientific Whist." 

If no trumps are in, the^twelflh and thir- 
teenth are led at once, if the leader has 
the best he leads it, if trumps are out; if 
trumps are not all out, he may lead it 
through the best trump on his left, or 
through the losing trump on his left, if 
he knows that partner can overtrump. — 
Fisher Ames \L. A.'\, ^'■Practical Guide to 
Whist." 

When it is the best, and you know D 
has the smaller, the twelfth will of course 
win, unless trumped by C. But you run a 
risk in playing this card of a discard from 
C, that may very much influence your 
next lead. For this reason much care 
must be taken in the management of the 
twelfth.— G^. W. Pettes [L. A. P.], ''Ameri- 
can Whist Illustrated." 

Before you play a twelfth card, whether 
it be the best or not the best, note whether 
you hold any winning cards which you 
can make before leading the twelfth card, 
and which a discard from the adversary- 
might prevent your making. When the 



twelfth card which you have an opportu- 
nity of playing is the lower of the two 
remaining, or if the thirteenth card be lo- 
cated in the hand of your left adversary, 
* * * the play of the twelfth card is 
dangerous, unless you want to give your 
partner the chance of making a trump, 
which chance might not otherwise occur. 
—A. W. Drayson [Z,+^+], "The Art of 
Practical Whist." 

Two-Handed Whist,— See, 

"Double-Dummy," and " German 
Whist." 

Two-Spot. — A card containing 
two spots or pips; the deuce; the 
lowest card in the pack. 

In the system of American leads 
it figures as a fourth-best lead, and 
in the Howell (short-suit) system it 
indicates the long-suit game and 
commands partner, if he gets in 
early, to lead trumps — sharing this 
distinction with the five, four, and 
three. The two-spot is also fre- 
quently useful in completing a 
trump-signal or echo, and when the 
suit to which it belongs is estab- 
lished, it frequently rises to the 
highest dignity as a trick-taker. 
Similarly, when it forms one of the 
trump-suit, it is higher than an ace 
in plain suits. 

I'm just a little two-spot, 

And yet I'd like to tell 
Of uses I am put to 

By people who play well. 

If first I make my entree 
Each one will understand 

The leader has no long suit, 
But only four in hand. 

If I should make my bow when 
A high card's first been played, 

The hand for trumps is calling, 
I,et them not be delayed. 

When once a suit's established. 
Trumps out and you have me, 

I am a sure trick-taker 
As any card can be. 

Yes, I'm a little two-spot 

With many a special use; 
Pray, heed what I have told you, 

In giving them the deuce. 
— Margaretta Wetherill Wallace. 



TWO FOR ONE 



464 



UNBLOCKING 



Two Trumps for One. — Draw- 
ing two trumps for one is one of the 
resources of whist strategy, fre- 
quently made use of and highly 
commended. When a player finds 
his partner without trumps, this is 
one of the best uses to which he can 
put whatever trump-strength he 
himself possesses. If he cannot 
exhaust, he may at least weaken, 
his opponents, especially if his own 
trumps are trick-winners. 

Unblocking. — Getting rid of the 
commanding card, or cards, of 
partner's long plain suit, when you 
hold a less number of the same 
suit, thereby enabling him to keep 
or regain the lead and make the 
most out of his suit. For the pur- 
pose of helping him to get into the 
lead again, you retain your small- 
est card, if you held exactly four 
in the suit, playing third best on 
the first round, second best on 
second round (unless calling for 
trumps), and highest on third 
round. 

This play is almost as old as whist 
itself, Hoyle having illustrated its 
theory and practice in a number of 
positions. It had fallen into great 
neglect, however, until taken up, 
improved, and brought into promi- 
nence by "Cavendish," in 1885. 
In his book on "American L/Cads" 
he first called it the "plain-suit 
echo," but this was changed to 
"unblocking game" in subsequent 
editions, as the more appropriate 
designation. The unblocking game, 
according to " Cavendish," applies 
only when ace, queen, jack, or ten 
is led originally, and the third hand 
(the one to unblock) holds four 
cards of the suit exactly, all of 
them lower than the one led. 
When the king is led originally it 
indicates a suit of four, and on this 
the third hand does not unblock 
unless he holds the ace. Otherwise 



he plays his lowest on the first 
round, unless obviously and neces- 
sarily trying to win the trick. 

It is in the matter of failing to 
unblock on the king-lead that 
"Cavendish's" system has been 
strongly objected to by Foster and 
others. They make no exception, 
and treat the king-lead the same as 
any other high-card lead, unblock- 
ing and retaining their lowest card 
when holding exactly four. 

This order of play is sometimes, but in- 
correctl3^ called "the plain-suit echo." — 
Charles E. Coffin [L. A.], "The Gist of 
Whist." 

This is the art of knowing when a card 
that you hold in your partner's suit may 
prevent him from making his established 
small cards, and so getting rid of it at the 
right moment. — R. F. . Foster \S. O.], 
^^ Whist Tactics." 

"When a player leads a card which indi- 
cates that he'holds, or may hold, five of 
the suit, his partner holding four should 
play his third best. This is known as the 
unblocking game. The purpose of the 
play is both to unblock partner's suit, if 
necessary, and also to show that you hold 
four of his suit. — Whist [L. A.], June, 
1S95. 

There is no novelty in this play. It is 
as old as Hoyle, but it is strangely ne- 
glected by modern players. * * * A 
must further bear in mind that unblock- 
ing on the first round is only attempted 
when B holds four of the suit exactly. A 
must not therefore assume, because B 
plays, say, the deuce to the ace, that B 
has but two or three of the suit. B may 
hold five, or more. The only certainty is 
that B did not originally hold four 
exactly. — "Cavendish'''' \L. A.l, "Whist 
Developments" i8gi. 

When you see that j'our high card of 
partner's suit is going to take the third 
trick, for instance, and you have no way 
of giving him the lead, and it is evident 
that if your high card were out of the way 
he could make one more trick in the suit, 
you should throw your high card on his 
higher one, or get fid of it on a discard if 
possible, to get out of his way. Too little 
attention is usually paid to this point. 
Get rid of the control of partner's suit. 
Keep that of opponents' and trumps as 
long as possible. — Fisher Ames [L. A.]. 

This preserves in the third hand a low 
card, which the original leader can al- 
waj's take if led to him, or which will not 
block his long suit if he is in the lead him- 



I UNBLOCKING 



465 



UNDERPLAY 



self. If the hig:liest card is kept until the 
last it may prevent the original leader 
from bringing in several smaller cards 
which he may have established. The 
original leader can usually detect the un- 
blocking, and for that reason it is called a 
plain-suit echo, for it shows him that his 
partner has four cards of the suit. — Val. 
IV. Siarnes [S. O.], "Shori-Suit IVkzsV 

If the partner is a long-suit player, and 
you have four cards exactly of a suit of 
which he leads originally the king, keep 
the lowest of your four, and play your 
third best, no matter what four cards 
they are. " Cavendish" does not agree 
with this rule, and prefers to change the 
entire sj'stem of leads rather than un- 
block on a king led. I regret that I am 
unable to agree with him in his analysis 
of the position, as this is one of the few 
points on which the master and his dis- 
ciple have seriously differed. — J?. P. Foster 
[5. C], ''Whist Strategy:' 

There are but comparatively few cases 
in which it is necessary to at once, on the 
original lead of the suit, start to unblock. 
These cases, however, are important and 
easily mastered. With exactly four cards 
of a suit which your partner opens, unless 
his original leads show but four, you may 
play your third best on the first trick, 
your second best on the second trick (un- 
less in either instance you have to play 
your best in order to try to win the trick), 
and on the third trick you can play your 
highest or lowest, as the exigencies of the 
situation demand. — Milton C. Work \L. 
A.H.]," Whist of To-day." 

In the /z>Wof October 11, 1884, appeared 
the first of nine articles on " The Play of 
Third Hand," a masterly and exhaustive 
piece of whist analysis, by which "Cav- 
endish" reduced the unblocking play to a 
system, called by him the " plain-suit 
echo." This consists in retaining the 
lowest card of your partner's long suit, 
when you hold four exactly, by which 
play you often clear his suit, and gain one 
or more tricks for the partnership. This, 
together with American leads, and the 
new play of not covering an honor (ex- 
cept, of course, with the ace), as recom- 
mended by Dr. Pole, was embodied by 
"Cavendish" in his well-known work, 
"Whist Developments," published in 
1885.— TV. B. Trist IL. A.], Harper's Mag- 
azine^ March, i8gi. 

He ["Cavendish"] accordingly devised, 
by a masterly process of reasoning, a way 
by which, if my partner uses ordinary 
care, he could see beforehand when his 
high card would be likely to be obstruct- 
ive, and might get rid of it in time. This 
he called " unblocking," and the process 
by which it was effected the " unblocking 
game." It was published in his "Whist 

30 



Developments," in 18S5. It depended al- 
most entirely on the indications given, by 
the American leads, as to the number of 
cards held. * * * " Cavendish" de- 
vised the following short rule for un- 
blocking purposes: When your partner 
leads originally either ace, queen, knave, 
ten, or nine (not the king), and you hold 
exactly four cards of the suit, retain your 
lowest card on the first and second rounds. 
— Williain Pole \L. A-\-'\. "Evolution of 
Whist:' 

The unblocking game only applies 
when ace, queen, knave, or ten is led 
originally, and the third hand holds four 
cards of the suit exactly, all lower than 
the one led. Therefore, when king, or 
nine, or a lower card is led originally, if 
B does not attempt to win the first trick, 
he plays his lowest card, whatever num- 
ber of "cards he holds in the suit. * * * 
If the king is led, and B does not hold the 
ace, B should not attempt to unblock, as 
the lead is from four cards only. What- 
ever the number or value of his small 
cards, B must play his lowest to the king. 
* * * When a low card is led origi- 
nally, B's play proceeds on the assump- 
tion that the lead is at least from four 
cards, three of them being higher than 
the card led. When the third hand has 
at most three of the suit his play is obvi- 
ously to head the trick if he can; other- 
wise to play his lowest card, unless he 
calls for trumps. — ''Cavendish'" \L. A.}, 
" Whist Developments" i8gi. 

Underplay. — A kind of finesse 
which consists in leading a smaller 
card when the conventional play 
would be to lead the best, which is 
concealed in the hand and retained 
for more effective use later on. 
Underplay is also employed to 
throw the lead, by holding up the 
best card and allowing another 
player to win the trick. (See, also, 
"Holding Up.") 

Underplay is often effectively 
used toward the end of a hand to 
make a much-needed trick. Any 
player at the table may employ it 
in a well-calculated effort to make 
a trick or more than ordinary play 
would give him. It requires skill, 
however, to make it succeed. 

WTiat is called underplay is usually 
adopted in order to gain command of a 
suit.— ie. A. Proctor [L. O.]. 



UNDERTRUMPING 



466 



UP AND DOWN 



Underplay is a powerful weapon, tut if 
the adversary is alert it seldom succeeds. 
—R. F. Foster \S. a], " Wkisi Tacticsy 

The prospect of making the eleventh, 
twelfth, and thirteenth tricks is the usual 
incentive. — "Aquarius" \L. O.], "The 
Hands at Whist.'''' 

Properly manipulated, underplay can 
be made serviceable. But probable suc- 
cess demands keen management. — G. W. 
Pettes [Z,. A. PP[, "American Whist Illus- 
trated.'''' 

This is sometimes advantageous in 
trumps, or in plain suits when strong in 
trumps, or when trumps are out, but such 
a ruse must be used sparingly and with 
care. — Arthur Campbell- Walker \L. O.]. 

It is a very obvious ruse, and therefore 
a favorite with moderate players, who 
rarely lose an occasion of employing it. 
Yet it should be used sparingly and with 
care. A trick too often played is sus- 
pected and defeated. In trumps this 
manoeuvre, like all others, is much more 
justifiable than in the common suits, in 
which it is dangerous. — Jatnes Clay [L. 
0+]. 

To successfully underplay, you must 
have a keen perception, and a full under- 
standing of the .situation. * * * There 
is more merit in gaining a single trick — 
by well-judged underplay or any other 
species of finesse — that does not by com- 
mon play belong to the cards than there 
is in winning a thousand games with 
master hands. — C. D. P. Hamilton \L. A.], 
"Modern Scientific Whist. '' 

Suppose you hold ace, queen, and a 
small card in hearts, your left-hand ad- 
versary leads the two of hearts, your 
partner plays six, third player plays 
knave, and you win with queen. You 
now may fairly conclude that neither 
king nor ten is in the hand of your right 
adversary. Your partner may hold one 
or both of these, but he may hold the ten, 
and left adversary the king. If you play 
out your ace, the king must make next 
round. If, however, you play your small 
heart, left-hand adversary, believing the 
ace to be to his left, will probably not play 
his king second in hand. Then if partner 
holds the ten it makes, and your ace still 
is held over the king. This is termed un- 
derplay. — A. W. Drayson \L-\-A\'\, "The 
Art of Practical Whist." 

Undertrumping. — This strata- 
gem consists in playing a low 
trump on a higher one with which 
partner has already trumped the 
trick, the sacrifice being made for 
the purpose of avoiding the lead 



under certain circumstances when 
to obtain it would be more disad- 
vantageous. (See, "Grand Coup.") 

Unscientific Play. — Play in 
which the science of combining the 
hands and making the most out of 
them by partnership is ignored; 
haphazard or ignorant play; bum- 
blepuppy. 

Unscientific whist — whist where there 
is no co-operation, and each of the four 
adversaries strives for tricks — is as near 
no game as it is possible to imagine. — C. 
£>. P. Hamilton [L. A.I. 

Up-and-Back Game. — At dupli- 
cate whist, the original and the over- 
play of an agreed-upon number of 
hands, at a sitting. By the up-and- 
back game (especially at mnemo- 
nic or single-table duplicate) the 
players possessing the best memo- 
ries are sometimes able to gain a 
decided advantage by remembering 
the special features of certain 
hands when they receive them for 
the duplicate or overplay. 

For instance, it may be agreed to play 
twelve hands, " up-and-back." The com- 
pletion of the number agreed on ends the 
play. — R, F. Foster [5. O], "Duplicate 
Whist," 1894. 

Memorizing the hands has become such 
an intolerable nuisance, that many 
players in our leading clubs will no longer 
play the up-and-back game. — Whist 
\L. a .] , September, i8g6. 

Up and Down. — The idea of 
playing long suits not headed by a 
sequence up, and weak suits down, 
is one which dates back to the 
early days of whist. To-day it is a 
principle of play generally recog- 
nized by long-suit players, who, 
when leading from a long suit 
which contains no combination 
from which a high card should be 
led, begin with the fourth best, and 
then shape their play so that, with 
partner's help, the high cards in the 
adversaries' hands may be gotten 



VALUB OF GOOD PLAY 467 VIENNA GRAND COUP 



out of the way. Forced leads are, 
with rare exceptions, made from 
the top of short suits, and the suits 
are played down. This does not 
interfere with the trump-signal, 
which is also played down ( i. e. , a 
higher card being followed by a 
lower one), because it is generally 
made with very small cards, and 
never by the original leader. (See, 
also, ' ' Top of Nothing, L,ead from 
the.") 

Playing strong suits up and -weak suits 
down is based on a fundamental princi- 
ple of the game — that of sacrificing weak 
suits to the partner and keeping strong 
suits in your own hand. This is the un- 
derlying'principle of the "top-of-nothing" 
game. — H. F. Foster [S. C], New York 
Sun, Dece?nberi2, 1897. 

Value of Good Play. — It was to 

ascertain the value of good play as 
opposed to bad that '* Cavendish" 
and his friends, in 1857, undertook 
an experiment which proved to be 
the beginning of duplicate whist 
{q. v.). This mode of play is the 
best test yet devised, although the 
value of good play must also, to a 
certain extent, manifest itself in 
the long run in straight whist. For 
instance, out of 30,668 rubbers, 
played from January, i860, to De- 
cember, 1878, " Cavendish" gained 
in all 4431 points, and Proctor, 
commenting on this, says it is prac- 
tically impossible that so large a 
balance in his favor should be due 
to mere chance. The difference 
must have been due to good play. 
(See, also, " Chances at Whist," 
and "Skill.") 

Varian, S. T. — The inventor of 
"whist cards for practice" upon 
which a patent was granted him, 
June 13, 1893. In that year he be- 
came greatly interested in the mod- 
ern scientific game, and 'especially 
American leads, and made notes in 
a condensed form for his own use. 



These he subsequently published in 
47-page form, under the name of 
"American Whist Condensed." 
Mr. Varian resides at East Orange, 
N. J. (See, " Whist Patents.") 

Vautre, Baron de. — A French 
whist-player and author, whose 
book, " G^nie du Whist," was 
published in 1843. In this book 
he announces that he teaches the 
mode of playing with twenty-six 
cards, and not with thirteen; in 
other words, he inculcated partner- 
ship play, iDeing one of the very 
first to recognize its great value. 
He was a general in the French 
army — it is thought the same artil- 
lery officer who composed the first 
rhyming rules which inspired Dr. 
Pole to make his famous effort 
in English. (See, " Rhyming 
Rules.") 

General de Vautr6, author of a treatise 
on "I,e G6nie du Whist," was promi- 
nent among whist-players, but this dis- 
tinction brought its pain with it. The 
drop of bitterness which rises from the 
midst of the fountain of bliss, seemed to 
spoil the whole draught. He used bitterly 
to complain that more than one of his 
friends declined to sit down at the same 
card-table with him, and the reason 
which they gave was: " If I am your 
partner I get scolded; as your adversary I 
lose." — JV.P. Courtney [Z,-fO.], "English 
Whist." 

Vice-Tenace. — A combination 
of cards which will become a ten- 
ace in effect if certain cards fall on 
the first round of the suit; as, ace, 
jack; ace, ten, etc. So named by 
Val. W. Starnes in his ' ' Short-Suit 
Whist." 

Vienna Grand Coup. — The story 
goes that one of the most celebra- 
ted whist-players of Vienna, while 
playing a game of double-dummy 
in one of the clubs of that city, had 
a phenomenal hand dealt to him, 
which led to a curious bet. The 
deal was as follows: 



VIENNA GRAND COUP 468 WAGBR-SMITH, MRS. K. 





A's Hand. 




B's Hand. 




• 


t^ 


<^ 


J, 10, 6. 




^ 


9 


A, K, Q, J, 


2. 


* 


A, K, Q, 5- 


* 


6, 4, 3- 







A, Q, 6, 5, 4, 2. 
Y's Hand. 





8, 3. 

Z's Hand. 




« 


K, 8. 


♦ 


9, 7, 5, 4. 3. 


2. 


^ 


10, 9- 5, 4, 3. 


(C* 


8, 7. 




A 


8, 7, 2. 


A 


J. 10, 9- 







J, 10, 7. 





K, 9. 





The ten of clubs was turned by 
Z. On seeing the cards exposed 
the gentleman who had to play the 
hands A-B exclaimed, "I shall 
make, with my dummy, all the 
thirteen tricks. " There were large 
bets made on the game, as all of 
Y and Z's suits were guarded 
with the exception of trumps. A, 
however, won, the play being as 
follows (the underlined card win- 
ning the trick, and the card under 
it being led next) i 



.a 


A 


V 


B 


z 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

16 

11 

12 

13 


* A 


* 2 

* 7 

* 8 

Q? 3 

8 «- 
^ 4. 
(^ 5 
V 9 

8 
100 
J 
K 4k 


* 3 

« 4. 

* 6 

3 
6 ♦- 
^ J 


4k 9 
♦ 10 
A J 

C? 7 

2 4^ 
q? 8 

3 4k 
4. 4k 
5 « 
7 4k 
9 
KO 
9 4k 


4 K 


* 5 
A <k 

q? 6 

2 

4-0 
5 

QO 


Q? A 


^ K 


^ Q 


^ 2 


7 
10 « 
J « 


AO 


6 







The key to this problem, interesting as 
liaving occurred in actual play — though 
we venture to demur to the statement 
that the holder of the winning hands said 



he should make every trick as soon as he 
had seen the hands — consists in forcing the 
opposite hands to discard from one or 
other of the suits which seem to be per- 
fectly guarded. A takes out three rounds 
in trumps, then leads his small trump. 
If now second player discards either a 
spade or a diamond there is no difficulty, 
as he thereby unguards the suit from 
which he discards. If second player dis- 
cards a heart at the fourth round he 
equally unguards that suit, but owing to 
the position of the other two suits it 
would not do for A now to lead a heart. 
He must iirst lead the ace of spades, then 
a heart, discarding queen of spades at first 
opportunity. The rest is obvious. One of 
the features of this double-dummy puzzle 
is that it is easy to suppose one has solved 
it when one really has not. — R. A. Proctor 
[L. O.] , ''How to Play Whist." 

Visiting Team. — The challengers 
in a whist match. They must meet 
the challenged team upon the lat- 
ter's ground. The latter is usually 
spoken of as the home team. 

Void. — Having failed to receive 
any cards of a certain suit in the 
deal, a player is said to be void in 
that suit. When he has played all 
that were dealt to him, he is ex- 
hausted. 

Wager-Smith, Mrs. Elizabeth. 

— A graceful and versatile writer on 
whist subjects (chiefly historical), 
and one of the leaders in the 
woman's whist movement in Phila- 
delphia. Mrs. Wager-Smith played 
whist as a child, and was selected 
by three elderly whist-players as 
worthy of their attention. General 
Thomas Besant was her partner and 
coach,, and so well was she drilled 
in the game that she was always 
chosen as a partner by those who 
knew her play. This continued 
later in her search for health in 
Illinois, Boston, Canada, Florida, 
and elsewhere. She first studied 
American leads in Texas, in 1889, 
and joined a ladies' whist club 
there, making the highest score of 
the season. She was threatened 
with loss of sight in 1894, and this 



WAITING GAME 



469 WALLACE, MRS. H. E. 



stopped all whist activity for a 
time. 

Mrs. Wager-Smith organized the 
Kate Wheelock Whist Club, of 
Philadelphia, and represented that 
club at the first congress of the 
Woman's Whist League, in whose 
organization she was also active. 
She wrote and published in the 
Philadelphia Inquirer, in October, 
1896, an appeal to the whist-playing 
women of the city to call an initial 
meeting with the object of forming 
a league. She has given innumer- 
able talks to players, and written 
on the literary side of whist and its 
history for the Inquirer, Bulletin, 
Press, and Times, of Philadelphia. 
She is also a regular contributor to 
Whist. 

Waiting Game. — One of the 

chief forms of short-suit strategy, 
especially when the player holds 
tenace strength; the tenace game. 
Generally speaking, a backward 
game; the game of the weak hand; 
a defensive game. 

" Wallace, Mrs. Henry Edward. — 

Among the many women who de- 
vote their talents to the advance- 
ment of whist, Mrs. Wallace 
(widely known through her writ- 
ings on the game as Margaretta 
Wetherill Wallace) occupies an 
eminent place. She is equally at 
home in prose and verse, and is 
also well and favorably known as a 
whist-teacher. She had played 
whist for twenty years, when, in 
1893, she began its scientific study. 
After taking four or five lessons she 
had so thoroughly mastered the 
modern ideas on the game that she 
wrote her "American Leads in 
Rhyme" (see, "Rhyming Rules") 
to help a friend who had found dif- 
ficulty in learning the leads from 
the books. The rhymes were 
printed for private circulation 



among friends, and subsequently 
found their way into the press, and 
were reprinted in many cities. 

Possessing the gift of versification 
and a ready wit, Mrs. Wallace next 
turned her attention to composing 
satirical rhymes on the fads of the 
day and the idiosyncrasies of mod- 
ern whist-players, always aiming 
at principles, however, rather than 
at individuals. Her humorous 
skits were published from time to 
time in Whist, beginning with 
1894, and were largely copied in 
other journals devoting space to 
the game. She commenced her 
prose writing on the game in 1894, 
in a series of articles written for 
the New York Sunday Herald, and 
in 1896 was asked to take Miss Ger- 
trude E. Clapp's place as a con- 
tributor to Vogue, the latter being 
too busy with her whist teaching 
to continue to furnish articles. 
Mrs. Wallace began by a series of 
very acceptable articles, containing 
a course of instruction for begin- 
ners. She wrote her first article on 
whist for the New York Evening 
Post in January, 1896, and was 
special correspondent for that 
journal at the sixth and seventh 
annual congresses of the American 
Whist League, and also at the first 
congress of the Woman's Whist 
League, in Philadelphia, in 1897. 
She has written a regular weekly 
column on whist for the Post ever 
since the sixth congress, her whist 
department being continued the 
year round. In the summer of 
1897 she wrote, by special rqeuest, 
a series of articles, giving defensive 
play, etc., against the short-suit 
game. She was the first weman in 
the United States who assumed the 
responsibility of writing on the 
technicalities of whist. 

Mrs. Wallace began teaching 
whist, for love of the game, in 
1894, her object being to develop 



WAIvTON, JOHN M. 



470 



WALTON, JOHN M. 



whist in Staten Island (her resi- 
dence is at New Brighton). She be- 
gan teaching regularly in 1896, and 
had thirty-five pupils in 1897. In 
October of that year she organized 
the Kate Wheelock Whist Club, of 
Staten Island, of which she is presi- 
dent. She has also been recently 
made a member of the Woman's 
Whist Club, of Brooklyn. She en- 
tered the woman's pair champion- 
ship contest at the Woman's Whist 
League congress, in April, 1897, 
playing for Staten Island, with Mrs. 
Sidney F. Rawson for partner. 
They qualified for the finals in that 
event with the highest score of any 
competing pair, tied with Boston 
for first place, and lost the match 
by one trick, taking second prize. 
It was the largest whist match on 
record, there being 112 pairs en- 
gaged. 

Mrs. Wallace teaches, plays, and 
believes in the strict long-suit game 
and American leads. On February 
22, 1897, she was elected an asso- 
ciate member of the American 
Whist League. 

Walton, John M. — Second presi- 
dent of the American Whist 
League, was born in Stroudsburg, 
Pa., June 24, 1842. He was edu- 
cated in the Mora\'ian school at 
Lititz, Lancaster county. In 1867 
he was appointed second lieutenant 
of the Fourth United States Cav- 
alry, and retired as first lieutenant 
in 1878, the result of disabilities re- 
ceived in active service on the fron- 
tier. He subsequently served for 
thirteen years in the Common 
Council of Philadelphia, and, in 
1895, was made City Controller, 
which position he occupies at the 
present writing (1897). 

Captain Walton took a promi- 
nent part in the proceedings of the 
first congress of the American 
Whist League, at Milwaukee, in 



1891, and contributed largely to the 
success of that now historic gath- 
ering. " In the debate upon the 
code," says Whist, "he gave the 
closest attention, and was able to 
bring to the aid of the congress a 
wide and varied experience, and a 
judgment that was remarkably 
logical and correct." He was one 
of the delegates to the congress 
from the famous Hamilton Club, 
of Philadelphia, the others being 
E. Price Townsend (president), 
Eugene L. ElUson, and William S. 
Kimball. 

So long as Eugene S. Elliott, the 
founder of the American Whist 
League, could be prevailed upon to 
accept he was annually re-elected 
as the head of the organization, 
but in 1894 he positively refused to 
allow his name to be presented 
again, and the choice immediately 
and unanimously fell upon Captain 
Walton. As the chief executive 
ofi&cer of the League he did much 
to advance the cause of good whist, 
and the sentiments and advice con- 
tained in his annual address, it is 
to be hoped, will always be remem- 
bered and heeded by American 
whist-players. 

Captain Walton has been a whist- 
player for many years. He first 
became interested in the game 
about the year 1870, while serving 
on the frontier. While the duties 
of official life tie him down to a 
daily routine, and preclude his par- 
ticipation in whist events away 
from home, he manages pretty 
regularly to play his evening rub- 
ber (or, perhaps more strictly 
speaking, game) at the Hamilton 
Club, of which he is one of the 
founders and vice-president. Whist 
is his chief relaxation from the 
cares and labors of the day. The 
Hamilton Club House, by the way, 
is said to be the finest in this coun- 
try devoted entirely to whist. It is 



WASHINGTON TROPHY 471 " WESTMINSTER PAPERS " 



situated on Forty-first street, near 
Spruce, and was built in 1889 from 
designs drawn by one of its own 
members — William H. Kimball. 
Here Captain Walton and his fel- 
low-members are always ready to 
extend a cordial welcome to visiting 
whist -players, and here, too, some 
of the most famous of whist-players 
regularly congregate. 

Washington Trophy. — A trophy 
presented to the Woman's Whist 
League at the first annual congress, 
Philadelphia, 1897, by the women 
of Washington. The trophy is in 
the shape of a silver shield, 
crowned with card emblems, beau- 
tifully enameled, and inscribed: 
"1897. The Washington Trophy, 
W. W. Iv., Championship Won by 
Fours." It is to be competed for 
at each annual congress of the 
League, and must be won three 
times in order to entitle the winners 
to permanent possession. At the 
first congress of the League, in 
April, 1897, it was won by the team 
of four from the Trist Whist Club, 
of Philadelphia — Mrs. Frank Sam- 
uel, Mrs. Rodman Wister, Mrs. 
Eugene L. Ellison, and Mrs. Harry 
Toulmin. 

Weak Move. — A misplay based 
on an error of judgment, which gives 
the opposite side an advantage. 
For instance, it is a weak move to 
lead from ace and king with no 
other cards in suit. It is a weak 
move to force your partner, if you 
are weak in trumps. 

The prettiest games, both at chess and 
whist, arise from a ^veak move of the ad- 
versary.— IVestminsier Papers [L + O.} . 

Weakness. — The poor quality of 
a hand at whist which makes it in- 
advisable for the holder to play an 
open, aggressive game; lack of high 
cards and trumps necessary to win. 



Mathews, as early as 1804, said: 
" Conceal weakness as far as pos- 
sible." 

Weakness, as soon as learned by 
the adversaries, must be taken ad- 
vantage of in their play. The strat- 
egy of weakness, therefore, is con- 
cealment, as long as possible, from 
the opposing players, a reliance on 
partner to take the initiative, and a 
readiness to sacrifice the weak hand 
in an endeavor to benefit him. 

Lead to the weakness of your right- 
hand adversary. We have seen fairly 
good whist-players, in great number, just 
fall short of a strong game by failing to 
appreciate the tremendous advantage of 
this truth. — Casszus M. Paine [L. AJ], 
Whist, November, i8g2. 

Weak Suit. — A suit which is de- 
void, or nearly so, of high cards, 
and is very poorly suited for an 
opening lead. A suit may be weak 
in the nmnber as well as the quali- 
ty of the cards held in it. On the 
other hand, a long suit may be 
much weaker than a shorter suit 
containing high cards. Weak suits 
are generally the most vulnerable 
points of attack. (See, "Short 
Suit.") 

_Thereis no information at whist more 
useful than that which tells where the 
weak suits of the enemy lie. — R. A . Proc- 
tor [£. O.] . 

West. — The player who is the 
partner of east, at duplicate whist; 
the fourth hand, or " Z," on the 
first round of a game. 

'♦Westminster Papers." — A 

monthly journal devoted to whist, 
as well as chess and other games, 
"which was owned and edited for 
eleven years by Charles Mossop. It 
was first started in the interest of 
chess, but whist was made its main 
feature when Mr. Mossop was placed 
in control, which was shortly af terits 
birth, the first number being issued 



WHEELOCK, MISS KATE 472 WHEELOCK, MISS KATE 



in April, 1868. The contributors 
were mainly from the Westminster 
Chess Club, which had rooms in 
the Caledonia Hotel, Adelphi Ter- 
race, London, but in the course of 
its brilliant career contributions, 
we are told, also came to it " from 
India, Siberia, Jamaica, Pernam- 
buco, with a host of communica- 
tions from the United States." 
The journal was discontinued by- 
Mr. Mossop, in 1879, owing to his 
entrance upon public ofi&ce, which 
claimed all his time. 

yr Wheelock, Miss Kate. — The first 
woman to teach whist profession- 
ally in America; also, the leading 
whist-player as well as teacher 
among her sex, and a whist author 
of note. She is a native of Green 
Bay, Wis., but was a resident of 
Milwaukee when, in the year 1886, 
she first gave evidence of her re- 
markable aptitude for teaching. 
In response to our request for an 
accurate account of her first expe- 
riences, and her career as a teacher, 
up to that time, she said, in 1895: 

* ' I belonged to a whist circle 
composed of twelve ladies, which 
met one afternoon in each week. 
Three of the members were con- 
sidered good players, myself among 
them, and we soon found ourselves 
in the position of acting as instruct- 
ors for the rest. The royal road to 
learning proved pleasant, and it 
was suggested that we place it upon 
a professional basis. Having had 
more experience in business than 
the others, I was chosen as in- 
structor. At first I refused the 
offer, but later accepted, and was 
fortunate enough to interest my 
pupils. As they began to realize 
the intellectual part of the game, 
they soon discovered it was not 
merely an idle pastime, but quite 
the contrary. My classes multi- 
plied, and soon I had more than I 



could teach. Miss Gardner, of 
Boston, began teaching the game 
in the East at nearly the same time. 
At that time the teaching of whist 
was almost unheard of, as it had not 
been taught for nearly a hundred 
and fifty years, or since the time of 
Hoyle. When it was revived it 
opened up a new avenue of work, 
peculiarly suited to women , so that 
at present there are many instruct- 
ors of whist. 

" My personal experience has 
been delightful. After teaching in 
Milwaukee four years, I began, in 
the fifth year, to devote one day in 
the week to Chicago, and after a 
few weeks discovered that it would 
be wise to permanently remove 
there. My teaching, both in Mil- 
waukee and Chicago, was done 
very quietly, having four in a class, 
and teaching in the home of one 
of my pupils. I taught both men 
and women, having more women 
than men. Within the past eight- 
een months, I have twice taught in 
most of the principal cities from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific, as well 
as in many of the smaller ones." 

On January 19, 1893, Miss Whee- 
lock was made an associate member 
of the American Whist League — a 
high tribute to her skill, as she was 
the first woman so honored. At 
the third congress, in Chicago, in 

1893, she played in one of the 
whist matches with Walter H. 
Barney as partner, and in the next 
congress, at Philadelphia, she 
again played, winning second place 
in a match with Robert H. Weems 
as partner. 

The first one of her tours across 
the continent occurred early in 

1894, and in San Francisco her 
pupils outnumbered those in the 
East. She relates an incident 
which illustrates how her reputation 
as a teacher and player bad pre- 
ceded her. Tired and travel-worn, 



WHEKLOCK, MISS KATE 473 WHEELOCK, MISS KATE 



she reached Portland, Oregon. No 
preparation had been made for her 
coming — and, as she expressed it: 
"I did not know a soul in the 
place; so you can imagine how I 
felt when I found away oflf there a 
club, composed of sixty women, 
called the Kate Wheelock. It was 
the most touching compliment I 
ever had paid me." Many other 
clubs have since been named in her 
honor. 

Miss Wheelock has taught in 
every State in the Union from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, her pupils 
numbering over four thousand. 
After her first California tour was 
ended, she first gave lessons in 
Brooklyn, then in Philadelphia. 
She made a second trip to the 
Pacific coast in 1895, traveling 
from the extreme southern point, 
San Diego, to Portland, Oregon. 
It was upon the termination of her 
stay in San Francisco at that time 
that her pupils presented her with 
the ruby and diamond ring which 
she always wears, while her Oak- 
land scholars gave her a pin con- 
sisting of a four-leaved clover set 
in pearls and diamonds. 

The title of ' ' the whist queen, ' ' 
by which she is popularly known, 
was conferred on her by ' ' Caven- 
dish," with whom she played in 
Boston, during his first American 
tour, in 1893. The great esteem in 
which she is held by the members 
of the American Whist League, in 
whose interests she has been an 
earnest and indefatigable worker, 
will appear from the following in- 
cident. At the fifth congress of the 
League, at Minneapolis, in 1895, 
Ex:-President Eugene S. Elliott 
said: "I was told, just before ris- 
ing, that the ' daughter of the 
League,' Miss Kate Wheelock, de- 
sired me to speak, which reminds 
me that the ' daughter of the 
League' is about leaving us for 



Europe, where she will meet our 
honorary members, ' Cavendish, ' 
Pole, and Drayson, and I move you 
that, by her hands, we send the re- 
grets of this congress that they are 
unable to be present, together with 
assurances of our esteem and sin- 
cere regard." This was loudly ap- 
plauded and unanimously adopted. 
Miss Wheelock delivered the greet- 
ing in due time, and that she also 
made a most pleasing impression 
in England is shown by the follow- 
ing extract from a letter of regret 
at his inability to come over and 
attend the next congress of the 
League, sent by General A. W. 
Drayson: "It would really be 
worth a trip to America to see Miss 
Kate Wheelock, whom I had the 
honor of meeting here, and whose 
intellectual intensity was delight- 
ful." 

Besides the American Whist 
League, the Pacific Coast Whist 
Association and the New England 
Whist Association have also elected 
Miss Wheelock an associate mem- 
ber. She is an honorary member 
of a large number of whist clubs 
throughout the country. 

In the line of whist authorship 
she made her first beginning with a 
small whist catechism, entitled, 
" The Fundamental Principles and 
Rules of Modern American Whist 
Explained and Compiled by a Mil- 
waukee Lady." It was published 
anonymously, in 1887, by the pas- 
senger department of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad, 
and ran through three editions of 
many thousands of copies in the ag- 
gregate. Her next efi^ort was ' 'Whist 
Rules," published in 1896, in which 
her ideas were set forth in a man- 
ner that largely reflected her 
method of teaching, based on the 
long-suit game, with American leads 
and other modern conventions. The 
idea was to supply a book of in- 



WHEELOCK, MISS KATE 474 WHEELOCK, MISS KATE 



structions especially adapted to the 
wants of women whist-players, and 
it met with great favor, so that a 
new and partially revised edition 
was published in the fall of 1897. 

The question, How does Miss 
Wheelock teach whist? is one that 
is of interest to every lover of whist. 
In addition to her pupils, other 
teachers are frequently among her 
listeners, and are always freely wel- 
comed by her. She believes in 
making knowledge accessible to 
all, and always has a word of en- 
couragement for those who try to 
learn, and properly fit themselves 
for the instruction of others. In 
order that an authentic and perma- 
nent record of her method of teach- 
ing might be made, we recently 
asked Miss Wheelock to give us 
her own description, which she did, 
as follows: 

" At present (1898) I teach four, 
six, and eight pupils at a time, and, 
upon rare occasions, twelve and 
sixteen. My method of instructing 
them varies according to their ad- 
vancement. If beginners, I first 
teach them when the trump and 
plain suits are led the same; then 
the rules for the five high cards, 
and fourth-best card lead. After 
dealing certain hands, they are re- 
quired to find the suit and card to 
lead. I always give the reason for 
the rule. After a time the four at 
table begin playing a hand, apply- 
ing the rules they know; and 
then second and third-hand plays, 
and rules for returning partner's 
suit, etc., are started. As my 
pupils advance I give them during 
the lesson, besides the hands they 
deal, a few hands selected for the 
purpose of illustrating some point 
in play which they have recently 
been taught, as well as to begin 
their inference drawing. 

" "With those who are more than 
moderate players I can discuss the 



innovations of the day, not ignor- 
ing the fact that from them some 
good will come; but my advice is 
not to try them until the expert 
players, and those in authority, 
have proven which are trick-win- 
ners. One of the best selected 
hands I have is taken from ' Whist 
With and Without Perception,' by 
' B. W. D.' and ' Cavendish.' It is 
hand number one, with two varia- 
tions. ' ' 

We give the play of the hand 
herewith in one table, without the 
extended comments which may be 
found in the book. Miss Wheelock 
employs the method of the book, 
which is to expose Y's hand first, 
and then show the play, trick by 
trick, with explanations and the 
weighing of probabilities, pro and 
con, as to the cards in the other 
hands. The hand as played in its 
entirety, the first time, shows how 
tricks may be lost through want of 
perception, with out any ridiculously 
bad play. The three of clubs is 
turned by Z: 





A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 


QO 
*Q 
♦ 7 

2 <|k 
100 
7 « 

^ 2 

^ 4 

3 
Q? 9 

J 


KO 
« 4 
^ 9 

Q* 
*io 


AO 


60 
4k 3 
« A 


* 2 
« K 
K « 


6 ift 
8 
8 « 
10 ♦ 


7 
3 « 

5 « 

* 6 

* 8 
^ A 


A t» 


4 « 
9 « 
* J 


J ♦ 

* 5 
<? 8 
90 

9? K 


^ 5 

<y 6 

^ 7 

^ Q 


2 
<y 3 
^ J 


5 


40 







Score : A-B, 8; Y-Z, 5. 



WHKELOCK, MISS KATE 475 WHEELOCK, MISS KATE 



Y has played the hand fairly 
well, and drawn certain inferences 
correctly, but he has failed in the 
higher whist strategy of putting 
his information together with in- 
telligence, and loses two where he 
ought to win the odd trick, as will 
appear when the hand is played 
with perception, beginning with 
the fifth trick, where B leads: 



ai 










_o 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


h 










5 


lOO 


^ 5 


7 


80 


6 

7 


J 
7 « 


*io 


2 

3 « 


90 
8 « 


A 4k 


8 


3 


* J 


* 6 


* 5 


9 


40 


4 « 


5 « 


IO« 


lO 


50 


9 « 


* 8 


J « 


11 


^ 9 


^ Q 


^ 3 


^ 8 


12 
13 


^ 2 

1^ 4 


^ 7 
^ 6 


^ J 
^ A 


^ K 


do 



Score: A-B, 6; Y-Z, 7. 

The second variation, again com- 
mencing with trick five, is as fol- 
lows, B leading, as before: 



to 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 


^ 2 
7 <|k 

<y 4 

30 

100 

J 
<V 9 
40 
5 


*io 


* 6 
3 # 
5 4» 

4k 8 


« 5 
8 * 
10 A 


A ^ 


4 t>> 
9 « 

C? 5 

* J 


J ♦ 

80 
90 

<y 8 

C? K 


7 
2 

<;? 3 
Q? J 

C? A 


^ Q 

^ 7 

(;? 6 


(;?io 













Score: A-B, 6, Y-Z, 7. 

"Nearly four years ago," con- 
tinues Miss Wheelock, "I con- 



ceived the idea of departing from 
the present method of teaching 
whist for beginners. Instead of 
dealing hands for them to play at 
a table, I proposed substituting 
stereopticon pictures, which should 
illustrate my lectures. I feel sure I 
can instruct more beginners within 
a given time, by means of lectures 
illustrated with fac-simile whist- 
hands thrown upon a screen, than 
in any other way. When I was in 
Portland, Ore., in April, 1895, Miss 
Annie Blanche Shelby urged me 
to give the lectures in the club- 
room offered me by the men. At 
first it did not seem possible for 
me to make the lectures interesting 
without the pictures, but I con- 
sented to try, and gave three. They 
were successful, and convinced me 
that the line I was working on is a 
good one. I repeated with success 
the same lectures in Seattle, Wash- 
ington. But it was not until the 
spring of 1896 that I had good re- 
sults in the way of pictures. Being 
new to the photographers, the prog- 
ress made was necessarily slow. At 
one of the homes in Morristown, N. 
J., in 1896, I gave the first talk with 
the pictures, and was pleased to dis- 
cover that, with the colored fac- 
similes of the cards thrown upon 
the screen for the pupils to look 
at, I could get much better answers 
to my questions than at the table. 

" At Providence, in March, 1897, 
I gave the first public lecture un- 
der the auspices of the Athletic 
Club, and the following April gave 
a lecture in Brooklyn, dividing the 
proceeds with a charity which the 
patronesses of the lecture were in- 
terested in. While the pictures 
and lectures were successful, it will 
be nearly another year before I can 
get my plan in full working order, 
just as I wish it. I have it ready 
for beginners, and use it in my 
class work, but I want it for ad- 



WHBELOCK, MISS KATE 476 



WHIST 



vanced players as well. I want one 
hand exposed, and each card 
played on the screen, the trick to 
disappear and another to be started, 
as in regular play. With the little 
time I have at my disposal, it is 
hard to tell when it will be com- 
pleted." 

The idea is a most ingenious, 
original, and important one. It 
promises so much for the better in- 
struction of whist pupils that we 
sincerely hope Miss Wheelock will 
not fail to push it to completion. 
In these days of kinetoscopes, bio- 
graphs, and various other kinds of 
moving pictures, it certainly seems 
feasible to throw the cards of a 
hand upon a screen, in their natu- 
ral colors and in their proper order 
of play. The whistograph (if we 
may be permitted so to name it) is 
the invention of Miss Wheelock, 
and must be perfected for the glory 
and advancement of the game. 
We had the pleasure of inspecting 
her present mode of throwing the 
hands upon the screen, during her 
fall term of instruction in Phila- 
delphia, in November, 1897, and 
while the idea is as yet only car- 
ried out on a limited scale for be- 
ginners, it is extremely attractive, 
commands attention at once, and 
impresses upon the beholder in the 
strongest manner the cards, situa- 
tions, and plays referred to in her 
lecture. It marks a distinct ad- 
vance in the art of teaching whist. 

Miss Wheelock's method of teaching is 
her own; the whist she teaches is that of 
" Cavendifih."— IVhisi [L. A.], July, 1891. 

Miss Wheelock has since earned a very 
wide reputation. * * * She has turned 
out many distinguished pupils, and is 
known by the name of the " whist 
queen."— IVzllfam Pole [L. A+], ''Evolu- 
tion of Whist." 

"Daughter of the league" and the 
"whist queen," as she was first called by 
"Cavendish," are the two names by which 
Miss Kate Wheelock is universally 
known. Her reputation as a woman 



whist-player is unquestioned, and no 
higher compliment can be paid to one of 
her sex than to tell such a one that she 
plays just as strong a game as Kate 
Wheelock. 

The pioneer in teaching the game, her 
perseverance made easy the path for 
others to follow. Her success as a teacher 
is largely due to the fact that she possess- 
es a peculiar talent for imparting knowl- 
edge, added to what General Drayson, in 
speaking of her, calls " her intellectual 
intensity." Her charm of manner, great 
personal magnetism, and simplicity of 
character, are among the attributes that 
have assured her success as a teacher, 
and made her beloved as a woman. 

With a singular modesty in one who 
stands high in the esteem of such masters 
at whist as " Cavendish," Trist, and Dray- 
son, and who is eagerly sought as a part- 
ner, Miss Wheelock claims that her forte 
lies not in playing, but in teaching. — 
Margaretta Wetherill Wallace \L. A.], 
Vogue, January and July, 18^7. 

"Whisk and Swabbers."— A 

name given to one of the primitive 
forms of whist. The "swabbers" 
consisted of the ace of hearts, the 
jack of clubs, and the ace and 
deuce of the trump suit, (See, 
"Whist, History of.") 

Whist. — A game of cards of Eng- 
lish origin gradually evolved from, 
several older games which suc- 
ceeded each other under the name 
of triumph, trump, ruff and hon- 
ours, whisk and swabbers, whisk, 
and, finally, whist. Most diction- 
aries correctly agree with Webster 
and Worcester that whist is so 
called because of its requiring 
silence and close attention. The 
Century Dictionary and some other 
authorities say this is an error, be- 
cause the game was originally 
called whisk, in allusion to the 
rapid action or sweeping of the 
cards from the table as the tricks 
were won. This seeming contra- 
diction can easily be harmonized 
if we bear in mind the evolution 
of the game and the fact that when 
whist was as yet only whisk, it was 
undoubtedly played with the rapid 



WHIST 



477 



WHIST 



and boisterous action which char- 
acterized the latter. But in its 
later development, when whisk be- 
came whist, and was lifted from its 
tavern surroundings, it no longer 
meant whisk, but whist, and was 
no longer played as whisk, but 
whist. In other words, the new 
game required a new name, and 
the new name hit upon, by design 
or accident, was the best that could 
possibly have been selected. It 
meant that henceforth silence and 
close attention were necessary for 
its proper play. And this is more 
than ever true to-day, when whist 
is held by some to be not only an 
art, but a fine art, as well as a sci- 
ence. (See, also, " Whist, History 
of.") 

Rudiments of the Game. — For 
the benefit of the novice we may 
state that whist is played with a 
full pack of fifty-two cards, by four 
persons, two of them as partners 
against the other two, also partners. 
Partnership is determined by agree- 
ment or cutting. If by agreement, 
two players, one on each side, cut 
for deal; if by cutting, the two who 
cut the lowest cards become part- 
ners, and the first deal belongs to 
the player who cut the lowest card. 
Two packs, of different color or 
pattern, are generally used in deal- 
ing, one by each pair of partners. 
This saves time, one pack being 
shufiied while the other is being 
dealt. At the clubs the use of two 
packs is an invariable rule. 

After the pack is shufled, the 
player on the right of the dealer 
cuts, and the dealer, beginning 
with the player on his left, deals 
one card at a time to each player 
till the pack is exhausted, the last 
card being turned up on the table 
at his right hand, where it must 
remain until it is his turn to play 
to the first trick. This card is 
known as the trump card, and the 



suit to which it belongs is the 
trump suit; the other three suits 
are known as plain suits. 

The thirteen cards belonging to 
each player are known as his hand, 
and the term is also applied to the 
player himself; as, " secondhand," 
"third hand," "fourth hand." 
The eldest hand, or player on the 
left of the dealer, begins the play 
by placing one of his cards, face 
upward, upon the table. The three 
other players each play a card to it 
in rotation, commencing with the 
second hand, or player to the left 
of the leader, the dealer being the 
last to play. Each is obliged to 
follow suit — that is, play the suit 
which was led, if he can — the fail- 
ure to do so being known as a re- 
voke, and involving a penalty. If 
a player is unable to follow suit he 
is at liberty to play any other card 
he pleases. The highest card of 
the suit led, or the highest trump 
played, takes the trick. The trick 
is gathered by the partner of the 
winner; the four cards are made 
into a packet, and placed, face 
downward, at his left hand, on the 
table. The tricks are laid one upon 
another, but a little overlapping, so 
that they may be easily counted. 
The winner of the first trick be- 
comes the leader, and the routine 
is continued until all the cards are 
played. 

Inasmuch as the pack consists of 
fifty-two cards, and four cards con- 
stitute a trick, there are thirteen 
tricks in all. A game, in America, 
consists of seven points, and each 
trick above six counts a point upon 
the score, the score being the record 
of the number of points thus made. 
The nearest approach to an equal 
division is six points to one side 
and seven to the other. In such 
case the latter are said to score the 
odd trick. If the tricks are less 
evenly divided the winners score 



WHIST 



478 



WHIST 



two, three, or more points, as the 
case may be. In the rare event of 
either party winning all thirteen 
tricks they score seven by tricks, 
and their performance in such case 
is known as a slam. Sometimes 
players prefer to play a certain 
number of hands during an even- 
ing, or sitting, and to keep a record 
of all the tricks won and lost by 
each side, the side having the high- 
est score winning. Where more 
than one table is engaged in such 
contest, as in a club in which ladies 
and gentlemen meet socially and 
play, prizes are frequently awarded 
to the couple making the best 
score. 

In play, the ace is the highest 
card; the king, queen, jack, and 
ten being also high cards; the 
nine to two inclusive are low cards. 
The ace, king, queen, and jack of 
trumps are called honors, but have 
no special value as such in the 
American game. (For information 
concerning laws, penalties, etc., 
see, " Laws of Whist.") 

After the hands have been dealt, 
arrange the cards in each suit, ac- 
cording to their value from lowest 
to highest, for convenience, and in 
order to avoid mistakes. Then 
count your cards and see that you 
have the full number you are enti- 
tled to. Practice will enable you 
to attend to these little details with 
much less loss of time than is occa- 
sioned by a player who holds his 
cards all mixed up, and is continu- 
ally fumbling them over to see 
what he has. 

The Lead, or Play of First 
Hand. — You are now prepared to 
lead, or to play to a lead made by 
some one else. The opening lead 
is especially important, as it con- 
veys information to partner, and 
largely determines the character of 
the game, whether bold or cautious, 
offensive or defensive. 



Your first, or original, lead should, 
as a rule, be made from your long- 
est or strongest suit. Pole, "Cav- 
endish," and other advocates of the 
long-suit game, particularly favor 
the longest suit, and never lead 
from a suit of less than four cards 
if they can possibly help it. For 
exceptional cases, what are known 
as forced leads are provided. These 
are made from short suits — i. e., 
suits containing three cards or 
less. Some players make frequent 
use of leads from short suits, and 
are known as short-suiters. The 
beginner will do well first to master 
the long-suit game, which is the 
fundamental method of playing 
whist. (See, also, "Long -Suit 
Game," "Short-Suit Game," and 
' ' Strengthening Cards. ' ' ) 

In a general way, we may give 
the following advice: Your first, 
or original, lead should be from 
your strongest suit. Should you 
have six or inore trumps in a suit, 
lead them first of all. Your next 
choice would be to lead from Jive 
trtinips, unless they are low, and 
you have no good cards in your 
other suits. The next best lead 
would be from four trumps, pro- 
viding you have at least two plain 
suits containing high cards. If you 
have none of the above combina- 
tions, lead from your best plain suit 
of five cards or more. Not having 
such, the next most desirable lead 
would be from four trumps, with 
three cards in each of your plain 
suits, especially if your trumps are 
high ones. Your next best choice 
is to lead your best four-card suit. 
If the four cards are low ones, and 
you have no strength in trumps, 
lead from your best three-card suit 
in preference. 

If your best suit was opened by 
your right hand adversary, before 
you had a chance to lead it, lead 
from your next best suit. 



WHIST 



479 



WHIST 



Never lead a singleton as an orig- 
inal lead from plain suits until 
you have advanced far enough in 
the game to be able to set all rules 
aside in exceptional or critical situ- 
ations. In trumps, it is sometimes 
considered permissible to lead a 
singleton if the rest of the hand 
contains very high cards in all plain 
suits. 

In opening your long suit, as the 
first hand or original leader, you 
should lead your cards, first and 
second round, in a manner that -will 
convey positive information to your 
partner concerning your hand, in 
order that he may shape his play 
accordingly. You can do this by 
means of what are known as the 
old leads (^. v.), or the American 
leads iq. v.). The latter are very 
extensively used in this country. 
By their means you accurately tell 
your partner the number and char- 
acter of the cards in 3-our best suit. 
Whist is a partnership game, and 
can best be played by utilizing the 
resources of both hands, each player 
playing not only the thirteen cards 
in his own hand, but, as far as pos- 
sible, the twentj'-six cards em- 
braced in the partnership. The one 
who has the stronger hand takes 
the initiative, and the other assists 
him all he can. 

Having led from your best suit 
you continue to do so unless it 
should be found disastrous; as, for 
instance, if an adversary is out of 
the suit and ready to trump it, or 
partner is weak and right-hand ad- 
versary stronger than you. In 
abandoning the suit you can lead 
from four trumps to prevent adver- 
sary from trumping in; or lead from 
your next best suit; or return your 
partner's suit if he has led; or lead 
a suit opened by your left-hand op- 
ponent, if right-hand opponent ap- 
pears weak in it; or, if weak in 
trumps, as a last resort, lead a sin- 



gleton or the remaining card of a 
suit which has been around but 
once. 

In returning partner's lead, play 
the master card at once, if 3'ou hold 
it; otherwise, indicate your own 
best suit by leading from it before 
returning his lead, unless you have 
but one card of his suit left, and 
wish to trump it. With an original 
suit of three or less, you return 
partner your best, and with four or 
more you return your lowest. Re- 
turn his trump-lead, or lead trumps 
in response to his signal, at the very 
first opportunity, (See, " Trump 
Signal.") 

Play of Second //and.— Second 
hand low is a general rule which it 
is well for beginners to follow, but 
there are important exceptions to 
it. Among these are the following: 
If you hold the master card, take 
the trick. If you hold a sequence 
of high cards, put the lowest of the 
sequence on a high card led. Cover 
an honor led with the ace, if you 
hold it. If you hold king, queen, 
or jack, and one small card only, 
cover an original lead of a nine 
or higher card; otherwise, play low. 
In case a low card is led, play a high 
card if j-ou hold an original com- 
bination from which a high-card 
lead is proper; otherwise, play low. 
The foregoing exceptions apply 
equally to plain suits and trumps, 
except that in trumps a more back- 
ward game is played, as trumps 
win on their merits at any time. 

If strong enough in trumps to 
lead them, were you in a position 
to do so, it is generally right to sig- 
nal to partner. 

If you are strong in trumps, re- 
frain from trumping a doubtful 
trick, second hand, which will be 
understood by partner as a signal 
to lead them ; but if you have but 
few trumps, use them freely in 
trumping plain suits. With great 



WHIST 



480 



WHIST 



trump strength (holding six or 
more), trump in and then lead 
trumps. 

Play of Third Hand. — Third 
hand high is a good general rule to 
follow. On partner's lead of a low 
card from a strong suit, you play 
your highest card (or the lowest of 
a sequence of high cards). There 
are exceptions, however, and 
among these are the following: 
With ace, queen, jack, and low, 
you finesse with the jack; and with 
ace, queen, and low, you finesse 
with the queen. You do this hop- 
ing that the next higher cards are 
on your right, and that if you win 
the trick you can lead your highest 
and probably make a gain thereby. 

On partner's lead of a high card 
you generally play low, except that 
if you hold the ace and he leads the 
ten, you cover with the ace. If the 
second hand plays over partner's 
lead you, of course, try to play 
higher. 

In general you must strive to win 
the trick, if not already secured by 
partner's lead, but take it as cheap- 
ly as possible. Also remember to 
get rid of your high cards in your 
partner's suit, as soon as possible, 
in order that you may not block it 
for him. (See, "Unblocking.") 
It is well to retain a small card in 
partner's strong suit, so as to be 
able to lead it to him as a card of re- 
entry, should he need it in order to 
regain the lead. 

On the second round of a suit it 
is generally safer to play the win- 
ning card than to finesse. 

Play of the Fourth Hand. — The 
fourth player has, with few excep- 
tions, merely to win the trick, if 
against him, and should win it as 
cheaply as possible; if unable to 
take the trick, play a low card, un- 
less calling for trumps. Having 
none of the suit led, trump the 
trick, if against you; otherwise, dis- 



card. The exceptions to the gen- 
eral play for the fourth hand occur 
in advanced strategy, when, dur- 
ing the progress of the game, the 
position of the cards calls for some 
special play; as, refusing to take 
the trick in order to place the lead 
with your opponents, to your or 
partner's advantage; or, playing a 
high card on a higher led to avoid 
taking a subsequent trick for the 
same reason, or so as not to block 
partner's suit. At times, however, 
it may be policy for you to take the 
trick already partner's, so as to get 
high cards out of his way, or so as 
to give you the lead when it is im- 
portant for you to have it. 

Concerning the Discard. — When 
you cannot follow suit, and do not 
wish to trump, or cannot trump, 
you must discard from some plain 
suit other than the one led. The 
general rule is to discard first from 
your weakest suit, unless the op- 
ponents have shown superiority in 
trumps by leading or calling for 
them, when your first discard 
should be from your best-protected 
suit, generally your strongest. Dis- 
cards after the first require skill 
and judgment, and should be for 
the purpose of protecting and 
strengthening the hand as much as 
possible. 

When you are obliged to discard 
from a suit of which you have en- 
tire command, you inform partner 
of the fact by discarding your best 
card. The discard of the second- 
best card of a suit indicates that 
you have no more of that suit. 

In discarding, do not unguard an 
honor, as it might be made to take 
a trick. Do not leave an ace blank 
or bare, as by so doing you may 
block partner's suit or find yourself 
obliged to take a trick when it 
would be better for partner to do so 
and get the lead. Do not discard a 
singleton early in the game, as you 



WHIST 



481 



WHIST 



may need it to play to partner and 
give him the lead. 

Management of Trmnps. — The 
special uses of trumps are: (i) To 
exhaust and disarm your opponents, 
and prevent them from trumping 
your -winning cards. (2) To trump 
in and take the trick from the ad- 
versaries. (3) To obtain the lead. 
(4) To stop a cross-rufif. (5) To 
play the same as plain suits for the 
purpose of making tricks. 

When you are strong in trumps, 
but do not have a chance to lead, 
give the trump signal, or call, to 
partner by playing an unnecessa- 
rily high card followed by a lower 
one. (See, "Trump Signal.") 
When partner signals for trumps, 
lead them at the first opportunity; 
and if you hold four or more, in- 
form him by means of the echo. 
(See, "Elcho.") 

Here are some trump maxims 
which should always be borne in 
mind: 

Force your partner, if you are 
strong in trumps, or he is weak, the 
idea being to enable him to take 
tricks with his trumps, which oth- 
erwise would be lost when trumps 
are led. 

Do not trump a doubtful trick, if 
strong in trumps; use them to ex- 
haust opponents' trumps. 

Force a strong trump hand of the 
adversary. 

Stop leading trumps when an ad- 
versary has renounced, and then 
endeavor to make your own and 
partner's trumps separately. 

Lead from three trumps or less 
to stop a cross-ruflf. 

Finesse deeply in trumps. 

With three trumps or less, trump 
freely. 

Do not forget to return partner's 
trump-lead as soon as possible. 

There is as much art in whist as in di- 
plomacy. — Prince Metternich. 

31 



Whist is a language, and every card 
played an intelligent sentence.— ^/izwzw 
Clay [L. 0+] . 

Whist is a game of calculation, obser- 
vation, and position or tenace. — Thomas 
Mathews [L. O.]. 

Whist, sir, is wide as the world; 'tis an 
accomplishment like breathing. — Robert 
Louis Stevenson. 

The greatest pleasure in life is winning 
at whist; the next greatest pleasure, 
losing. — Major Aubrey. 

Whist is the gentleman's game, the 
scholar's recreation, the thoughtful man's 
amusement. — C. E. Coffin \L. A.}. 

Whist is the best game of mingled skill 
and chance ever devised. All others, by 
comparison, are within narrow bounds. 
—G. W. Peites [L. A. P.]. 

Whist, properly played, is the finest of 
all card games; perhaps — not even ex- 
cepting chess — the finest of all sedentary 
games. — P. A. Proctor [L. O.]. 

Whist, as now practiced, after nearly 
three centuries of elaboration, stands un- 
rivaled at the head of all indoor recre- 
ations. — IVilliam Pole [L. A +] . 

Whist is assuming the position of a 
great social element which Mr. Herbert 
Spencer will soon have to reckon with in 
his principles of sociology. — IVilliam Pole 
[Z. A+l, IVhist, February, i8g6. 

Whist, when scientifically played, is 
essentially a game of inferences, rapidly 
drawn, from adherence to recognized 
leads or enforced deviations. — Frederic 
H. Lewis [L. O.], The Fields Feb. is, 1879. 

Whist, for the majority of players (those 
who neither live to play whist nor play 
whist to live), must ever be not so much, 
a Greco-Roman struggle of intellects as a 
pleasant recreation and amusement. — 
£mery Boardman [^L-\-A.'\. 

A man may play whist for several 
weeks. He will then find it necessary for 
hira to apply his knowledge for three or 
four years before he discovers how diffi- 
cult a game it is. — Deschapelles [O.], 
"Traits du IVhiste" (fragment of chapter 

XV.). 

Whist excludes all thoughts of every- 
thing except itself, banishes for the time 
all the cares, perplexities, and anxieties 
of daily life, and hence becomes for the 
professional man, the business man, the 
mechanic, or the laborer, in a degree 
known to no other amusement, reno- 
vating, refreshing, restful. — Col. IV. S. 
Fur ay. Whist, March, i8gs- 

Whist certainly cannot boast the line- 
age of chess. But among civilized beings 
it is admitted that the simple accident of 
birth should be no bar to social distinc- 
tion. * * * It is the glory of whist that 



WHIST' 



482 



' WHIST 



it has broken through the ties of caste, 
and that it owes its present position, as 
the king of card games, entirely to its 
intrinsic merits. — " Cavendish" [L. A.], 
'TkelWhist Table." 

The simplest aims [of whist] are: (i) To 
bring in either your own or your part- 
ner's powerful suit. (2) To trump with 
one hand and make with the other, alter- 
nately. (3) To establish a sustained 
cross-rufif. (4) Merely to win the odd 
trick in any way, in a close contest. (5) 
To make the early odd trick with the 
least risk. (6) To defeat your opponents' 
attempts to carry out any of the above 
five aims for themselves. — "Aquarius" 
[L. O.], " The Hands at Whist," 1884. 

The following amusing explanation of 
the origin of the word whist is translated 
from a French work 011 the game: "At a 
time when French was the current lan- 
guage in Bngland, the people had become 
so infatuated with one of their games at 
cards that it was prohibited after a cer- 
tain hour. But parties met clandestinely 
to practice it; and when the question, 
'Voulez-vous jouer?' was answered by 
' Oui!' the master of the room added the 
interjection, ' St!' to impose silence. This 
occurred so often that ' Oui-st ' became at 
length the current appellation of the 
game!" — Anon. 

"Whist." — A monthly journal 
devoted to the game, started in 
June, 1891, at Milwaukee, Wis., 
where it is regularly issued. Its 
projectors and publishers were Bu- 
gene S. Elliott, Cassius M. Paine, 
and George W. Hall, who associated 
themselves under the name of the 
Whist Publishing Company. Mr. 
Hall died on October 2, 1891, and 
the enterprise was continued by 
Messrs. Elliott and Paine until 
1896, when Mr. Paine became sole 
proprietor. 

IVkist was the outgrowth of the 
first congress of the American 
Whist League, which was held at 
Milwaukee in April, 1891, and was 
made the official organ of the 
L,eague. It has from the beginning 
prospered under the excellent edi- 
torial management of Mr. Paine, 
who is a firm adherent of the 
"Cavendish" school of whist, in- 
cluding the long-suit game and 



American leads. This has not pre- 
vented him from giving a full and 
courteous hearing in his journal to 
those who uphold other theories. 
His position is tersely stated as fol- 
lows, in Whist of April, 1897: 

' ' Because we have not railed at 
the short-suit system of playing 
whist, some of our readers seem to 
think that we have given a tacit 
approval to that style of game. It 
is scarcely necessary to point out 
the fallacy of such an inference. 
We have but to refer to our answers 
to questions of play under our 
heading of 'Whist Catechism,' to 
show our position; and reference 
thereto cannot fail to convince the 
observer that we adhere in general 
to the conservative principles of 
the game. 

' ' But notwithstanding that we 
approve of and are firmly attached 
to the long-suit game, we have felt 
it our duty to be fair to the short- 
suit school, and so have given its 
votaries equal opportunity to pre- 
sent their arguments and declare 
their faith, because we want our 
readers to gain a full understanding 
of both sides of the controversy, 
and decide the question for them- 
selves as far as possible. In doing 
so, we would suggest to them that 
it is evidence of a higher mind to 
search for reconcilement rather 
than for contradiction. When the 
difference between alternative 
propositions is so small as to leave 
the judgment in doubt, it can mat- 
ter but little which side is espoused. 
Insteadof proceeding in this spirit, 
the expounders of the different 
methods have seemed to consider 
that the two schools are in violent 
opposition to each other, even in 
minor details, and they appear to 
hold it a crime for either to borrow 
from the other. This is all wrong. 
Let us look at the matter a little 
more thoughtfully, and a great deal 



'WHIST' 



483 



WHIST ANALYST 



of tibe contention will be cleared 
away. One has but to read ' Cav- 
endish' to discover that after laying 
down the principles of the long- 
suit game, he deals largely in short- 
suit tactics under the considerations 
of strategy and perception. It is 
our opinion that after the opening 
lead the development should guide 
the play almost entirely, and this 
principle allows a range of tactics 
which is only limited by the al- 
most illimitable combinations of 
the cards." (See, also, " Paine, C. 
M.") 

Very soon after the formation of the 
American Whist League, a monthly jour- 
nal, HOiist, which is devoted exclusively 
to the game, was started in Milwaukee. 
The first number appeared in June, 1891, 
and it has been the vade mecum of whist- 
plaj'ers ever since, being now the official 
organ of the League. It is edited by Cas- 
sius M. Paine, and has so far followed the 
fashion in whist matters, being in its 
earlier years a devoted supporter of the 
number-showing school, and having no 
little weight in confirming the tenden- 
cies of American whist-players in that 
direction.—^. F. Foster [S. 0.], Monthly 
Illustrator, i8g6. 

"When this journal was established, 
now nearly four years ago, a very zealous 
whistman, himself a writer of no mean 
ability, predicted that the venture would 
soon die of inanition, and probably he 
was not alone in thinking that the game 
was of too limited scope to justify pro- 
tracted discussion. It did seem then as 
if a year or two of debate would be suffi- 
cient to settle all disputed points, when, 
since there would be nothing left to quar- 
rel about, Wliist must needs stop talking. 
But we know better now. We know that 
instead of subjects of discussion becom- 
ing exhausted, the horizon of our dis- 
putes is continually enlarging, and that 
our wordy wars ■will never end so long 
as individuals have individual eyes and 
individual \,rz.ra.s.— Wliist \L.A?i, March, 
1S95. 

It was natural, as whist had becom.e so 
popular in the States, that it should be 
taken up by the press. There had for 
some time been "whist columns" in the 
newspapers; but after the first congress 
it was thought desirable to start a special 
organ for iit. Accordingly, in June, 1891, 
there was published in Milwaukee the 
first number of a handsome large quarto 
periodical, entitled, " Whist, a Monthly 



Journal Devoted to the Interests of the 
Game." And on the occasion of the 
second congress, this was adopted as the 
accredited organ of the American Whist 
League. It has appeared regularly since, 
and contains matter of much interest: 
Notices of the congress proceedings; 
essays on all kind of topics affecting the 
game; contributions and letters from 
whist-writers and whist-pla5'ers; por- 
traits and biographies; examples of 
hands and interesting situations; discus- 
sions of difficult and controverted points; 
club news and announcements; and gen- 
erally a monthly repository of whist 
jottings. The advantage of such a jour- 
nal in keeping up the interest in the 
game is highly appreciated, and the 
author of the present work has to ac- 
knowledge much information and many 
extracts from it in regard to whist in 
America. The journal is ably conducted 
by Mr. Cassius M. Paine, a well-known 
whist-player in Milwaukee. — William 
Pole \L. AW, ''Evolution of Whist." 

Whist Analyst. — One who pos- 
sesses th e ability to criticall y analyze 
any whist-play for the purpose of 
establishing its merits or demerits. 
The analytical faculty is possessed 
by all the leading writers on the 
game, and by expert whist-players 
generally, to a greater or less de- 
gree. In England the names of 
" Cavendish," Clay, Pole, Drayson, 
Proctor, and Whitfeld stand out 
prominently among modern whist 
analysts, and the first-named is un- 
doubtedly the greatest England has 
ever produced. 

In America there are many whist 
analysts of fine ability, as not only 
the books on the game originating 
here, but the daily, weeklj^, and 
monthly whist discussions in the 
press testify. Among the names 
which will readily occur to any one 
familiar with the history and litera- 
ture of the game in this country 
are those of N. B. Trist, C. D. P. 
Hamilton, John H. Briggs, Milton 
C. Work, George L. Bunn, R. F. 
Foster, Fisher Ames, John T. Mit- 
chell, Charles M. Clay, E. C. How- 
ell, Bond Stow, Emery Boardman, 
W. S. Fenollosa, and others. Not 



WHIST: A POEM 



484 WHIST AS AN KDUCATOR 



all of these have worked in the 
same direction, not all of them 
agree in their theories, and several 
have distinguished themselves more 
in the mathematical and problem- 
atical side of v^hist than in the do- 
main of analysis pure and simple. 
However, in the group as a whole 
will be found talent sufficient to 
solve any question that may arise 
in whist and whist practice. 

Whist: a Poem in Twelve Can- 
tos. — An elaborate epic which was 
published in lyondon in 1791. It 
was written by Alexander Thom- 
son, a Scotchman, and met with so 
much success that a second edition 
was called for. It gives a m5i:hical 
account of the introduction of play- 
ing cards, and the invention of the 
game; then follows a versification 
of the laws and rules, and a de- 
scription of the play of a hand. 
The author next philosophizes on 
the character and merits of the 
game, and closes with the following 
rhapsody: 

Nor do I yet despair to see the day 
When hostile armies, rang'd in neat 

array, 
Instead of fighting, shall engage in play. 
When peaceful whist the quarrel shall 

decide, 
And Christian blood be spilt on neither 

side. 
Then pleas no more shall wait the tardy 

laws, 
But one odd trick at once conclude the 

cause. 
(Tho' some will say that this is nothing 

new, 
For here there have been long odd tricks 

enow !) 
Then Britain still, to all the world's sur- 
prise, 
In this great science shall progressive 

rise, 
Till ages hence, when all of each degree 
Shall play a game as well as Hoyle or me! 

(See, also, " Poems on Whist.") 

Whisiasa Home Game. — Whist 
in America was placed on a higher 
plane than it had ever occupied be- 



fore, by the action of the American 
Whist League in abolishing many 
objectionable features, especially 
the custom of playing for stakes. 
The higher ideals concerning the 
game which animated the League 
are outlined as follows in an ad- 
dress which President Eugene S. 
Elliott delivered before its third 
annual congress: "It is because 
whist is a great home game that it 
endears itself to the hearts of our 
people, and renders itself worthy 
of our regard. It is because it is 
the means by which our boys may 
be kept under those tender and 
loving influences which, thank 
God, are and always will be the 
distinguishing characteristic of our 
American homes, that whist ap- 
peals with intensified force to our 
zeal and devotion. It should be 
our object to bring this game into 
every home in America. We should 
make it fit to take and keep a place 
there; consequently, we should be 
careful in the enactment of the laws 
by which it is governed." 

Whist as an Educator. — One of 

the surest evidences that whist, in 
its purity, is a game which tran- 
scends all other games in merit, is 
found in the frequency and earn- 
estness with which it is recom- 
mended and advocated as a means 
of healthful and beneficial mental 
discipline, both for young and old. 
In England, during the high tide 
of Hoyle's popularity, it is said 
whist was taught in fashionable 
boarding-schools; and a school for 
the instruction of young ladies in 
whistis humorously proposed in Col- 
man and Thornton's Connoisseur, 
of March 20, 1755. The usefulness 
of the game in another direction 
was jjointed out in an article in the 
Centinel, of October 22, 1757, by 
the editor, Rev. Thomas Francklin, 
who suggested that " the plodding 



"Tf 



484 WHISl 



jR 



'.,,... ,«,,>^j^ecl in the 
of them 
^n<i several 
-elves mor 
d problevi 
■nici iliuu iu the ci. 
/ds pure and simp'f. 
, ::ri the group as a whci 
' >und talent sufficient • 
..-.,. ,wiy question that may ■r' 
in whist and whist practice. 

Whist: a Poem In Twelve Can 
tos. — An elaborate epic which w 
published iu London in 1791. It 
was written by Alexander Thom- 
son, a Scotchman, and met ■wi;ii -io 
much sucg^j*^ tiia^i-^ ;^ecoud e 
was called 

account of the introdiict'ou of plo 
iiig cards, and the invention of the 
game; then follows a versification 
of the l^fitsndCriWQrktfid a de- 
scription of the play 



!ig ibr stakes. 

nnt^erning- the 

■^Hi^ue 

ad- 



, nud fciuiur's lujfh worthy 

,, . regard. It is because it is 

the means by which our boys may 

be kept under those tender and 

loving influences which, thank 

Sai*stiiaWt;-ec'-uci fyiij.-i w^o^'-. -i^C,^ and always will be the 

lEhe IR4t^aolls^-MamIltl^l:4'•4^«i^B0[fcrflf^racteristic of our 

-' "xrican homes, that whist ap- 
1 -ai.s with intensified force to our 
zeal and devotion. It should be 
our object to bring this game into 
every home in America. We should 
The" author next iffrknteri^i-Mosridge^ake it fit to take and keep a place 
the character and merits oi la: ^i-^'-' f^on equently, we should be 



j»^ame, and closes with the follcGusfevuS R^'tna'k; Jr.'"^'^*^™^"^ of the laws 
rhapsodv '^y a ...:.:;» ;r jt; governed." 



■cator. — One of 



.fage iuplay. 
quarrel shi'' 



:ixf. beea tonjf: odd tricks 

1 iiinf.ia scill, to all the world's sur- 
prise, 
*>ii? f-treat science sliall progrressive 



.ence, wlieia all of each degree 
a game as well as Hoyle or me! 

(See, also, " Poems on Whist.' 



V':' 



^Game.' — Whist 

ced on a higher 

rirer occupied be- 



. -; .-.cntal 

i'or 3 oung and old. 

ling the high tide 

of Koyics popularity, it is said 

whist was taught in fa^^hionable 

I • ' ■ . ■ ' ' ' " for 

■: m 
."ol- 

i..iiess 

'jirection 

ole in the 

1757. by 

rancklin, 

%v';i.- ..i.iije>vi;i'. • plodding 



jm 



WHIST AS AN EDUCATOR 485 WHIST AS AN EDUCATOR 



game of whist would furnish good 
heads for the law. " This idea was 
subsequently enlarged upon by 
Sam Warren, in his ' ' Popular In- 
troduction to Law Studies. " Here 
he tells the student that he may 
make his amusement take a share 
in instructing his mind. Whist is 
picked out as one of the games 
calculated to aid in the formation 
of the skilled lawyer. ' ' It can in- 
duce, " he says, " habits of patient 
and vigilant attention, cautious cir- 
cumspection, accurate calculation, 
and forecasting of consequences." 
In his opinion such a diversion as 
whist would constitute to many 
minds " the first and best step to- 
wards mental discipline." In its 
practice would be found ' ' the ef- 
ficient correctives of an erratic and 
voluble humour — very pleasant 
and valuable auxiliaries." 

In this country the value of whist 
as an educator is generally recog- 
nized, and the minds of the rising 
generation are largely benefited by 
private tuition and training in the 
game. But many would go further 
than this. Mrs. M. S. Jenks, the 
well-known whist-teacher, made an 
earnest and able argument in the 
Chicago Inter-Ocean, of October 9, 
1892, in favor of adding instruction 
in whist to the curriculum in the 
public schools, this being, so far as 
we know, the first public advocacy 
of such a course. Mrs. Jenks 
showed how admirably the game 
was calculated to promote the three 
chief aims of education, which, ac- 
cording to President Eliot, of Har- 
vard, are: (i) close observation; 
(2) accurate recording; (3) cor- 
rect inference. In a paper read at 
the fourth whist congress, and pub- 
lished in Whist for July, 1894, P. 
J. Tormey, of San Francisco, also 
advocated the idea, chosing for his 
subject the title, "Whist in Our 
Universities." Whist, in comment- 



ing on Mr. Tormey 's paper, says, 
among other things: "It may seem 
reckless to make the assertion, but 
we maintain and believe, and can 
easily prove, that the proper study 
of whist affords higher and more 
satisfactory mental discipline than 
is obtained by the great majority 
of studies embraced in the curricu- 
lum." 

As a means of cultivating- the percep- 
tions and the reasoning faculties, I have 
long maintained that vi^hist vi^as a better 
means than many of the so-called sci- 
ences. — A . IV. Dray son \L. + ^ +] . 

Parents obtain foreign professors to 
teach languages, dancing-masters to 
teach dancing, that their children may 
shine in society, but never think that 
whist should be learnt like other elegant 
attainments. — "■A. Trump, Jr." \L. t?.]. 

He {A. G. Saflford] has for many years 
advocated the study and practice of the 
game as a means of mental discipline, 
believing it to rank among the potent 
factors in that regard, quite equal to the 
discipline of the higher mathematics, but 
yielding an education of a more useful 
character practically; that is to say, that 
of thinking and acting surely. — C. S. 
Bouicher \L. A.], " IVhz'st Sketches," i8i)2. 

Whist, although a pastime and tending 
to increase social intercourse, is yet some- 
thing more. It brings into action the 
faculties of memory, observation, judg- 
ment, patience, and knowledge of char- 
acter, all of which are necessary as means 
of success in the world; thus whist, like 
some branches of mathematics, although 
not practically useful in everyday life, 
yet calls into action those mental quali- 
ties which every observing and reasoning 
person ought to possess. — A . W. Drayson 
[£+^+], ''The Art of Practical Whist." 

Whist is a game of science, a game 
calling for the exercise of keen percep- 
tion, watchfulness, memory, patience, 
and trust in the established laws of 
probabilitv. It may sound like exagge- 
ration to say that whist is far better cal- 
culated to develop the mind than many 
things at school, yet many a man can 
perceive a real gain to his mental quali- 
ties from whist practice, who would find 
it hard to recognize any good which he 
had obtained from learning how to write 
Latin verses, with due attention to the 
niceties of the ccssura. A course of whist- 
play is a capital way of training the 
memory, the power of attention, and the 
temper; but nine boys out of ten gain 
nothing from a course of practice in de- 



WHIST BOOKS 



486 



WHIST CLUBS 



termining' the greater common measure, 
and the least common multiples of alge- 
braic quantities. — R. A . Proctor [L. <9.]. 

Whist Books.— See, "Books on 

Whist." 

Whist Clubs. — A whist club is a 
club at which whist is played by 
the members of the organization 
and such visitors as may be admit- 
ted under the rules. The purposes 
of a club are to promote and ad- 
vance whist in general; to develop 
and perfect the whist-play of its 
members, and also to promote good 
fellowship. The club is governed 
by a constitution and by-laws sim- 
ilar to those of other social clubs, 
with special provisions concerning 
whist. These include the election 
at each annual meeting of a whist 
committee, whose duty it is to ar- 
range for contests within the club 
and with other whist clubs; to de- 
cide upon points of play and inter- 
pretation of whist laws and rules 
adopted by the club, whenever dif- 
ferences in relation thereto are sub- 
mitted to them; and to institute 
any methods they may deem advis- 
able to promote the efficiency of 
the players. This committee also 
provides playing cards and score 
cards. League clubs have a pro- 
vision to this effect: "The laws 
of the American Whist League 
shall govern the play of this club 
in matches played at the club 
house. The whist cotnmittee shall 
not be called upon to settle any 
questions except such as arise 
under these laws and under 
the rules adopted by the ''club." 
Card-playing for money is invari- 
ably prohibited by provision of the 
by-laws. Many of the American 
whist clubs are also incorporated by 
act of the Legislature of the State. 
Some of them, also, of recent 
years, provide a test for the admis- 
sion of members, in addition to 



their good moral character. A 
committee is appointed on the 
playing abilities of a candidate, it 
being deemed a proper precaution 
in order that only those who un- 
derstand the game shall be admit- 
ted. ( See, ' 'Admission to Clubs. ' ' ) 

Many clubs exist in America in 
which whist is played, but is not 
the main object. These are social 
clubs in which the game forms an 
occasional recreation, or in which 
a special whist coterie is formed by 
members devoted to the game. In 
some of these clubs whist is played 
after the English fashion, with 
table stakes, but no club playing 
for money can belong to the Amer- 
ican Whist League; and, besides, 
such play is a violation of law, and 
if carried on must be done secretly, 
the same as other gambling. There 
are other social clubs which have a 
duly organized whist club as an 
adjunct, and many such whist 
branches are represented by mem- 
bership in the American Whist 
League. The League, at its annual 
meeting in 1897, had a total mem- 
bership of 156 clubs, of which but 
sixty-six were independent whist 
clubs, and the rest social clubs, 
departmental whist clubs, chess and 
whist clubs, and athletic clubs. 
The total membership represented 
by all the clubs was 31,733, of 
whom 8655 were classed as active 
whist-players. 

No other country under the sun 
possesses a network of clubs equal 
to the above, and to them must be 
added hundreds of clubs composed 
exclusively of women, quite a num- 
ber of which already belong to the 
Woman's Whist League {q. v.)^ 
which was organized in 1897. In 
no other country is whist as popu- 
lar and as well played as in Amer- 
ica. Canada has a number of good 
clubs, which are forming an ac- 
quaintance with one another by 



WHIST COMPARED 



487 



WHIST COMPARED 



means of ttie Canadian Whist 
League [q-V.), whicti was organized 
in 1896, and promises to call many 
other clubs into existence ' ' across 
the border." 

Of whist clubs in England ' ' Cav- 
endish" said in an interview, dur- 
ing his first American tour in 1893: 
" In England there are few whist 
clubs — in fact, I only think of three 
organizations formed solely for the 
cultivation of whist. They are the 
Portland Club, the 'Cavendish' 
Whist Club, and the Turf Club. 
Of course, whist is played in all of 
the general social or political clubs, 
but we have no such system of 
whist clubs as you have here. It 
may interest you to know that the 
Portland Club, which I have men- 
tioned, was established one hundred 
and six years ago, and is regarded 
as the premier whist club of the 
world. It now has a membership 
of two hundred." (See, also, 
"American Game," and "Eng- 
land, Whist in.") 

But the enormous increase in whist 
clubs and membership represents but a 
fraction, numerically, of the vast numbers 
unorganized who have been added to the 
army of whist-players in the past six 
years. These constitute the players in 
the home and social circles, and the pro- 
portion of women is greater than men. 
An illustration of this is a whist game, or 
sitting, gotten up in Boston, in February, 
to provide money for the suffering poor, 
at which there were one thousand tables, 
and four thousand players, mostly ladies. 
—Charles S. Boutcher [L.A.}, " Black Dia- 
ino7id. Express,'" March, i8gy. 

Whist Compared With Chess. — 

Chess is entirely a game of skill, 
and as such it is confined to the 
few. Whist combines chance and 
skill in such a manner as to make 
it less taxing than chess to those 
who wish to play a simpler game; 
and yet, in its highest developed 
form, it affords as great a scope and 
exercise for the mental powers as 
chess. In fact, scientific whist, and 



whist as a fine art, require genius 
fully as high as that of the chess 
genius. Besides the element of 
chance, be it great or small, accord- 
ing to style of game played, the 
very nature of whist makes it more 
attractive. It is played with cards, 
in which there is the constantly re- 
curring shuffle and deal, and play 
of the hands, until each game is 
won and lost. It is a game between 
four people, while chess is a nar- 
rower game between two. There 
is the added zest of partnership 
play, with legitimate intercommu- 
nication of play between partners; 
and there is the mystery of the con- 
cealed hands which, despite con- 
ventional signals, fall of cards, and 
shrewd calculations and inferences 
on the part of experts, always holds 
the attention to the close of the 
hand, and frequently presents many 
surprises. It is not difficult to see 
at a glance why whist is popular 
with high and low, with experts 
and poor players as well. It seems 
to fill a universal want according to 
the capacities of the players. 

Many players who excelled at 
chess have given their preference 
and adherence to whist. Descha- 
pelles, the chess champion of 
France at one time, is better re- 
membered by his achievements at 
whist, being generally regarded as 
the finest whist-player that ever 
lived. In this country some of the 
leading whist authors and players 
likewise have won distinction at 
chess, C. D. P. Hamilton and E. C. 
Howell among others. 

The changeableness of the known ele- 
ments to which analysis can be applied is 
one of the special charms of whist, and it 
introduces variety of a kind to which 
there is no parallel in chess. At chess the 
moves are suggested by the application 
of analysis based on inspection; at whist 
the play results from exercise of judg- 
ment, based on observation and infer- 
ence. — "Cavendish^' [Z,. A.], "Card Es- 
says." 



WHIST EDITORS. 



WHIST EDITORS 



Whist is, without question, the best of 
our domestic games. Tlie only other one 
which could lay claim to such a distinc- 
tion is chess, but this has the disadvan- 
tage of containing no element of chance 
in its composition, which renders it too 
severe a mental labor, and disqualifies it 
from being considered a game in the 
proper sense of the word. Whist, on the 
contrary, while it is equal to chess in its 
demands on the intellect and skill of the 
player, involves so much chance as to 
give relief to the mental energies, and 
thus to promote, as every good game 
should, the amusement and relaxation of 
those engaged. — William. Pole [L. A +] . 

Another point which should be im- 
pressed on the mind of the student is that 
there is no possibility of settling moot 
questions at whist by mathematics. All 
the conditions of the problem cannot be 
stated, because the combinations of the 
game are beyond computation. In a 
game like checkers, in which there are 
only twenty-four men, and all have equal 
powers, it is possible to analyze and 
record the results of every possible move. 
This has been done to such an extent that 
ninety per cent, of the games in impor- 
tant matches result in a draw. In chess 
this has been found impossible beyond 
the first ten moves, because the combina- 
tions of thirty-two men of widely varying 
powers is beyond the mental grasp of any 
one human being. When we come to 
whist, with its fift3'-two pieces of various 
powers, and the additional complication 
of the trump suit, we reach the infinite. — 
>?. f. Foster [S. O.] , /Rochester, JV. F., Pos(- 
JExpress, October 24, i8<)6. 

Whist Editors. — The game of 
whist occupies more attention and 
space in the American press than 
all other card games put together. 
It not only has a journal entirely 
devoted to its interests ( Whist, of 
Milwaukee, edited by Cassius M. 
Paine), but many daily papers all 
over the country have whist col- 
umns or departments during the 
whist season. Many of the leading 
players are regular contributors to 
or entirely conduct such depart- 
ments. 

Whist has always received a large 
share of attention in the public 
prints. It seems to have been first 
treated as a regular pastime in the 
pages of the London Sporting 
Magazine, in 1793. "Cavendish" 



is the pioneer among modern whist 
editors, having conducted the whist 
and general card department in the 
London Field since 1864. Next 
came Charles Mossop, who edited 
the Westminster Papers (a monthly 
journal devoted to chess, whist, 
and other games) from 1868 to 1879. 
Knowledge was the next in the 
field, being started in London by 
the late Richard A. Proctor, in 
1881. 

The Australasian, published in 
Melbourne, has maintained a whist 
column for the past thirty years. 
The Indian Mail, Calcutta, gives 
some space to whist every week. 

In this country whist appears 
to have been first regularly com- 
mented upon and written about 
in the Boston Daily Herald, its 
whist department being conducted 
by George W. Pettes, the author of 
"American Whist Illustrated," 
who was also the first American to 
publish an original book on the 
game. 

Early in the nineties, shortly 
after the formation of the American 
Whist League, we find N. B. Trist, 
of American leads fame, contribut- 
ing whist lore to the New South, 
of New Orleans; Fisher Ames was 
doing good work in the Brooklyn 
Eagle; C. S. Boutcher was writing 
graceful sketches in the Easton 
(Pa.) Free Press; John H. Briggs 
was doing valuable work in behalf 
of the game in the Minneapolis 
News-Tribu7ie, P. J. Tormey in the 
San Francisco Chronicle, Milton C. 
Work in the Philadelphia Inquirer, 
and Charles H. Doe in the Worces- 
ter (Mass.) Gazette. The ladies, 
too, were in evidence. Mrs. Abbie 
E. Krebs was editing a whist de- 
partment in a San Francisco daily, 
and Mrs. M. S. Jenks had made an 
enviable record in the Chicago In- 
ter-Ocean, no less<an authority than 
C. D. P. Hamilton declaring that 



WHIST EDITORS 



489 



WHIST EDITORS 



her department, during the year 
and a half that she conducted it, 
contained more good matter for the 
average reader than he had seen in 
any whist column in America. 

In January, 1898, we are able, 
from reports made to us from vari- 
ous parts of the country, to give 
the following brief description of 
the whist situation in the daily 
press: 

Albany, N. Y.— The Evening 
Journal publishes a regular whist 
column, which was established in 
May, 1896, and appears every Sat- 
urday. Howard J. Rogers, the 
editor in charge, is a vigorous 
champion of the long-suit game, 
with American leads. 

Baltimore, Md. — The Daily 
News has a whist department, 
which appears regularly each week, 
under the editorship of Beverley 
W. Smith, an expert player and 
writer of ability. He is a lawyer 
by profession, and upholds the 
long-suit game and American leads, 
■with certain modifications adopted 
by his team. 

Buffalo, N. Y. — The papers have 
no regular whist departments, al- 
though they all publish the scores 
made at local tourne3-s, and other 
whist news. 

Boston, Mass. — The late George 
W. Pettes established the first whist 
department in this country in the 
Herald, six or eight years ago. 
The Herald's present department 
was started by E. C. Howell, the 
noted short-suit author and expert, 
in February, 1897. It appears daily 
and Sundays. The Boston Herald's 
services in the cause of whist de- 
serve to be specially recognized. 
The Boston Transcript also has an 
ably conducted and widely quoted 
department, which appears once a 
week, under the direction of 
Lander M. Bouv6, one of New 
England's foremost players. 



Brooklyn, N. Y.— The Daily 
Eagle publishes a whist column 
every Wednesday, edited by A. E. 
Taylor, one of the strongest play- 
ers in Brooklyn. Robert H. 
Weems, to whom more than to any 
one man is due the great popularity 
which whist enjoys in Brooklyn, 
has been for several years a fre- 
quent contributor to the Eagle, to 
which paper Fisher Ames and 
John H. Briggs also contributed at 
times. Elwood T. Baker, the well- 
known teacher of whist, edited 
whist matters in the Eagle for 
some years, but is now with the 
Standard-Union, which publishes 
a daily column. 

Chicago, 111. — The Chicago In- 
ter-Ocean instituted the first whist 
department in the West, and it was 
in charge of the late G. W. Pettes, 
whose last work was done for it 
prior to his death, March 18, 1892. 
He was succeeded by Mrs. M. S. 
Jenks, for a year and a half, until 
her engagements as a whist-teacher 
prevented her further continuation 
as editor, although she remains a 
frequent contributor. The depart- 
ment has since been in charge of 
John T. Mitchell, author of " Du- 
plicate Whist and Modern Leads," 
who also edits the whist column 
each week in the Times-Herald. 

Des Moines, Iowa. — A whist de- 
partment was established in the 
Leader in February, 1896, and has 
appeared each week since that 
time, with W. S. H. Matthews, M. 
D., in charge. 

Fergus Falls, Minn. — H. M. 
Wheelock writes concerning the 
whist department in his paper, 
Wheelock' s Weekly: "My whist 
column is a rather desultory affair, 
spreading ovit a good deal when I 
seem to have some ideas, and some- 
times disappearing altogether. I 
run it for my own pleasure, and in- 
cidentally because it is a good 



WHIST EDITORS 



490 



WHIST EDITORS 



thing for the interest taken in the 
game here. It has been running 
since my paper started, in Septem- 
ber, 1895. I report the news of the 
Fergus Falls Whist Club, publish 
occasional hands, etc., and, to some 
extent, keep track of what is going 
on in the whist world outside." 

Galesburg, 111. — A weekly whist 
department appears in the Republi- 
can-Register, in charge of J. B. 
Seeley, a well-known lawyer. 

Haverhill, Mass. — The Gazette 
has a whist department. 

Hudson, N. Y. — The News^s in- 
teresting whist department is edited 
by A. B. Chase. Also, the whist 
department in the Sunday Journal, 
which was commenced in the latter 
part of 1897. 

Minneapolis, Minn. — For a year 
or more, up to the time of his leav- 
ing for the far West, in 1897, John 
H. Briggs, considered by many the 
best whist-player in America, was 
a regular contributor to the Jour- 
nal, and his articles exerted a wide 
and beneficial influence. In 1897 
his department was transferred to 
the Sunday Times, in which he 
started a series of articles for begin- 
ners. 

Newark, N. J. — The Evening 
News established a whist depart- 
ment in April, 1896, in charge of T. 
E. Otis, a brainy and able advocate 
of good whist. J. K. Smith, in 
March, 1897, took charge of the 
Sunday CalPs whist department, 
previously conducted by Mr. Otis. 
November 17, 1897, Mr. Smith also 
began a whist column in Wednes- 
day's and Saturday's issues of the 
Daily Advertiser. 

New York. — One of the very fore- 
most whist departments in this 
country is that conducted by R. F, 
Foster, in the New York Sun. It 
was established by him December 
15. 1895. Articles devoted to the 
discussion of moot points in whist, 



with illustrative hands and expla- 
nations of new systems of play, 
appear each Sunday. Problems are 
a specialty. Results of important 
matches, scores made in local clubs, 
tournaments, etc., are published 
during the week, the New Jersey 
and New York games on Fridays, 
and the A. W. L. matches on Mon- 
days. Reflecting Mr. Foster's whist 
ideas, the Sun is intensely in favor 
of the short-suit, or, as now called, 
common-sense, game. On the other 
hand, the long- suit game is just as 
earnestly advocated and defended 
by the New York Evening Post, 
whose whist department has been a 
regular Saturday feature since the 
sixth congress of the American 
Whist League, in 1896. Articles 
now appear on Wednesday also. 
It is ably conducted by Mrs. Henry 
E. Wallace, better known as Mar- 
garetta Wetherill Wallace, an 
interesting and ready writer, who 
is the first woman to write regu- 
larly on the technical side of whist. 
Charles R. Keiley has at various 
times had charge of whist matters 
in the Evening Telegram and 
Herald. The Mail and Expresses 
whist department is conducted by 
Milton C. Work, of Philadelphia; 
the regular articles appear on Sat- 
urday, and reports of A. W. L. 
matches on Mondays. The Com- 
mercial Advertiser has a short 
whist article every Saturday, with 
one of Sam Lloyd's problems. The 
Illustrated American has two col- 
umns every week, with problems 
and illustrative hands, contributed 
by R. F. Foster. 

Philadelphia.— During 1895, 1896, 
and part of 1897, the Evening Tele- 
graph enjoyed the distinction of 
being the only paper in the world 
containing a daily whist column, 
or a weekly whist page. It was in 
charge of Milton C. Work, the 
noted whist author and expert 



WHIST EDITORS 



491 



WHIST EDITORS 



player, and created a widespread 
interest in the game among its 
readers. One of its whist prize con- 
tests, in October, 1896, called forth 
twenty-five thousand answers. In 
the fall of 1897 Mr. Work trans- 
ferred his department to the Phila- 
delphia Press, where it now appears 
every day in the week. During 
the season of iSgS-'gj the Public 
Led^erhad a very interesting whist 
column, which appeared three times 
a week, with Warren A. Hawley in 
charge. 

Portland, Oregon. — Whist formed 
a special feature in the Sunday Ore- 
gonian during the winter of 1896- 
'97. Miss Annie Blanche Shelby 
was in charge of the department. 

Providence, R. I. — The Journal 
established a whist department 
November i, 1896, with William A. 
Potter in charge. It appears each 
Sunday, and is widely read. While 
Mr. Potter personally favors the 
short-suit game, being a successful 
player of that game, his work in 
the Joiirnal is conducted on broad 
and liberal lines. 

Rochester, N. Y.— The Saturday 
whist department in the Post- 
Express, started in 1S96, is in 
charge of W. H. Samson, manag- 
ing editor of that paper, and an 
able and accomplished whister as 
well as newspaper man. He is 
also secretary of the Rochester 
Whist Club, an organization with a 
membership of five hundred. A 
series of articles on whist, by R. F. 
Foster, formed a prominent whist 
feature of the Post-Express during 
i896-'97. Its department runs 
thirty-five weeks each season, from 
November to July. Among the 
special contributions appearing dur- 
ing i897-'98 are articles from Fisher 
Ames, C. D. P. Hamilton, T. E. 
Otis, R. F. Foster, L. M. Bouv6, 
W. A. Potter, and P. J. Tormey. 

St. Ivouis, Mo. — During 1896 an 



item went the rounds of the press 
stating that the St. Louis Globe- 
Democrat had an exclusive novelty 
in the shape of a Japanese whist 
editor. The foundation for this 
statement consisted in the fact that 
Alfred Weiller, the whist editor in 
question, had for a number of 
years resided in Japan. We have 
seen a photograph of Mr. Weiller 
taken in Japanese costume. In 
December, 1896, he was a member 
of the whist committee of the St. 
Louis Office Men's Club. , 

St. Paul, Minn.— The whist col- 
umn of the Globe was in charge of 
George L. Bunn for one year, up 
to January i, 1897, when his elec- 
tion to the bench obliged him to 
discontinue. Under his charge the 
department was one of the best in 
this country, and a veritable long- 
suit stronghold. 

San Francisco, Cal. — The Call 
has a fine whist department, which 
appears once a week, with P. J. 
Tormey as editor. 

Sjnracuse, N. Y. — A. M. Knick- 
erbocker, an enthusiastic and well- 
known whister, edits the whist de- 
partment in the Times, and pub- 
lishes syndicate articles on the 
game, notably Howell's. 

Tacoma, Wash. — The Daily 
Ledger has a weekly whist depart- 
ment, devoted to the interests of 
the Northern Pacific Whist Asso- 
ciation. 

Toledo, O.— The whist depart- 
ment of the Bee was established in 
1895, with Tracy Barnes as editor, 
and continued by him each Sunday 
for two years, when he was suc- 
ceeded by Charles H. Lemmon, a 
well-known member of the legal 
fraternity. Mr. Barnes's whist en- 
thusiasm next found vent in the 
Saturday issue of the Blade, whose 
whist department he started on 
January i, 1897. During the sev- 
enth congress of the American 



WHIST EDITORS 



492 



WHIST EDITORS 



Whist League, that year, he con- 
ducted a daily whist journal called 
Echoes, at Put-in-Bay. It was a 
remarkable undertaking, inasmuch 
as the place is far removed from 
any printing oflfice. It was also re- 
markable as being the first distinct- 
ive daily publication with which 
the League was ever honored. Four 
printers were employed; a new 
press, weighing eighteen hundred 
pounds, was transported to the 
scene, and the paper was published 
in the Hotel Victory, the whist 
type and illustrations being fur- 
nished by the Blade management. 
Five hundred copies of Echoes 
were issued each day and distrib- 
uted as souvenirs. The publication 
made a great hit. 

Washington, D. C. — The Wash- 
ington Star commenced the publi- 
cation of whist notes in connection 
with chess about the year 1894. 
Subsequently Dr. George Walls, 
the editor in charge, disassociated 
whist from chess, and instituted a 
separate column for whist. It ap- 
pears regularly on Saturdays, and 
is followed on Mondays with notes 
of matches and other whist news. 

West Superior. — A whist depart- 
ment was established in the Inland 
Ocean, in January, 1897, It ap- 
pears each week, and is edited by 
Charles P. White, a leading mem- 
ber of the Superior Chess and 
Whist Club. 

Wheeling, W. Va.— The Wheel- 
ing Register has a weekly column, 
with illustrative hands and prob- 
lems. 

Of the editors mentioned, R. F. 
Foster, E. C. Howell, C. R. Keiley, 
W. H. Samson, E. T. Baker, W. 
A. Potter, and Dr. George Walls 
favor the short-suit game. Mr. 
Potter says, in a letter: " While no 
attempt is made to advocate any 
particular system of play, the in- 
tention being to treat everything 



with perfect fairness, I presume 
the general character of the articles 
can hardly escape being tinged 
with my own personal preferences, 
which are for the modified short- 
suit, or 'common sense, 'game. It 
is now about five years since I be- 
came convinced that too many 
tricks were lost by the invariable 
opening of the long suit. A couple 
of years of experimenting fol- 
lowed, and when my ideas had 
boiled down to something definite, 
I introduced the new game to the 
club. It soon became evident that 
nothing short of a knock-down 
argument would convince anybody, 
so the duplicate was resorted to. 
In seventy-three games (one sea- 
son's play) the new game won 
sixty-four and tied two. To-day 
practically the whole club member- 
ship play the modern game. Our 
team has been in every New Eng- 
land tournament in the past two 
years, and never failed to land well 
up in the first division. Yet it does 
not contain a single player of the 
first rank. It seems to me that the 
new style of game is not well un- 
derstood by many of its critics. 
There is not, after all, much differ- 
ence between most of those who 
claim to be long-suiters and those 
who reject the title. One side has 
discovered that a strengthening 
lead is better than fourth best from 
a small-card suit, and the other is 
always ready enough to lead a long 
suit if he thinks he can make it." 

It is due to the press certainly, as much 
as to any other agency, that the cause of 
whist has advanced with such rapid 
strides since the organization of the 
League, and the able corps of editors 
who have discussed whist questions, con- 
sidered whist problems, and have laid 
before the public whist subjects for study, I 
is not onljr to be commended and emu- 
lated, but is something for which we can 
hardly find words with which to express 
our obligation and appreciation. — Presi- 
dent W. H. Barney [/,. ^.], Annual Ad- 
dress before the A, W. L., 1897, 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 493 WHIST, HISTORY OF 



Whist, History of.— Whist, the 
best of all card games, is undoubt- 
edly of English origin. It appears 
to have been gradually developed 
from elements previously existing, 
and to have been the product of 
many minds who added changes 
and improvements from time to 
time. Its early history is very ob- 
scure, and for hundreds of years it 
can be traced only by what must 
be largely inference and guess- 
work, but nevertheless its history 
is fascinating. 

As early as the beginning of the 
sixteenth century, we are told, a 
card game was in common use in 
England, of which both the name 
and chief feature subsequently en- 
tered into the structure of whist. 
It was called triumph, then cor- 
rupted into trump, and its essence 
was the predominance of one par- 
ticular suit, called the triumph or 
trump suit. This game is alluded 
to in a published sermon by Bishop 
Latimer, which he preached in 
1529. Other references to it are 
found in " Gammer Gurton's 
Needle," the first English comedy, 
and in Shakespeare's " Antony and 
Cleopatra." About the beginning 
of the seventeenth century another 
term was added to the game of 
trump, which is also preserved in 
whist, namely, ruff, which was used 
synonymously with trump. Then 
came the giving of certain advan- 
tages or "honors" to the four 
highest cards of the trump-suit, 
and the game was called " ruff 
and honours." This has been 
called "whist in an imperfect 
form." It was also sometimes al- 
luded to as " slamm," which term 
we still retain in the making of a 
"slam." Its next development, 
"whisk," is first mentioned in 
1621, in some published verses by 
Taylor, "the water poet," and 
twenty-two years later, in the second 



(spurious) part of " Hudibras," we 
first come across the word as it is 
now spelled, "whist," although 
both spellings were used for many 
years afterward. 

Charles Cotton, in "The Com- 
pleat Gamester, " published in 1674, 
gives a description of ' ' ruff and 
honours." Twelve cards were dealt 
apiece to four players, the remain- 
ing four cards being left for 
"stock." The uppermost card in 
the stock was turned up as a trump 
card, and the holder of the ace of 
trumps was entitled to ' ' ruff; ' ' that 
is, exchange four of his cards for 
those in stock. The game was 
"nine up," or nine points, honors 
counting, as in England to-day, 
and the call at the point of eight 
was already known as "can ye?" 
In a later edition (1680) Cotton 
gives the first attempt at a descrip- 
tion of whist of which there is any 
record. After detailing the man- 
ner of playing "ruff and hon- 
ours," he saj's: "Whist is a game 
not much different from this, only 
they put out the deuces and take in 
no stock, and it is called ' whist,' 
from the silence to be observed in 
the play." 

This, it seems to us, should solve 
the difficulty of arriving at the 
correct meaning of the word. 
"Whisk" was undoubtedly the 
older term, sometimes also varied 
as "whisk and swabbers," but it 
applied to a crude form of the game, 
and not to whist proper as subse- 
quently played. We believe Dr. 
Pole to have hit upon the right ex- 
planation when he says: "It is 
possible that when the game took 
its complete form, the more intel- 
lectual character it assumed de- 
manded greater care and closer at- 
tention to the play; this was in- 
compatible with noise in the room 
or with conversation between the 
players; and hence the word 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 494 WHIST, HISTORY OF 



* whist! ' may have been used in its 
interjection al form to insist on the 
necessary silence; and from the 
similarity of this to the term al- 
ready in use, the modification in 
the last letter may have taken its 
rise. ' ' 

Charles Lucas, in his work on 
gamesters (1714), also mentions 
" whist" as " a game so called from 
the silence that is to be observed at 
it." Denne, a Kentish antiquary, 
speaks of it as "a game that re- 
quires deliberation and silence, 
which is a word synonymous with 
whist." Dr. Johnson in his Dic- 
tionary, Nares in his Glossary, and 
Skeat in his Etymological Diction- 
ary, all accepted this view. Of late 
years, however, the meaning of the 
word is doubted, because, forsooth, 
the game was also called whisk, no 
account being taken of the fact that 
this was applied to the forerunner 
of whist, and that when the game 
proper appeared it had a right to 
a new and distinct designation 
which should exactly describe its 
chief characteristic. That some, in 
ignorance, or because of custom, 
continued to use "whisk" when 
"whist" had long since become 
the proper word, does not impair 
the validity of our argument. It 
seems a pity that a meaning which 
must appear entirely natural and 
appropriate, should be rejected by 
some modern lexicographers, who 
perhaps have never played a game 
of whist in their lives. For our 
part, we are willing to accept the 
statement of those who lived at the 
time it came into existence, that 
" whist is a game so called from 
the silence that is to be observed at 
it." 

Seymour, in his "Court Game- 
ster" (1734), recapitulates Cotton's 
remarks about whist, and gives us 
the improvements which had since 
been made. The points in the game 



had been raised from nine to ten, and 
the entire pack was used in playing, 
the deuces being taken into the 
hands. These modifications brought 
with them the "odd trick," and 
the method of dealing out the cards 
one by one, instead of "by fours," 
which had previously been the 
rule. Thus the game of long whist 
was born. 

In its infancy, however, it fell 
into the hands of sharpers at the 
taverns and ordinaries where gam- 
bling abounded. When the ordi- 
naries began to be, to some extent, 
superseded by the cofiee-houses, a 
change for the better came over the 
game, and it was gradually admit- 
ted into more intellectual gather- 
ings. The gentlemen who fre- 
quented the Crown Coflfee-House, 
in Bedford Row, took it up, and 
began its systematic study and fur- 
ther improvement. Among their 
number was the first Lord Folke- 
stone (see, "Folkestone"), who 
took a deep interest in it, and drew 
up some rules for the guidance of 
the players. Then Edmond Hoyle 
{q. V.) appeared on the scene. It is 
thought by some that he was one 
of the players at the Crown CoflFee- 
House. At any rate, he gave a tre- 
mendous impetus to the game, 
devoting his entire time to its intro- 
duction among the better classes by 
means of lessons which he gave in 
private, and especially by the pub- 
lication of his celebrated treatise in 
1742. Hoyle had a genius for the 
game, and was universally recog- 
nized as its great authority. His 
book was translated into other lan- 
guages, and thus the knowledge of 
whist was spread among intellectual 
coteries on the continent, and espe- 
cially in France, where it soon 
numbered among its votaries the 
most celebrated men of the times. 
France also produced, later on, the 
greatest whist-player the world has 



Whist, history of 



495 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 



ever seen, M. Deschapelles, who 
published his elaborate treatise ou 
the laws of the game in 1839. It 
may be mentioned in passing that 
while a game bearing the name of 
"triomphe" had been played in 
France and elsewhere, as early as 
the sixteenth century, it was not 
the same as the ancient English 
game of triumph, or trump, but re- 
sembled ^carte. "Whist must, there- 
fore, be considered entirely of Eng- 
lish origin, with Folkestone and 
Hoyle as its first great lights. Hoyle 
had two excellent successors, Paj-ne 
and Mathews, who continued his 
work very intelligently and ably by 
means of their published works. 

The future of whist was now se- 
cure. It had been taken up with 
enthusiasm by the better classes, 
and made its wa}' even into royal 
circles. At Bath, the famous water- 
ing place, it held sway as the fash- 
ionable amusement for many years, 
and numerous improvements in the 
details of the game were made there 
by clever plaj^ers. One curious cir- 
cumstance must be noted in this 
connection. While whist was not 
essentially a gambling game, yet at 
the outset it was used for gambling 
purposes in the taverns. And when 
brought into more intellectual sur- 
roundings, with wealth and fashion 
at its feet, it was again subjected to 
the same humiliating experience, 
an experience from which it has 
not yet recovered in the old world. 
Playing for money was carried to 
excess in the eighteenth and early 
part of the nineteenth century, and 
whist, fascinating whist, which 
needs no other aids to lend so- 
called interest to it when properly 
played, was again made to suffer. 
So determined were the gamesters 
to make use of it that they did not 
hesitate to mutilate it for their pur- 
poses, in order that money might 
be made to circulate more rapidly. 



This incident gave rise to another 
important change in the character 
of the game. Short whist was what 
the new product was called, and it 
consisted in cutting the old game 
just in half, five points instead of 
ten being now played. But the 
honors were counted at their full 
value, the same as in the old game, 
and thus the element of chance was 
greatly increased, making it pos- 
sible for two players, with good 
luck in drawing cards, to go out in 
one hand, for if thej held the four 
honors between them it counted 
four points, and they only needed 
to make another point by cards. 
It may be that the old game of ten 
points was too long. If so, the 
American idea of seven points, but 
without counting honors at all, is a 
more rational compromise, for it 
encourages skill and does away 
with stakes and gambling. 

We come now to what has been 
aptly termed the philosophical era 
of whist, the period beginning with 
the works of "Cavendish," and 
Clay, and Pole. In this period the 
old Hoyle game underwent a more 
modem scientific determination. 
Its theoretical principles were 
firmly established, and some alter- 
ations in its practical structure 
necessarily followed. The first 
impetus to the new movement ap- 
pears to have been given by Dr. 
Pole's suggestion, in Macniillan's 
Magazine for December, 1861, that 
"it would be a great boon if some 
good authority would publish a set 
of model games at whist, with ex- 
planatory remarks, such as are 
found so useful in chess, for ex- 
ample." Henry Jones ("Caven- 
dish") had in his possession the 
notes of the " Little Whist School," 
which had met for a number of 
years for the purpose of studying 
the game, discussing interesting 
hands, and writing down particu- 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 496 WHIST, HISTORY OF 



lars concerning the same. After 
considerable correspondence with 
Dr. Pole, Mr. Jones published, in 
1862, his " Principles of Whist, 
Illustrated by Means of Hands 
Played Completely Through." 
Two years later James Clay issued 
his celebrated treatise on "Short 
Whist," and in the two works the 
chief improvements which had re- 
sulted from scientific investigations 
and long practice were now given 
to the world. To complete the 
good work Dr. Pole published his 
"Theory of the Modern Scientific 
Game of Whist," in December, 
1864. It showed that there was at 
the bottom of the rules of whist a 
deeper-lying idea than had been yet 
suspected. He pointed out and 
established the fundamental prin- 
ciples of the great game. He em- 
phasized the value and importance 
of partnership play, and showed 
that the most efficient manner in 
which to carry it on was by means 
of the long suit, to the establish- 
ment and bringing in of which all 
the energies of the players must 
be bent. Information between 
partners was a necessity in order 
that they might be able to play 
both hands practically as one, and 
this information was conveyed by 
means of legitimate signals made 
by conventional play of the cards. 
For this purpose the trump signal 
(invented in 1834) was taken up, 
and became the nucleus of an 
elaborate system of leads and in- 
ferences, culminating in the Amer- 
ican leads, which were promulgated 
by "Cavendish" in 1884, and by 
him named in honor of his fellow- 
worker, N. B. Trist, of New Or- 
leans, to whom the credit of their 
'■^^i crystalization has been freely 
awarded. 

Nowhere has whist ever enjoyed 
the popularity which has of recent 
years fallen to its lot in America. 



Here, from the inception of the 
modern game, the works of " Cav- 
endish," Pole, Clay, and others 
have had a wider circulation than 
at home, as is testified to by some 
of the writers themselves, and the 
result has been that whist in the 
new world has outstripped in inter- 
est and extent the whist of merry 
England and the continent. Un- 
hampered by old-world conserva- 
tism, the American players have 
been open to the reception of new 
ideas and improvements. Thus 
English authors of progressive 
ideas have found themselves more 
widely read and appreciated abroad 
than at home. This great activity 
in American whist circles led to the 
formation of the American Whist 
League {q. v.), at Milwaukee, in 
1891, and to the enactment of a 
new code of laws from which the 
objectionable features of the Eng- 
lish code were omitted. Seven- 
point whist, without counting hon- 
ors, each game complete in itself, 
without any reference to rubbers or 
rubber points, and the expre&s pro- 
hibition of playing for stakes, are 
some of the features of the Ameri- 
can game, whose definition and re- 
cognition by the great mass of 
players in the new world marked 
another era in whist history. Whist 
for its own sake, with chance elimi- 
nated as far as possible, and skill 
brought up to its highest develop- 
ment, is the new motto, and to this 
end dupli<;ate whist {q. v.) was also 
welcomed and made popular in the 
United States. First practically de- 
monstrated by "Cavendish" and 
his friends in 1857, greatly im- 
proved by James Allison, of Glas- 
gow, Scotland, thirty years later, 
and perfected in the United States 
shortly after by John T. Mitchell, 
Cassius M. Paine, and others, du- 
plicate whist forms one of the most 
important pillars in the American 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 497 WHIST, HISTORY OF 



game of skill. There may be dif- 
ferences of opinion whether the 
long-suit game of "Cavendish" 
and Pole affords the best mode of 
strategy for all hands; there may be 
heated arguments to show that 
American leads, and all other in- 
formatory devices, are a hindrance 
instead of a help to good whist; 
but when it comes to duplicate 
there can be but one opinion, and 
that a most favorable one. At the 
present writing (January, 1898) a 
committee has just been appointed 
by the president of the American 
Whist League for the purpose of 
further revising the laws of dupli- 
cate whist. It is proposed to have 
a code complete in itself, and not, 
as heretofore, a series of special 
laws, in connection with which it 
is necessary to consult the code of 
straight whist. Action is to be 
taken upon the committee's report 
at the next annual congress, in Bos- 
ton, July, 1898. 

While the outlook for whist at the 
close of the nineteenth century is 
not as bright in England as it might 
be, owing to the unsettled condition 
of mind into which advanced whist 
ideas have plunged British whist- 
players, in America enthusiasm in 
behalf of the game is ever on the 
increase. This, notwithstanding the 
differences of opinion which exist 
here as well as abroad, in regard to 
systems of play, although out of the 
war of words which has been and 
still is raging there promises to come 
forth a more symmetrical, well-bal- 
anced, and harmonious game. True, 
the short-suit advocates are as firmly 
convinced as ever that the long-suit 
game is a losing one, and their sen- 
timents are radically expressed by 
R. F. Foster, in the New York Sun 
of December 26, 1897, as follows: 

" The boast of the long-suit 
school is that they make a double- 
dummy problem of the last few 

32 



tricks in every hand, and the chief 
object of the previous play is to en- 
able the partner to count the hands 
so accurately that this problem may 
be correctly solved. The boast of 
the short-suit school is that the 
game is over before the dummy 
problem comes along, and that, 
while the long-suiters are placing 
the cards, the short-suiters are win- 
ning the tricks. To the common- 
sense player, the first few tricks in 
every hand present a perception 
problem of absorbing interest, and 
the object of the partners is to di- 
vine as rapidly as they can what is 
possible with their cards, and what 
is improbable. The long-suiter 
makes the first eight tricks^ a me- 
chanical routine, and then lays 
down his hand and studies for sev- 
eral minutes over his dummy prob- 
lem in the ending, in the solution of 
which he hopes to get back one or 
two of the tricks that he sees he 
has lost by a bad opening. The 
common-sense player does not wait 
until the hand is almost over, and 
the adversaries know all about it. 
His ambition is to arrive at the gen- 
eral value of the hands at the ear- 
liest possible moment, so that he 
may decide whether to run for his 
life or to lie in ambush. He prides 
himself on his ability to judge, be- 
fore three tricks are played, where 
the strength or weakness lies. That 
is the difference between the sys- 
tems. The one dawdles along for 
eight or nine tricks, and then 
wearies his heart and brain over a 
problem which he is often unable 
to solve. The other makes a per- 
ception problem of the first two or 
three tricks, and then jumps into 
the thick of the fight, and thor- 
oughly enjoys himself during the 
scrimmage of the remaining nine 
or ten." 

The never-fading glories of the 
long suit are just as firmly upheld 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 498 WHIST, HISTORY OF 



by the other side. L. M. Bouve 
says, in the Boston Transcript: 
" Nothing demonstrates more con- 
clusively the strength of the 
straightforward long-suit game 
than does the uniformly good re- 
sult obtained by this method, by 
players of little or no previous ex- 
perience together. One of the 
most enjoyable sessions at whist 
experienced by the writer, was a re- 
cent short game of twelve boards 
of ' mnemonic' or single table du- 
plicate, with a member of the Prov- 
idence Whist Club as a partner. 
Knowing his visitor to be a firm 
believer in American leads, etc. , it 
was not necessary to propound nu- 
merous questions as to the style of 
game to be played — it was sufficient 
to know simply whether the three- 
trump or the four-trump echo was 
to be used. Although these two 
had never played a hand together, 
during the two hours of play not 
a single misunderstanding arose, 
and the score sheet showed a loss 
of only three singles, while a total 
of nine tricks had been gained, 
and that against two strong players 
of considerable experience as part- 
ners. Two of the singles lost were 
due entirely to differences in open- 
ings, and the third was through no 
fault of the long-suit system. As 
an original lead not a single short 
suit was opened. One card, possi- 
bly two, in a long suit would be 
established, and at times brought 
in. No attempts were made to ac- 
complish the impossible, especially 
in the management of trumps. 
The advantages of being able to 
regulate the play in accordance 
with the absolute information fur- 
nished by partner, were constantly 
apparent. Under similar condi- 
tions it requires very few deals to 
be played in order to establish that 
degree of confidence which in- 
sures highly satisfactory results." 



H. J. Rogers, in the Albany 
Jotcrnal, says : ' ' The test of a sys- 
tem is by actual play, not by post- 
mortems. Most any of us would 
concede that played double-dummy 
as many deals in a thousand would 
show an advantage for short- 
suit leads as for long-suit leads. 
But whist is not played that way. 
I recall umpiring an A. W. L. tro- 
phy match about a year ago, where 
a team of ultra short-suiters were 
against the Albanys. And I recall 
particularly one section of eight 
hands, where two of the keenest 
whist-players in America (Keiley 
and Hawkins) were at table one. 
And at the end of every deal there 
was a bickering between them as to 
how much more they might have 
made. ' If 5'ou had come with a 
heart at such a time,' or, 'if you 
had kept off spades,' or, 'if 3'ou 
hadn't gone up on that card,' etc., 
etc., where there wasn't one thing 
under the light of heaven to indi- 
cate which way they should do. 
But they generally consoled them- 
selves with the thought that ' their 
system,' perfectly played, would 
have given them another trick or 
two, if their brains had only been 
equal to the emergency of locating 
the cards during the plaj^ as accu- 
rately as after it. It seemed to me 
at the time — and I have never had 
occasion to change my opinion — 
that the non-informatory game was 
theoretically very pretty, if it 
would only give some more infor- 
mation. But as at present consti- 
tuted it affords too many opportu- 
nities for wild leaps in the dark, 
and too many chances to abuse 
your partner for not knowing what 
can't be known. The long-suit sys- 
tem withstood triumphantly the 
test of actual play last season. The 
Albany Club held the A. W. L. 
trophy for eight successive con- 
tests against teams of all descrip- 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 



499 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 



tions, and with all varieties of sys- 
tems, and when they lost it, they 
lost it to another long-suit team, 
the Hamiltons, who played better 
whist, and who held the trophy un- 
til the season ended. Evidence of 
this nature outweighs a thousand 
paper deals, averaging ' a swing of 
five tricks for the common-sense 
game.' " 

And "how about the short-suiters 
themselves?" asks Mrs. Wallace, 
in the New York Evening Post. 
"Have they not given arbitrary 
meanings to certain cards? What 
possible scientific reason can they 
give for leading the small cards of a 
suit to show trump strength? And 
would not any uninformed pla5-er 
who met a team using this method 
be at the same disadvantage as 
those who did not understand ro- 
tary discards, calls through the 
honor, and so forth?" 

Fisher Ames, in Whist, sum- 
ming up the situation, sa3^s: "Dif- 
ferent leads from the same hand 
often change the result; that must 
be conceded; but in the first place, 
that is manifestly a question of 
luck, and secondly, the differences 
from different leads are much less 
than one would suppose. In a 
large majority of the deals where 
there have been large ' swings,' the 
differences are due to the bringing 
in of a long suit where the other 
side have held a slight preponder- 
ance or nearly equal amount of 
trump strength, which by a judi- 
cious or lucky force has been ren- 
dered unavailing to stop the suit. 

' ' So far as they go they seem to 
me to support the long-suit theory. 
In fact, the new systems have not 
accomplished anything worth not- 
ing. The brief successes they had 
while new were chiefly due to the 
failure of the adversaries to under- 
stand them. Good hard whist is 
the prime factor, after all. The 



theory of the invitation lead is very 
pretty, but it often fails to work. 
satisfactorily. The lead of a low 
card for the purpose of inviting a 
lead through an honor turned may 
work well, but unless partner can 
win the first trick it may and often 
does work badly. The leader is 
too often tempted to delay an im- 
mediate trump lead when proper 
for the sake of the invitation, and 
loss results. 

"Trump-showing leads every 
now and then come up as new 
ideas, and supposed trick-winning 
devices. But they soon disappear 
again — as soon as learned b}' the 
other side. In regard to them it is 
perfectly safe to assume it to be an 
axiom of whist, almost as binding 
as an axiom of geometry, that any 
S5'stem which proclaims weakness 
in trumps (as these systems must) 
is disadvantageous. 

"'Common-sense' whist is an 
excellent term, if it be understood 
to mean playing the game in a 
common-sense way, v,-atching and 
noting the cards, drawing good, 
sound inferences, and shrewd man- 
agement of the hands held between 
partners. Relying on an artificial 
system as the main thing, whether 
American leads, short suits, or any 
other, is not common sense. It 
seems to me uncommon nonsense. 

"After watching these new sys- 
tems for these several 3'ears, I have 
not seen an}^ system which, in my 
judgment, is superior to the Ameri- ' 
can leads system, as the general 
basis for the play of the hand. But 
any system, and all systems, apply 
almost exclusively to the original 
lead of the hand merely, and the 
result must in almost every case be 
largely a matter of luck so far as 
the first lead is concerned. After 
that the plaj-er must adapt his play 
to the conditions developed by the 
cards shown, and the result should, 



WHIST, HISTORY OF 500 



WHIST IN ART 



if the element of luck could be 
eliminated, depend upon the most 
skillful common-sense management 
of the cards. I say, if the element 
of luck can be eliminated; but I 
am convinced, however, that it can- 
not be. One who has followed the 
recorded plays for the last few 
years, must, I think, be entirely 
satisfied that luck has very much to 
do with the result, very much more 
than was supposed to be possible 
when duplicate whist was first in- 
vented. ' ' 

Notwithstanding the firmness 
displayed by each side in maintain- 
ing its position, the examination of 
published hands reveals the fact 
that more liberal ideas prevail in 
whist everywhere. The long-suit 
game is not invariably confined to 
the opening lead from the longest 
suit. Exceptional hands and sit- 
uations are treated in an excep- 
tional manner. In other words, 
the provisions for forced leads 
made by "Cavendish," Pole, and 
all the masters of the long-suit the- 
ory, but temporarily lost sight of 
in the general admiration excited 
by the long-suit game, have been 
resurrected and are being applied. 
Some apply them more liberally 
than others, but in the main the 
long-suit game, with American 
leads, modified in respect to the 
queen-leads, etc., by some players, 
forms the whist of the vast major- 
ity to-day. ( See, also, " Long-Suit 
Game," and "Short-Suit Game.") 

Whist has made srreat progress in the 
last two decades. The general tendency 
of improvement has been toward defin- 
ing and generalizing the principles inhe- 
rent to the game, with the result of 
systematizing the play, which, in turn, 
has assisted to further the interests of the 
combination of partnership hands, which 
Dr. Pole justly considers to be the broad 
fundamental principle on which the mod- 
ern scientific game is based. — N. B. Trist 
[L. A.], Harper's Magazine, March, i8gi. 

In its original state whist was a four- 
handed game, iu which, in admitting 



only the hierarchy of the cards in their 
order and class, two players were 
matched against two others to decide 
which party should gain the greater 
number of tricks. * * * It was not 
until it had passed its infancy, and had 
attained the mature age of manhood, that 
it was invested with the additional charm 
of the trump, and received successively 
those other attractive accessories — the 
honors, the call, etc. — Deschapelles [C], 
'^Laws," Section^. 

The game of whist is substantially the 
product of English soil, and its gradual 
development during more than two cen- 
turies, until it has all but arrived at ma- 
turity, is mainly due to British talent. 
From England it was carried, about a 
hundred and sixty years ago, iiito the 
centres of Parisian life, and the diplomat- 
ists and financiers from other countries 
who resorted to that capital became sub- 
ject to its influence, and introduced it 
into the cities of their own lands. Its 
sway as the chief game at cards quickly 
reached all over Europe, even to the 
steppes of Russia, and held captive all 
classes of social life. The colonists who 
emigrated to America and Australia car- 
ried the game into even more remote dis- 
tricts, and during the last quarter of a 
century many varieties of play have been 
brought back to England from the thriv- 
ing towns in the northwest provinces of 
the United States. It has now estab- 
lished its supremacy in every land inhab- 
ited by European nations or their de- 
scendants, and it may even be endowed 
with sufficient vitality for the conquest 
of future ages. — William Prideaux Court- 
ney [Z-hO.], ''English Whist," 1894. 

Whist Fn Art. — It would be inter- 
esting to know just how many 
times whist has formed the theme 
of the artist's brush, and a collec- 
tion of whist pictures would be a 
unique and fascinating hobby for 
some wealthy lover of the game. 
Among the well-known English 
artists who are known to have de- 
voted their talents to an occasional 
representation of which whist-play- 
ers formed the theme, was Gillray, 
the great caricaturist. Plis picture, 
dated January 11, 1796, of four 
players, two men and two women, 
immersed in "twopenny whist," 
was much admired. In 1788 he 
represented Sir Joseph Mawbey, 
and three of his associates in Par- 



WHIST IN COLI.EGES 501 WHIST IN COLLEGES 



liament, at a political game of 
whist. Another whist picture, by 
Rowlandson, entitled, ' ' A Snug 
Rubber; or, Playing for the Odd 
Trick, ' ' was also very popular. 

Whist in Colleges and Univer- 
sities. — It is but natural that a 
highly intellectual game like whist 
should, for over a century, have 
found favor among the students in 
colleges and universities, and not 
only among the students, but 
among the faculty as well. We are 
told that as early as 1758 it had be- 
come a fit recreation for university 
men, in England. In No. 33 of 
the Taller, the senior fellow of a 
college, at Cambridge, describes 
himself and his party as ' ' sitting 
late at whist in the evening." It 
was a group of English college men 
who, in the middle of the present 
century, formed what was subse- 
quently called the " Little Whist 
School" [q. v.), which gave to 
whist a scientific impetus such as it 
had never known before. 

In America the game has like- 
wise fared well in the past, at the 
hands of the studiously inclined, 
and to-day it is meeting with an 
ever-inci'easing and enthusiastic 
welcome in our institutions of 
learning. While it does not yet, 
as some of its most devoted admir- 
ers would like to see it, form a part 
of the college curriculum, it cer- 
tainly must be admitted to exert a 
great and beneficial influence upon 
the mental training of the students. 
It is a notable fact, also, that many 
of the leading whist experts of this 
countrj' learned the game during 
their college years. 

Gi'eat whist activity has for a 
number of years prevailed at Har- 
vard and Yale, and local tourna- 
ments, as well as inter-collegiate 
whist matches, have been the re- 
sult. This is a natixral outcome of 



the organization of the American 
Whist League, in 1891, which 
brought into existence many new 
clubs throughout the country, and 
gave rise to the now all-prevailing 
match-play between whist organi- 
zations. 

The first match between Harvard 
and Yale was plaj-ed Ma}^ 4, 1895. 
For two 5'ears previous to this time, 
whist tournaments had been held 
at Cambridge, Mass., under the 
auspices of the Harvard Chess and 
Whist Club. As the chess element 
largely predominated in this club, 
a movement in favor of a new club, 
entirely devoted to whist, was in- 
augurated by C. D. Booth and W. 
T. Denison, who had attained a 
leading position as players in the 
tournaments. In order to arouse 
interest in the new club, and give 
it a prestige which the old one 
never had, they planned a match 
with Yale, and Mr. Booth finally 
opened up a correspondence on the 
subject. Asa result, E. W. Hobart, 
of Yale (class of '95), met Messrs. 
Booth, Denison, and E. W. R5'er- 
son at Cambridge, February 22, 
1895, when a provisional agreement 
for a match between the two uni- 
versities was drawn up. The Har- 
vard men wished to have each side 
represented by eight players, but 
Mr. Hobart preferred to have only 
six, and his view finally prevailed. 
The next thing was to devise a plan 
whereby the players might be en- 
gaged in a regular team match. 
Yale preferred to play a series of 
single-table duplicate matches, but 
Harvard insisted on having the play 
arranged so that there would be 
no replay of deals by pairs who had 
originally played them, in order to 
avoid memorizing of hands. A 
schedule was devised to move the 
players so as to obviate this; but 
when Fisher Ames, who was chosen 
to act as referee, was told there were 



WHIST IN COLLEGES 502 WHIST IN COLLEGES 



to be six players on each side, lie 
expressed his doubts whether teams 
of that number could play without 
having at least two pairs replay the 
deals which the}' had played before. 
He supported his position by the 
opinions of several prominent Bos- 
ton players, including E. C. 
Howell, the well-known inventor 
of schedules for duplicate play. 
But a presentation of the matter, 
on the part of Messrs. Booth, Deni- 
son, and Ryerson, convinced Mr. 
Ames that the thing could be done 
after all, and he thereupon ap- 
proved their plan, after making 
some improvements, in the way of 
moving pairs instead of boards, etc. 
At the time this first American 
inter-collegiate whist match was 
arranged, Yale had, strictly speak- 
ing, no whist club as yet, but a 
committee had been appointed the 
previous fall, under whose super- 
vision a whist tournament was held 
during the winter. JosiahH. Peck, 
of the class of '95, was the moving 
spirit in the matter. At both uni- 
versities, we are informed, the sys- 
tem of management is the same. 
Each has a regularly organized 
club, and each club gives a tourna- 
ment, open to all members of the 
university, whether members of 
the club or not. From the plaj'-ers 
who make the best records in these 
tournaments the captain of the 
team, who is elected by the club, 
chooses the six men who are to 
play on the team. In the tourna- 
ments the pairs are divided up into 
sections of four pairs each; each 
pair plays every other pair in its 
section, the best two pairs of each 
section go up into the next round, 
where another division is made of 
sections of four pairs each. In this 
way the poor players are gradually 
eliminated, so that by the time the 
semi-final and final rounds of the 
tournament are reached, the cap- 



tain feels reasonably sure that he 
has the best talent in the college 
before him to pick from. This 
tournament play lasts a month or 
so, all the matches being sixteen 
deals each. 

The first match between Harvard 
and Yale, as already stated, was 
played May 4, 1895. The match, 
like all subsequent ones, consisted 
of seventy -two deals played and re- 
played. Harvard's team consisted 
of C. D. Booth, acting captain, and 
W. T. Denison; A. D. Salinger and 
W. T. Gunnison; M. B. Jones and 
E. K. Hall. The Yale players were 
J. H. Peck, captain, and E. W. 
Hobart; A. F. Carpenter and J. H. 
Peck; C. S. Thurston and G. P. 
Wiley. The mode of playing a 
three-pair match is so interesting 
that it may be described here: No 
change of partners took place dur- 
ing the entire match. The six 
players of one team were seated 
north and south, and the six play- 
ers of the other team east and west, 
at three tables. A series of eight 
deals was played at each table (the 
number could be made four, eight, 
or twelve, as preferred). The trays 
were left at the table where played, 
and the east and west players ( Har- 
vard) moved up one table, and the 
north and south players (Yale) 
down one table, and changed posi- 
tions, north and south becoming 
east and west, and east and west 
changing to north and south. This 
was the overplay of the three series 
of deals, and completed the first 
round. The players then moved 
again in the same direction as be- 
fore. Harvard up and Yale down, 
changing positions once more with 
each move, east to north, north to 
east, etc., and so on, and eight 
fresh deals were played for the be- 
ginning of the second round; after 
which the players moved and 
changed as before, and the second 



WHIST IN COLLBGES 503 WHIST IN COLLEGES 



half of round two was played. 
Three rounds made a total of sev- 
enty-two deals, of which each pair 
played forty-eight deals, meeting 
each opposing pair twice both as 
adversaries and opponents. The 
score was: Harvard, 968 tricks; 
Yale, 904 tricks. As in all team 
matches where the total number of 
tricks taken by each side is scored, 
the ditf erence in the score is divided 
by two in order to show the num- 
ber of tricks actually gained. In 
this case Harvard's gain and vic- 
tory consisted of thirtj'-two tricks. 

The second match between the 
two colleges took place on March 
28, 1896, and was won by Harvard 
by a score of 37 to 27. The Harvard 
team consisted of C. D. Booth, 
captain, and W. T. Denison; J. W. 
Peck and F. N. Morrill; C. E. 
Whitmore and F. C. Thwaits. The 
Yale team consisted of L. R. Conk- 
lin, captain, and N. B. Beecher; W. 
A. Hendrick and R. Schuyler; F. 
Br5-ant and R. Cameron. 

The third match was played on 
April 10, 1897, and Harvard again 
won, this time, however, by the nar- 
row margin of three points, the score 
being 40 to 37. The Harvard team 
consisted of F. N. Morrill, captain, 
and C. D. Booth; F. Heilig and O. 
M. W. Sprague; W. Byrd and H. 
Endicott, Jr. The Yale team con- 
sisted of W. G. Cooke, captain, and 
A. C. Sherwood; N. B. Beecher 
and D. P. Cameron; S. Cameron 
and F. Bryant. 

In the first match Yale played a 
rather mixed game, favoring long 
suits; the next year two of her 
pairs were conservative long-suiters, 
while one pair leaned toward the 
short-suit game. In 1897 Yale 
played a decidedly mixed game, 
but we are informed that " at no 
time has she plaj'ed the radical 
short-suit game as advocated by 
Howell." 



Harvard has almost universally 
played a conservative long-suit 
game. The first year " Cavendish" 
was their sole guide. The second 
year they took C. D. P. Hamilton 
as their authority, and in 1897 they 
followed very closely the ideas of 
E. M. Bouve [L. A.], captain of the 
American Club team, of Boston. 
The fact that on this occasion they 
won by a smaller margin than pre- 
viously is no reflection on Mr. 
Bouve. Yale had the strongest 
team she had yet put forward, and, 
besides this, Harvard suffered from 
an attack of over-confidence when 
the match was two-thirds over, 
being then sixteen tricks ahead. 
This led to careless pla}', and Yale 
made the best of it, gaining thir- 
teen tricks by good hard work in 
the third round. Harvard is more 
strongly than ever in favor of the 
long-suit game. 

It may be interesting to show 
here how these college teams have 
compared in play with teams of 
acknowledged strength belonging 
to League clubs. Yale has not done 
nmch playing with older teams, 
but during 1896 it engaged a team 
of six from the Albany Whist Club 
in a match, and won by one 
trick. Albany was represented by 
what was considered her second, 
third, and fourth strongest pairs. 
Harvard has played against crack 
teams in Boston every year since 
the organization of the new club. 
In 1894 she entered a team of four 
for the New England champion- 
ship, and it stood filth out of seven- 
teen teams engaged in the tourna- 
ment. The same year the Harvard 
four played the Newton team, cap- 
tained by Fisher Ames, and the re- 
sult was a tie. They also tied the 
Press Club team, composed at that 
time of Howell, Clay, Becker, and 
Knowles. The American Club team, 
captained by L. M. Bouv^, defeated 



WHIST IN COLLEGES 



504 WHIST IN COLLEGES 



them by three tricks, thus getting 
even for their defeat by Harvard in 
the New England championship 
tournament. The next year Har- 
vard had a vpeaker team, and did 
not succeed in defeating any of the 
crack teams, although playing 
close matches against them all. In 
1896 Harvard won about half of the 
matches her team engaged in. 
From this it will be seen that whist 
of the very best quality can be and 
is played by college teams. 

Although as yet not participating 
in any inter-collegiate matches, 
Princeton, too, is beginning to 
awaken to the importance of whist 
as a recreation and amusement. 
The students began holding regu- 
lar whist tournaments in 1897, in 
the hope of arousing sufficient en- 
thusiasm to bring about a match 
with Harvard and Yale. In 1895, 
at the suggestion of a Princeton 
graduate, who was then a student 
in the Harvard law school, the 
captain of the Harvard team wrote 
to Princeton and offered to play a 
match. But Princeton was not in 
a position to accept, and also had 
to decline a similar offer from Yale 
in 1896. The year following, how- 
ever, Princeton began to stand on her 
mettle, and in the Boston Herald 
for December 19, 1897, we read: 

"At a meeting of the Princeton 
Whist Club, last Thursday, a letter 
from the secretary of the Yale 
Whist Club was read, in which 
Yale accepts Princeton's challenge 
for a contest. A letter has also 
been sent from Princeton to the 
Harvard team, but no reply has 
been received. If the Cambridge 
men do not enter, the dual match 
between Yale and Princeton will 
be played at Princeton, either dur- 
ing the Easter vacation or as soon 
after as possible. If Harvard ac- 
cepts the challenge the games be- 
tween Yale and Princeton will be 



declared off, and a new schedule 
arranged." 

" No doubt we shall arrange to 
play a tri-collegiate match," writes 
C. D. Booth, of Harvard, under 
date of January 26, 1898, "but 
nothing definite is as yet settled." 
Harvard has appointed a committee 
to make arrangements. An effort 
will be made to have the teams 
consist of eight men each. " We 
have had no communication direct 
from Princeton," adds Mr. Booth; 
"hence, if the three-cornered 
match falls through, I cannot tell 
whether we shall arrange a sepa- 
rate match with her or not. At 
any rate, we shall play with Yale." 

Whist is also popular among the 
faculty at Princeton, as would ap- 
pear from the following, written 
in 1897, by one of the professors: 
' ' We have in Princeton a social 
club, called the Nassau Club, to 
which our faculty and the prin- 
cipal town people are eligible. 
Last year some twenty-five mem- 
bers of this club got together, and 
decided to form a whist club. They 
did so, calling it the Princeton 
Whist Club, and joining the Ameri- 
can Whist League and the New 
Jersey Association. We got to- 
gether a team, which played a few 
games with outside teams, and with 
very fair success toward the end of 
the college year. Owing to lack of 
time, this team has not yet been 
practicing; and I am afraid the 
chances for a good team this year 
are not very good. The whist club 
meets every Friday for duplicate 
whist, and the individual members 
pla)^ as much oftener as they wish." 

Whist has also been popular to 
some extent at Brown University, 
and at one time W. H. Barney, 
at that time secretary of the Ameri- 
can Whist League (who is a gradu- 
ate of Brown), urged Harvard to 
arrange a match with the club of 



WHIST IN FRANCE 



505 



WHIST IN NOVELS 



his university, which he deemed a 
good one. 

While there is no regular whist 
organization at Cornell University, 
as early as 1891 Horatio S. White 
tells of the existence there of an 
informal whist club composed of 
officers of instruction and adminis- 
tration, including one of the trus- 
tees, the treasurer, the librarian, 
and several members of the faculty. 
They played the five-point game, 
honors not counting, and no trick 
was allowed to be examined after it 
had once been quitted. In 1897 
we are informed that the game is 
still played a great deal in faculty 
circles, and there is also an organi- 
zation known as the Town and 
Gown Club, which devotes a good 
deal of attention to whist. It is com- 
posed of members of the univer- 
sity faculty and residents of Ithaca 
in about equal proportions. 

Our inquiries as to the status of 
the game in Western colleges and 
universities brought us the follow- 
ing courteous reply from Professor 
Conwa}' MacMillan, of the Univer- 
sity of Minnesota: "I do not un- 
derstand that whist in the West has 
become an inter-collegiate sport; 
but both among the students and 
the faculty it is a popular study. I 
presume a night scarcely passes that 
some of the University of Minne- 
sota faculty are not engaged in a 
duplicate whist match. Team whist 
is played but sparingly outside of 
the clubs, but memory duplicate is 
quite omnipresent. At Wisconsin, 
and Chicago, and Nebraska, I am 
informed, there is also much whist 
interest." 

Whist in France. — Whist was 
known in France at an early period 
through translations of Hoyle. 
The game was played by Louis XV., 
and under the empire was a favorite 
game of Josephine and Maria 



Louise. After the Restoration it 
was taken up more enthusiastically. 
"The nobles," says a French 
writer, "had gone to England to 
learn to think, and they brought 
back the thinking game with 
them." Talleyrand was one of the 
leading players of the day, and his 
Diot — "You do not know whist, 
young man? What a sad old age 
you are preparing for j'ourself!" 
— is a standard quotation in whist 
literature. Charles X. was playing 
whist at St. Cloud on the twenty- 
ninth of July, 1830, when the tri- 
color was waving on the Tuileries, 
and he had lost his throne. His 
successor, Louis Philippe, when 
similarly engaged, was obliged to 
submit to what has been aptly 
termed an elegant insolence. He 
had dropped a louis, and stopped 
the game to look for it, when a 
foreign ambassador, who was one of 
the party, set fire to a billet of 1000 
francs to give light to the king un- 
der the table. 

In 1839 appeared a long-prom- 
ised work on the game by M. Des- 
chapelles, the great French player. 
It was the "Traite du Whiste," 
and much had been expected of it. 
It was, however, only a fragment 
of a larger work which was never 
finished. But even though it was 
but a fragment, it is by far the 
ablest and most original work 
that France has added to whist lit- 
erature. 

Whist in Novels. — Whist is fre- 
quently mentioned and described 
in the works of the English novel- 
ists from the time of Hoyle. Among 
the very earliest are the two pas- 
sages relating to the game in Field- 
ing's "Tom Jones," published in 
1749. Mr. Pickwick'' s memorable 
experiences at Dingley Dell and 
Bath are delightfully portrayed by 
Dickens in the ' ' Pickwick Papers, " 



WHIST IN PUBLIC SCHOOIyS 506 



WHIST MATCH 



and Thackeray's "Virginians" 
contains much concerning the 
game and Mr. Warrington'' s vary- 
ing luck with Lord Chesterfield 
and others. Nearly all the great 
novelists were themselves practiced 
players, and these scenes, as well 
as the pictures of Captain Barna- 
bee, Parsoft Dale, and other whist 
devotees, which Lord Lytton draws 
in "My Novel," were the result of 
actual experience. Anthony Trol- 
lope thus reflected some of his own 
knowledge and opinions in "The 
Bertrams," in which occurs the 
card party of Miss Todd. James 
Payn is another novelist who has 
the advantage of being a good 
whist-player. His story, "A Very 
Quiet Rubber, " in the third volume 
of his "High Spirits," is worthy 
of a perusal by every lover of the 
game. F. C. Burnand, in his 
"Happy Thoughts," gives us a 
picture of a rubber at which one of 
the players is made miserable by 
his bad luck. Mrs. Henniker, 
author of "Foiled," and Marmion 
W. Savage, author of " The Bach- 
elor of the Albany," are among 
more recent English authors who 
dwell upon whist in the course of 
the story which they are telling. 
James Clay was the original of 
Castlemai?ie in the rubber of whist 
depicted in George Alfred Law- 
rence's "SansMerci." 

Whist in the Public Schools. — 

See, " Whist as an Educator." 

Whist Lesson -Cards. — A pack 
of cards containing on the face of 
each of the more important cards 
printed directions telling from 
what combinations it is to be led, 
according to the system of Amer- 
ican leads. A patent for this in- 
vention was granted to Fisher 
Ames, of Newton, Mass., February 
7, 1893. (See, " Whist Patents.") 



Whist iVlatch Between Women. 

— The first important whist match 
exclusively for women was played 
in the Colonial Parlors, in Phila- 
delphia, on December 17, 1895. 
The competitors were two local or- 
ganizations, the Sarah Battle and 
the Trist Vv^hist Clubs, twenty-four 
players on each side. Whether it 
was that the fire was not clear, or 
the hearth was not clean, or the 
game was not sufficiently rigorous, 
the renowned Sarah Battle lost the 
match by the overwhelming score 
of seventy-two tricks. The best 
average north and south for the 
Trist was made by Mrs. Musgrove 
and Mrs. Lex; while four tied for 
the best east and west score— Mrs. 
Barger, Mrs. Ellison, Mrs. Wil- 
liams, and Mrs. Keen. The high 
score north and south for Sarah 
Battle was made by Mrs. Knight 
and Mrs. McCape; east and west 
by Mrs. Whitcomb and Miss Sar- 
tain. (See, also, " Woman's Whist 
League," and " Women as Whist- 
Players.") 

Whist Match by Correspond- 
ence. — The first whist match 
ever played by correspondence was 
inaugurated and conducted by R. 
F. Foster. There were sixteen 
players in the tourney; play began 
on February 5, 1894, and the result 
was published in Whist of Febru- 
ary, 1895. The sixteen players 
were arranged at random, at four 
imaginary tables. They were di- 
vided into two sections of eight 
each, and followed the changes of 
the schedule for eight individuals 
given on page 68 of Foster's " Du- 
plicate Whist," changing places 
after every fourth hand. "The 
various changes having been writ- 
ten out in diagram," says Foster, 
' ' it was easy to see what positions 
at the table any given player suc- 
cessively occupied, and as the 



WHIST MATCH 



507 



WHIST MATCH 



hands were consecutively num- 
bered, this gave his position in each 
of the twenty-eight hands that 
were to be played. The thirteen 
cards belonging to that position 
were then sent to him, with the 
turn-up trump, and he was asked to 
send in his original lead in the 
seven hands in which he was A. 
Printed slips were used, one for 
each trick, and these slips were 
numbered down the left margin, 
from one to twenty-eight, to corre- 
spond with the twenty-eight hands. 
Then followed four columns for the 
cards played by A, Y, B, and Z. 

"The leads being all in, the 
cards led by A were entered on the 
score sheets prepared for keeping a 
record of the play. The name of 
each player being at the head of 
each column on these score-sheets, 
furnished a key as to whose turn it 
was next to play, and this player 
was notified (by writing the card 
played by A in the A column, op- 
posite the number of the hand) 
that it was his next play. These 
plays by the Y players being all in, 
the plays of both A and Y were 
sent to all the B's, and they being 
received, the cards played by A, Y, 
and B were sent to the Z plaj-ers. 

" The trick being now complete, 
the slip sent in originally by A was 
filled out, to show him what cards 
had been played on his lead. The 
two missing cards were sent to Y, 
and the one played after B, to him. 
Whichever player had won the 
trick now sent in his lead for the 
next trick on a new slip, and so 
the play went on. 

"Where there was no choice, a 
player having only one card of the 
suit led, the person conducting the 
tourney could fill it in at once, and 
thus save time. From this and 
several other causes, such as players 
forgetting to send in their plays on 
some hands, it was impossible to 



keep the hands all going at the 
same pace. So it soon happened 
that the same player would have 
reached the eighth trick in one 
hand, and be back at the third iu 
another. Slips for each uncom- 
pleted trick having to be sent him, 
it often occurred that a player re- 
ceived seven trick-slips each week. 
This might not impress him very 
strongly, but the person conducting 
the tourney, receiving from four to 
seven slips from sixteen players at 
once, found that a very large table, 
and a still larger stock of patience, 
was necessary to go through them 
all. 

' ' The best method was found to 
be to go through the hands in 
order, by the score sheets, and find 
whose turn it was to play. The 
slips of each player being kept sep- 
arate, it was easy to reach the slip 
numbered for that trick, and enter 
up his play. All the plays being 
entered, the slips were then sorted 
into tricks, the sixteen slips belong- 
ing to each trick being placed to- 
gether. The score-sheets were then 
again gone over, but only one trick 
at a time was examined, say the 
fifth. Each player whose turn it 
was to play in the fifth trick of any 
hand was notified of the cards al- 
ready played. All the fifth tricks 
having been entered up, the sixth 
was taken up, beginning at the be- 
ginning again; then the seventh, 
and so on, as far as the play had 
gone. This being complete, the 
score-sheets were gone over again 
for the fifth trick only, and every 
fifth trick that was complete was 
entered up on the four slips of the 
players engaged in it, and a check- 
mark placed in the margin to show 
that all four knew all the cards 
played. The sixth, seventh, and 
other tricks were gone over in the 
same way, one at a time, and then 
the slips were mailed again. While 



WHIST MATCH 



508 



WHIST MATCH 



waiting for the next mail, the cards 
played in each hand were checked 
off the diagrams at the top of the 
score-sheets, to detect errors not 
noticed in entering up, as it was 
not at all uncommon for a player 
to play the same card twice, or 
even to play a card he never held. 

" The time consumed, even after 
many weeks of practice, was usually 
ten hours for each play sent in, 
which was once a week. Two hun- 
dred and eighteen slips were used, 
and it took just eleven hundred and 
sixty-four postage stamps to send 
out the plays, and almost as many 
to return them. 

"During the entire tourney only 
four errors occurred, and two of 
these were revokes, which were not 
detected until the diagram was 
checked up between mails." 

In the contest E. C. Howell, of 
the American Whist Club, Boston, 
won first place, both in his eight 
and in the sixteen. In the second 
eight T. E. Otis, of Orange, N. J., 
and A. E. Taylor, of New York, 
were tied for first. In the sixteen 
Mr. Otis, Harry Trumbull, and W. 
S. Fenollosa were tied for second 
place. Both eights lost one hun- 
dred and sixtj'-eight tricks. In 
comparing the pairs of players who 
overplayed the same hands in the 
same position, but in different 
eights, French beat Paine thirteen 
tricks, Clay beat Haynes nine, Horr 
beat Coffin ten, Trumbull beat Tay- 
lor eight, Tatnall beat Lennox 
three, Howell beat Otis two,Wooten 
beat Baker two, and Fenollosa beat 
Stevens one. The following were 
the scores by eights: 

First :Sight. 

IvOSt. 

1. E. C. Howell 5 

2. Harry S. Stevens 7 

3. George Tatnall 9 

4. Harry Trumbull 14 

5. C. E. Coffin 16 

6. J. P. Wooten 17 



I<ost. 

7. C. M. Clay • • 18 

8. C. M. Paine 26 

Second Eight. 

1. T. E. Otis 6 

2. A. E. Taylor 6 

3. W. S. Fenollosa 10 

4. Dr. lyennos 10 

5. H. B. French 10 

6. E. T. Baker 10 

7. N. T. Horr • 14 

8. A. M. Haynes 22 

The score for the sixteen was as 
follows: 

I<ost. 

1. E. C. Howell 12 

2. T. E. Otis 14 

3. W. S. Fenollosa 14 

4. Harry Trumbull 14 

5. Harry S. Stevens 15 

6. N. T. Horr 16 

7. George Tatnall 17 

8. Dr. Lennox 20 

9. H. B. French 20 

10. A. E. Taylor 22 

11. C. M. Clay 23 

12. J. P. Wooten 24 

13. E. T. Baker 26 

14. C. E. Coffin 26 

15. A. M. Haynes 32 

i5. C. M. Paine 33 

The personnel of the players en- 
gaged in the match is thus given 
by Mr. Foster: "Mr. Harry S. 
Stevens is a member of the Univer- 
sity Club, of Chicago, and is the 
gentleman whom ' Cavendish ' 
thought the best whist-player he 
met during his visit to America. 
Mr. E. C. Howell plays on the team 
of the American Whist Club, of 
Boston, and is the recognized au- 
thority on probabilities in card 
games, many articles from his pen 
having appeared in Whist. Mr. 
W. S. Fenollosa is a whist-teacher 
in Salem, Mass., and a frequent 
contributor to Whist and the Field. 
Mr. Harry Trumbull was captain 
of the team that won the cham- 
pionship in 1894. When dying of 
consumption, the following winter, 
he played his last card at whist — 
the spade seven at the tenth trick 
in hand No. 9a. Mr. N. T. Horr, 



WHIST MATCH 



509 



WHIST MATCH 



of Cleveland, has contributed sev- 
eral articles to Whist, chiefly his- 
torical. Mr. T. E. Otis, of Orange, 
N. J., is a whist-teacher, and a mem- 
ber of several prominent New York 
whist clubs. Mr. George Tatn all is 
captain of the Wilmington (Del.) 
Whist Club, and is one of the vet- 
eran tournament players. Dr. R. 
Lennox, of Brooklyn, is one of the 
leading players in the great tourna- 
ments. Mr. C. M. Clay is cele- 
brated as a composer of perception 
problems in Whist. Mr. A. E. 
Taylor, of the Knickerbocker Whist 
Club, New York, is one of their 
best pla5'ers. Mr. H. B. French is 
from the Philadelphia Whist Club, 
and also plays on the Art Club 
team. Mr. J. P. Wooten is the 
captain of the Capital City Bicycle 
Club team, of Washington, D. C. , 
the champions for iSga-'gs. This 
gentleman has won a prize at every 
whist congress, and is considered 
one of the most brilliant players in 
the League. Mr. C. E). Coffin is 
the author of several works on 
whist, ' The Gist of Whist' being 
the best known. Mr. B. T. Baker 
is one of the best known of Eastern 
tournament players. Mr. C. M. 
Paine is the editor of Whist, a 
monthly journal devoted exclu- 
sively to the interests of the game." 

We may add that Mr. Foster's 
"Whist Tactics" is based upon the 
match, and contains the hands in 
full. 

The idea of whist by correspond- 
ence, thus suggested, was taken up 
by the American Whi.st League, 
and, in pursuance to action taken 
at the whist congress. President 
Schwarz, in the fall of 1895, ap- 
pointed the following committee 
on tournament by correspondence, 
with full power to act : Milton 
C. Work, of Philadelphia, chair- 
man; A. E. Taylor, of New York, 
and John T, Mitchell, of Chicago, 



At this writing (January, 1898,) 
nothing definite has as yet been 
accomplished. 

In Whist for November, 1897, 
W. B. Brush, the originator of the 
"Brush Tramp Trays" (q. v.), 
communicated the particulars of 
another whist match by correspond- 
ence, which had just been com- 
menced, and which is still unfin- 
ished at the present writing. The 
match consists of two tables, each 
playing four deals at a time, and 
after pla5dng through, the hands 
are exchanged and played over, 
making it practically two teams of 
four. Says Mr. Brush: "Table 
No. I is composed of Miss J. E. 
Lee, Albuquerque, New Mexico 
(north); Miss N. S. Baldwin, Sau 
Francisco, Cal. (west); Mrs. E. C 
Howell, Boston, Mass. (east), and 
myself (south) — east and w-est play- 
ing the 'Howell openings,' and 
north and south playing the Foster 
system, as published. Table No. 2 
is composed of Mrs. Clarence 
Brown, Toledo, Ohio (north); Mrs. 
E. L. Wood, Brookline, Mass. 
(east); Colonel A. S. Burt, Fort 
Missoula, Mont, (west), and Colonel 
Hy. Hutchings, Austin, Texas 
(south) — east and west will play 
the American leads, and north and 
south the Foster system, as taught. 
To Mr. Foster, I believe, is due the 
credit of originating the game by 
correspondence, and I believe if it 
were more universal it would be the 
better for those who wish to learn 
the game." 

Whist Match by Telegraph. — 

In Whist for April, 1897, John Hall 
asks: " We occasionally hear of 
chess tournaments by telegraph be- 
tween cities miles apart. Why not 
whist? We will say, for instance, 
a match is arranged between New 
York and San Francisco, and that 
Sau Francisco at table one are 



WHIST MATCH 



510 



WHIST PACK 



north and south. Two gentlemen 
representing New York would sit 
east and west, and at New York 
two would sit north and south for 
San Francisco. If the tray indi- 
cates that it's San Francisco's deal, 
the deal is made, and east and west's 
hands are taken from the table and 
■wired to New York, and then New 
York leads. A messenger quietly, 
but without delay, walks over to 
the operator and communicates the 
card played, and a messenger at San 
Francisco takes the card from the 
operating table and places it in 
front of the gentlemen represent- 
ing New York. A half dozen 
tables could be managed easily. 
The only delay of consequence 
•would be transmitting the original 
hands. After that, with intelligent 
service, the play should go along 
smoothly. If one of the pla3'ers 
happened to be a telegraph opera- 
tor, he should be kept out of ear- 
shot from the instrument while the 
opponents' hands are being trans- 
mitted; after that it makes no dif- 
ference. 

" The Western Union or Pacific 
and Postal would, I am sure, allow 
the use of their wires, after say 8 
o'clock p. m., for such a novel con- 
test. 

' ' In the same way a match could 
be arranged between Fngland and 
the United States, and the cable 
compan}'- that first offers its services 
will have the thanks of the whist 
world, and a splendid advertise- 
ment besides." 

Whist, in commenting upon the 
above, remarked that while Mr. 
Hall's suggestion was not new, the 
few experiments that had been 
made had not favored an extension 
of the practice. " Though we can- 
not recall the exact date and cir- 
cumstances," continues Whist, 
" we remember several instances of 
the kind. One was between Phila- 



delphia and Harrisburg, another 
between London and Nice — but the 
result was unsatisfactory, for the 
game inevitably ' dragged' so as to 
become wearisome. Fven with the 
method suggested, of running wires 
into the rooms, we doubt if a tour- 
nament game could be played satis- 
factorily." 

Whist Memory.— The ability to 
remember the cards that have been 
played, and other features of the 
game learned by observation. (See, 
"Attention at the Whist Table," 
"Inattention," "Memory," and 
" Observation.") 

"Whiston, Professor." — A 

name under which Edmond Hoyle 
was satirized in " The Humours of 
Whist" [q. v.), which appeared 
in 1743, the year after his book on 
whist was first published. 

Whist Pack. — A pack of ordi- 
nary playing cards, with four addi- 
tional cards for whist purposes. 
These four extra cards contain a 
table of American leads from every 
possible combination, including 
special trump-leads. The backs of 
the cards of instruction are the 
same as the rest of the pack, in 
order that their position in the 
hand may not attract attention or 
disclose information. One of the 
extra cards is handed to each of 
the players at a table before the rest 
of the pack is shufiled and dealt. 
Each player then places the extra 
or "lead" card with his hand (as 
though it were part of the same) 
for ready and easy reference in 
playing and drawing inferences. 
Whist packs were copyrighted and 
placed upon the market in 1894 by 
the author of this volume. R. F. 
Foster had previously issued a card 
of instruction called "Whist at a 
Glance," but this was laid upon 



I i 



WHIST PARTY 



511 



WHIST PATENTS 



the table for consultation by any of 
the players. It was unknown to 
us at the time, as was also the effort 
of W. H. Barney, who had had the 
leads printed upon cards for distri- 
bution. The idea of making four 
such cards of instruction a part of 
a pack of cards, to be used in the 
manner described, was distinctive 
with the whist packs. 

Whist Party. — A gathering of 
four or more persons for the pur- 
pose of playing whist; also, in a 
broader sense, a social entertain- 
ment in which whist forms the 
chief, although not exclusive, feat- 
ure. 

There is something: very attractive in 
the chronicle of the whist parties of old. 
There was no ostentation or display, no 
desire to outshine a neiglibor by an 
ampler spread of wines and luxuries. 
Simplicity — a stern simplicity of enter- 
tainment — marked all such combina- 
tions. Their cost was within the reach 
of all, and they were enjoyed by all who 
received an invitation to attend them. — 
IF. P. Courtney 'iL-^O.'l, ''English IVkisi." 

Whist Patents. — A careful 
search of the records of the Patent 
OlEce at Washington reveals the 
fact that up to this date of writing 
(January, 1898) there have been 
granted in all thirty-two patents 
for devices or improvements in 
whist, three relating to straight, 
and twenty-nine relating to dupli- 
cate. We give them in chrono- 
logical order, together with a brief 
description of each invention: 

Patent No. 404,782, granted June 
4, 1889, to Robert F. Fo.ster, Balti- 
more, Md. (now of New York). A 
pack of cards divided into sets or 
hands in which each card is pro- 
vided with indicators designating 
the hand to which it belongs, and 
the order of playing it in pre-ar- 
ranged games. 

Patent No. 462,448, granted No- 
vember 3, 1891, to Cassius M. Paine 



and James L. Sebring, Milwaukee, 
Wis., and Kalamazoo, Mich. A 
tray for the game of duplicate 
whist, provided Vi^ith four holders 
arranged to retain the several 
hands of the original play by them- 
selves and in order for the duplicate 
play. 

Patent No. 481,995, granted Sep- 
tember 6, 1892, to Milton C. Work, 
Philadelphia, Pa. In a duplicate 
whist apparatus a series of four 
subdivided compartments, each 
compartment marked respectively 
to designate the leader, second 
hand, third hand and fourth hand, 
and each subdivision marked to 
designate the order in which the 
respective hands to be contained 
therein were played. 

Patent No. 491,302, granted Feb- 
ruary 7, 1893, to Fisher Ames, New- 
ton, Mass. Playing cards provided 
on their faces with letters, figures, 
or marks, as set forth, the marks 
on each card indicating the combi- 
nations of cards, including the one 
so marked, from which combina- 
tions the card so marked is the 
proper lead. 

Patent No. 499,406, granted June 
13, 1893, to S. T. Varian, East Or- 
ange, N. J. A pack of cards having 
on their faces the usual marks and 
small quadrangular figures printed 
upon each card, and marks outside 
the angles indicating the plays 
from plain suits, and marks within 
the angles indicating the plays 
from trumps. 

Patent No. 502,089, granted July 
25, 1893, to William O. Bird, Cam- 
bridge, Mass. A pack of playing- 
cards having the usual marks upon 
their faces, each card carrying an 
indicator whereby the hands dealt 
out of a pack of such cards are re- 
corded, and may be re-dealt from 
the same pack. 

Patent No. 514,302, granted Feb- 
ruary 6, 1894, to John G. Butler, 



WHIST PATENTS 



512 



WHIST PATENTS 



Augusta, Ga. Apparatus for play- 
ing duplicate whist, comprising a 
cross-shaped tray having a raised 
border with its top open, card re- 
ceptacles within the branches pro- 
jecting outward from the centre 
portion, and provided at or near 
the inner ends of said branches 
with inwardly extending projec- 
tions designated to confine the 
cards in a given direction, with 
freedom for removal when required, 
and means for holding the cards in 
said receptacles. 

Patent No. 516,224, granted 
March 13, 1894, to Charles E. Parks, 
Somerville, Mass. Apparatus for 
playing duplicate whist, consisting 
of a table having four independent 
groups of card-carrying levers, 
each lever being independently 
operated by the player to display 
the card borne by it. 

Patent No. 521,302, granted June 
12, 1894, to Arthur H. Woodward, 
Chicago, 111. Duplicate whist 
boxes. A closed rectangular case, 
corresponding in size to a pack of 
cards, and divided into four com- 
partments arranged one above the 
other, and each provided with a 
single opening (one in each side 
and one in each end of the case), 
the said openings being arranged 
in opposite sides and opposite ends 
of the case, whereby the case is 
adapted to receive and retain the 
four hands in the respective com- 
partments. Also, a device whereby 
the hand in each compartment 
may be projected a slight distance 
out through the opening. 

Patent No. 525,941, granted Sep- 
tember 11, 1894, to Gustav A. Bisler, 
Philadelphia, Pa. Apparatus for 
playing duplicate whist. A tray 
composed of plates with interven- 
ing corner and central blocks 
forming pockets closed on their 
sides and inner ends, and open at 
the outer edge of the tray. 



Patent No. 529,699, granted No- 
vember 27, 1894, to George S. Bout- 
well, New Bedford, Mass. Duplicate 
whist table. A stationary central 
disk firmly mounted at the top of 
a central post or standard and rab- 
etted for the purpose of steadying 
a revolving top, index counters sur- 
mounting the central disk; top 
pockets in revolving top, swinging 
receivers under the revolving top; 
when open projecting slightly be- 
yond the edge. 

Patent No. 530,665, granted De- 
cember II, 1894, to William Sow- 
don, New York. Duplicate whist 
apparatus. A game box divided 
into two or more compartments, 
adapted to hold one or more packs 
of cards; a rest consisting of a flat 
piece having an angular extension 
at one end, so constructed that it 
may be used to lift the packs or 
hands from the box and support 
the separate packs or hands in the 
several compartments in an inclined 
position. 

Patent No. 532,619, granted Jan- 
uary 15, 1895, to Charles E. White, 
Sj^racuse, N. Y. Card rack for du- 
plicate whist, comprising a base 
having a centrally disposed case 
subdivided into a series of card- 
receiving compartments to receive 
a corresponding number of decks 
of cards, and a series of stalls open- 
ing outward to receive the played 
hands, the number of stalls corre- 
sponding to each other and to the 
number of card-receiving compart- 
ments. 

Patent No. 534,843, granted Feb- 
ruary 26, 1895, to William Sowdon, 
New York. Duplicate whist appa- 
ratus. A box constructed to hold 
cards, and having a rough upper 
surface at its bottom to prevetit the 
cards from slipping thereon, guide- 
rods parallel with the bottom and 
sides, and extending from end to 
end; and movable dividers fitted to 



WHIST PATENTS 



513 



WHIST PATENTS 



slide thereon, and a step at the 
bottom of the box to co-operate 
with the back of the box and the 
roughened surface at the bottom to 
hold the dividers and playing-cards 
between them in an inclined posi- 
tion. 

Patent No. 535,920, granted 
March 19, 1895, toCassiusM. Paine, 
Milwaukee, Wis. Apparatus for 
playing duplicate whist. A wire 
skeleton frame, provided by bend- 
ings of the wire with legs for rests 
and for stops, with four arms so 
arranged at their extremities as to 
form by bendings of the wire on 
two levels a shelf into which sepa- 
rate hands of the original play of 
duplicate whist are to be thrust, 
and in which they are to be held in 
place by the slight spring of the 
loops of the two planes, so that the 
cards will be segregated by them- 
selves for the duplicate play, one 
of the arms to be different in super- 
ficial appearance from the other, 
so as to indicate the dealing and 
leading hands. 

Patent No. 536,198, granted 
March 26, 1895, to Herbert H. Ev- 
erard, Kalamazoo, Mich. In a du- 
plicate whist tray, holders for cards 
consisting of springs securely at- 
tached at each end, the ends up- 
wardly projecting, and the middle 
concave coming close to the boards. 

Patent No. 542,748, granted July 
16, 1895, to Fisher Ames, Newton, 
Mass. Tray board for duplicate 
whist. A flat tray board of sheet 
material composed of a body; four 
projections, each of the width at its 
inner end of a playing card, and 
wider at its outer end, and each of 
about half the length of a playing 
card; and bands held in place b}' 
the shape of the projections and 
body. 

Patent No. 543,746, granted July 
30, 1895, to Hugh Mitchell, Duluth, 
Minn. Duplicate whist board. In 

33 



a duplicate whist board the combi- 
nation, with a suitable board, of a 
single straight integral elastic band 
attached at intervals to said 
board, so as to form a plurality of 
card-retaining rings, and straps ap- 
plied on the respective straps for 
lifting the same, whereby the whist 
hands can be slipped beneath the 
said straps and kept separated. 

Patent No. 544,907, granted Au- 
gust 20, 1895, to ly. F. Braine, 
Ridgewood, N. J., and B. G. 
Braine, Brooklyn, N. Y. A dupli- 
cate whist score-card, consisting of 
two plates secured one to the other, 
each having a series of oppositely 
placed openings therein, and a 
series of revolving disks located 
between the plates, each disk in 
the series having numbers on its 
opposite faces, from i to 13 inclu- 
sive, and disposed in such a man- 
ner that the sum of the numbers 
simultaneously exposed through 
said openings is 13, whereby the 
number exposed through one 
opening may indicate the tricks 
taken in the original score by one 
set of players, while the oppositely 
and simultaneously exposed num- 
ber will indicate the number taken 
in the duplicate score, by the same 
set of players. 

Patent No. 546,572, granted Sep- 
tember 17, 1895, to F. Iv. Barrows, 
Ironwood, Mich. A duplicate whist 
apparatus, consisting of a medially 
divided tray, and a flexible connec- 
tion between the two portions of 
the tray, each portion of the tray 
carrying two pockets to receive the 
hands. 

Patent No. 548,185, granted Octo- 
ber 22, 1895, to Herbert H. Ever- 
ard, Kalamazoo, Mich. Duplicate 
whist apparatus. The combination 
of the trays; broad, flattened hooks, 
square at the end; rubber-band 
holders folded into the ends of said 
hooks, so that the bands can easily 



WHIST PATENTS 



514 



WHIST PATENTS 



be detached or renewed, tte hooks 
being adapted to be concealed in 
the depressions in the trays. 

Patent No. 548,255, granted Octo- 
ber 22, 1895, to Albert H. Howard, 
Kalamazoo, Mich. Duplicate whist 
tray. A mat for use in playing the 
game, and for holding the cards, 
consisting of a square of flexible 
material, with fasteners at the cor- 
ners and toward the centre thereof, 
to fold the corners of the same over 
the hands of cards, and fasten them 
there; also, a band or strap to retain 
the cards in position. 

Patent No. 548,740, granted Octo- 
ber 29, 1895, to L. F. Braine, of 
Ridgewood, N. J., and B. G. 
Braine, of Brooklyn, N. Y. Dupli- 
cate whist box. A box for holding 
cards for playing the game of dupli- 
cate whist, consisting of several 
partitions having their ends free, 
and a movable indicator, located 
within said box, showing the com- 
partments into which to place the 
cards during the original play while 
in one position, and the compart- 
ments from which to withdraw the 
cards during the duplicate play 
while in the other position. 

Patent No. 549,614, granted No- 
vember 12, 1895, to F. Sanderson, 
Chicago, 111. In an apparatus for 
playing duplicate whist the combi- 
nation with a base-plate of a top- 
plate, separated therefrom and held 
in relative position by means of a 
rectangular central block, whereby 
a card receptacle is formed around 
the block, the base-plate larger 
than the top-plate, and provided 
with a ridge or raised portion out- 
side the dimensions of the top- 
plate, opposite to the four edge 
faces of the central block, which 
serves, in combination with the top- 
plate, for the purpose described. 

Patent No. 552,732, granted Janu- 
ary 7, 1896, to Luther C. Slavens, 
Jr., Westport, Mo. Apparatus for 



playing duplicate whist, consisting 
of a series of trays, each of which 
is provided with holders for the 
several hands, and a character upon 
each tray to distinguish it from the 
others, and an auxiliary tray pro- 
vided with a number of holders 
equal to the number of playing 
trays, each holder on said auxiliary 
tray being provided with a charac- 
ter corresponding to the distin- 
guishing character of one of the 
playing trays. 

Patent No. 553,741, granted Janu- 
ary 28, 1896, to Lucius C. Thomp- 
son, Rolfe, Pa. A duplicate whist 
board, provided on its upper side 
with four rows of numerals parallel 
with its respective edges, and form- 
ing an open central rectangular 
field, a loop for each row of numer- 
als extending parallel therewith, 
and formed of flexible material 
adapted to be flexed upwardly to 
admit the cards thereunder, and 
hold them down on the board, and 
a pointer sliding on every loop and 
extending toward the numerals. 

Patent No. 555,903, granted 
March 3, 1896, to W. T. Johnson, 
Washington, I). C. A duplicate 
whist tray, consisting of a bottom- 
plate and an upper-plate, with in- 
terposed partitions and side walls, 
dividing the space between said 
plates into a series of horizontal 
compartments, wholly closed upon 
their sides and inner ends, and par- 
tially closed at the edges of said 
tray by the said side walls, the 
cards being adapted for removal 
through openings in the upper 
plate partially covering the several 
underlying compartments. 

Patent No. 561,786, granted June 
9, 1896, to Louis W. Heath, Grand 
Rapids, Mich. In a card-holder 
for playing duplicate whist the 
combination of two wings hinged 
together, and adapted to be folded 
to simulate a book, and provided 



WHIST PATENTS 



515 



WHIST RECEIVED 



on the back to designate its num- 
ber, so that when opened the mark 
will be concealed; a transverse strip, 
approximately the thickness of 
thirteen cards, attached to the face 
of each wing, a metallic spring se- 
cured intermediate its ends to said 
strip, and at right angles thereto, 
and adapted with its free ends to 
clamp packages of cards to said 
holder. 

Patent No. 564, 227, granted July 
21, 1896, to Frederick Sanderson, 
Chicago, 111. Apparatus for play- 
ing duplicate whist. A series of 
card-receptacles arranged radially 
in the same plane, and formed by a 
flat base and top plate separated by 
a series of blocks, with a central 
space between the several recepta- 
cles, a game counter mounted in a 
central hole in the top plate and in 
the central space. 

Patent No. 568,600, granted Sep- 
tember 29, 1896, to Florence H. 
Butler, Cincinnati, O. Duplicate 
whist board. The combination of a 
rectangular board or backing made 
the size of cards used, and having 
the desired characters or symbols 
on its face and back; a series of 
elastic loops or bands projecting 
laterally from the four sides or 
edges of said board, and adapted 
to receive and retain intact the sev- 
eral hands of cards; also to enable 
said hands to be folded or laid one 
on the other over said board or 
backing, and a fastening strap to 
encircle the folded packs and hold 
them. 

Patent No. 589,089, granted Au- 
gust3i, 1897, to James W.Johnson, 
Chattanooga, Tenn. A duplicate 
whist table having a top provided 
with a series of slots arranged in 
radial relation to each other, with 
their inner ends in the arc of a 
circle and their outer ends upon a 
smaller arc, with a curved groo^'e 
intersecting said slots, and a sup- 



port for the cards beneath the slots 
at such distance beneath the same 
that when cards are placed in the 
slots their upper edges will fall be- 
neath the upper surface of the top. 
Patent No. 597,122, granted Jan- 
uary II, 1898, to John Omwake, 
Cincinnati, O. In a duplicate whist 
apparatus the combination of a 
box having a plurality of compart- 
ments, each provided with a sta- 
tionary inclined bottom, means for 
maintaining cards against lateral 
movement in said compartments, 
and a cover contacting with the 
cards and co-operating with said 
box to maintain the cards in their 
proper relative position and against 
displacement therein. 

** Whist Popes, The." — A terra 
applied by their opponents to 
Messrs. " Cavendish" and Trist on 
account of the universal deference 
to, and confidence in, their opin- 
ions shown by the rank and file of 
the modern scientific school. 

When the whist-players of America 
met in Milwaukee, in 1891, to worship at 
the shrine of their favorite game they 
seem to have acknowledged two popes — 
" Cavendish," in London, and Trist, in 
New Orleans. Anything either of these 
authorities might say was received with 
all the respect characteristic of those who 
believe in the doctrine of infallibility as 
applied to whist. * * * Fortunately, 
the two gentlemen in whose hands the 
destinies of the whist world were placed, 
were agreed upon most of the vital points 
connected with the game as it was then 
played. " Cavendish" was the final arbi- 
ter in everything, and any person who 
disagreed with his views or questioned 
his decisions stood in about the same re- 
lation to orthodox whist-players as Bob 
IngersoU does to the established church. 
—R. F. Foster \S. O.] , Monthly Illustra- 
tor. 

"WhFst Queen."— See, "Whee- 
lock, Kate." 

Whist Received at Court. — 

Whist was formally received at 
court, and acknowledged as one of 



WHIST, SCHOOLS OF 516 WHIST, VARIETIES OP 



the royal amusements in England, 
about the middle of the eighteenth 
century. In 1720 the "Court 
Gamester," written for the young 
princesses, contained an addition 
called the " City Gamester," con- 
taining less polite games used east 
of Temple Bar. Whist was in- 
cluded in the latter, but in the 
eighth edition, published in 1754, 
it was honored by being transferred 
to the court or palace division. 

Whist, Schools of. — So great is 
the interest taken in whist, espe- 
cially in this country, that many 
systems of play and schools of play- 
ers are naturally formed and up- 
held. In a general way the old 
and the new school — the conserva- 
tive and the progressive — seems to 
be the proper dividing line, but the 
new school is in turn divided up 
into other so-called schools. Fos- 
ter, in his series of articles, " Whist 
and its Masters," published in the 
Monthly Illustrator (i896-'97), 
enumerates the following: (i)The 
Old School; (2) the New School; 
(3) the Signaling School; (4) the 
Scientific School; (5) the Number- 
Showing School; (6) the Duplicate 
School; (7) the Private Convention 
School. (See, "System," and 
" Whist, Varieties of.") 

Whist Season, The. — Whist is 
undoubtedly played more gener- 
ally in the winter than in the 
summer season, although the game 
forms a favorite pastime also at 
summer resorts, and the tourna- 
ments of the American Whist 
League always take place during 
the heated term, forming part of a 
delightful outing. Outdoor sports 
and exercise, however, claim a 
large share of attention among the 
general public in the season of long 
days and short nights, and whist, 
as an indoor amusement and recrea- 



tion, must necessarily be laid aside 
to some extent. 

By a singular coincidence (or shall we 
call it by a provision of nature?) the 
months which rejoice in the letter " r" 
are precisely those which are best 
adapted for the cultivation of whist. — 
Blackwood' s Magazine, November, 1838. 

Whist Sense. — The quality of 
mind in a plaj'er which enables 
him to grasp and solve difficult 
situations in whist-play regardless 
of rule, and as if by intuition. 
Whist sense is an evidence of whist 
genius. 

That an inference is true or erroneous, 
reasonable or fanciful, cannot always be 
demonstrated by logical or mathematical 
process, and the only test lies in the re- 
sults accomplished, particularly in prac- 
tice. And yet it is this very element of 
uncertainty as to the precise meaning of 
a play which affords the opportunity to 
the whist-player to show his quality — his 
whist sense.— C. Hatch [L. A.], IVhist, 
February, iS^S- 



Whist Strategy.— See, 

egy." 



' Strat- 



Whist, Varieties of. — There are 
at least a score of games which are 
offshoots or varieties of whist, but 
in nearly every case there is just 
enough of similarity to claim rela- 
tionship, and that is all. Not one 
of the varieties can compare with 
the original or parent game. Of 
the so-called varieties there are 
traced and noticed in this work the 
following: "Boston," " Boston de 
Fontainbleau," "Bridge," "Cay- 
enne," "Chinese Whist," "Fa- 
vorite Whist, " " French Boston, ' ' 
"German Whist." "Humbug 
Whist," "Invincible Whist," 
"Mort," "Prussian Whist," 
"Russian Boston," "Scotch 
Whist," "Solo Whist," and 
" Swedish Whist." Also, these, 
which are more entitled to be 
classed with whist: Double-dummy, 
and dummy; and these, which are 



WHIST WITHOUT A TRUMP 517 WHITFBLD, WILLIAM H. 



whist with modifications in the 
method of playing, or the arrange- 
ment and movements of the play- 
ers: Compass, drive, duplicate, mne- 
monic duplicate, and progressive. 
(See, also, "American Game," 
"Long Whist," and "Short 
Whist.") 

There are three distinct games of whist: 
Long whist, ten points; short whist, five 
points; and American whist, seven points. 
In the two former honors are counted; in 
the latter they are not. Whist is also 
very frequently played for continuous 
points without reference to games. 
There are, too, the so-called duplicate, 
progressive, and drive whist; the last, it 
has been claimed, evidently receiving its 
name from its unfortunate tendency to 
drive good players crazy. The Germans 
have a'mongrelizedgame, combining the 
princijjal features of whist and pitch. 
There is also a game called Scotch whist, 
which, "Cavendish" says, bears about 
the same resemblance to whist that the 
Scotch fiddle does to the violin. — Emery 
Boardnian \L-\-A.\ '■^Winning XVhist.^' 

Whist Without a Trump. — In 

Whist for April, 1895, C. T. Button, 
of Kewatiee, 111., inquires concern- 
ing "whist without a trump," 
which he saw some Scandinavians 
play. Not understanding the lan- 
guage, he could not obtain any ex- 
planation of it from the players. 
In reply to this communication, 
Mr. Button received a letter from 
S. J. Rasmussen, of River Falls, 
Wis., and this as well as the sub- 
sequent correspondence has been 
submitted to us. From the de- 
scription which Mr. Rasmussen is 
able to give, it would appear that 
the Scandinavians in the Northwest 
play the game of " cayenne" {q. 
v.\ or a modification of it. In 
this so-called variety of whist, 
among other modes of play, a 
dealer may announce a "grand" 
and play for tricks without any 
trump-suit; or he may play "nullo" 
and try to make as few tricks as 
possible without naming a trump- 
suit. In " bridge" the players also 



have the privilege of playing with- 
out a trump, and it is considered 
advisable sometimes under certain 
conditions. So, also, in "solo 
whist" Xhttmisereox "nullo," and 
the "spread," are played without 
any trump-suit. 

Whister. — One who plays whist; 
a term of recent origin in America. 

*' Whitechapci Play."— In the vl 
early history of whist this term was 
used as expressive of very bad or 
ignorant play. As early as 1755 it 
occurs in The Connoisseur, which 
was published by Colman & 
Thornton, in London, in an article 
in which a school for the education 
of young ladies in the art of whist 
is humorously advocated. The 
phrase is obsolete now, having 
been superseded by " bumblepup- 
py" {q. v.). 

" Whitechapel play" used to be the con- 
temptuous expression applied to a man 
■who played his aces and kings at ran- 
dom, without any attempt to utilize them 
to bring in a long suit, or to benefit his 
hand by their aid in other ways. In and 
arou-nd Mane hester the same kind of 
wasteful play was known by the term of 
"Oldham play." At Edinburgh the old 
ladies designated it as "chairman's 
play" — a phrase which carries the mind 
back to the days when ladies were car- 
ried in sedan-chairs. — iV. P. Courtney 
{,L + 0.l ''English IVhist:' 

Whitfeld, William H.— The fore- 
most inventor of double-dummy 
problems, and a whist mathemati- ■ 
cian and analyst of great ability. 
Mr. Whitfeld was born at Whist 
Villa, Ashford, Kent, England, Oc- 
tober 15, 1856. He informs us that 
the name of the house had refer- 
ence to its retired character, and 
not to the game. He attended a 
private school at Ramsgate, and 
afterwards, in 1876, entered Trin- 
ity College, Cambridge. He came 
out as twelfth wrangler, and took 
his degree in honors in 1880. As 



WHITFELD, WILLIAM H. 51 8 WHITFELD, WILLIAM H. 



the best English mathematicians 
graduate at Cambridge, to be high 
up in the list of wranglers indi- 
cates unusual proficiency. After 
teaching school for two years, he 
became mathematical lecturer at 
Cavendish College, Cambridge 
( named after the Duke of Devon- 
shire, and not after Henry Jones). 
It is another coincidence that the 
college is located in the parish of 
Trumpington. After Cavendish 
College became involved in finan- 
cial difiiculties, in 1891, Mr. Whit- 
feld sought other fields of labor, 
and he is, among other things, en- 
gaged by the examining syndicate 
of bodies afiiliated with the Uni- 
versity of Cambridge. 

Mr. Whitfeld has been very fond 
of whist from an early age. Though 
at no time a great frequenter of the 
whist-table, as compared with some 
devotees of the game, he has de- 
voted much spare time to anal5'zing 
positions and working out prob- 
lems. His first contributions to 
whist literature consisted of some 
double-dummy problems published 
in 1880 in the Cambridge Review, 
an undergraduates' journal. His 
fame as a whist problemist was es- 
tablished, however, by a double- 
dummy problem which he sent to 
the London Field, and which ap- 
peared in its issue of January 31, 
1885. This is conceded to be the 
most difficult problem of its kind 
ever constructed. It may be of in- 
terest to know that it was composed 
in bed. Mr. Whitfeld was kept 
awake one night by a strong cup of 
coffee, and employed his sleepless 
moments in thinking it out. In 
the morning it was finished. Before 
its appearance in the Field, " Cav- 
endish" sent a copy of it to N. B. 
Trist, and the latter had it pub- 
lished in the New Orleans Times- 
Democrat, from which paper it 
was extensively copied, and went 



the rounds in this country. Many 
whist-players wrote that there must 
be some mistake about it, as they 
found it impossible of solution. 
As eminent an expert as C. D. P. 
Hamilton stated that it took him 
two weeks, and he did not see how 
Proctor could possibly have solved 
it in fifteen minutes — that was the 
story which had come over from 
England. Proctor's name was cu- 
riously connected with it in this 
country. It was generally spoken 
of as the " Proctor problem," and 
Professor Proctor was supposed to 
have composed it. It required a 
letter from ' ' Cavendish, ' ' in Whist, 
to correct the error. 

R. F. Foster writes as follows 
concerning the problem in the New 
York Sun of March i, 1896: " H. 
H. Waldo, a bookseller in Rock- 
ford, 111., published it in the Rock- 
ford Gazette, in 1885, and ofl«red 
any whist book on the market as a 
prize for its solution. The Racine 
Whist Club spent three weeks over 
it in vain. No one in the Milwau- 
kee Whist Club could solve it, and 
the prize was finally won by Dr. B. 
F. Crummer, of Omaha, Neb., who 
sent in his solution many weeks 
after the problem first appeared. 
Nothing indicates better than this 
problem the progress whist has 
made in the past ten years. In 
1885 a prize for its solution went 
begging for months; to-day we 
have thirty-five correct answers out 
of one hundred and fifty-eight 
attempts." 

We give the problem herewith, 
in its original and correct form, 
together with the solution, as re- 
ceived from Mr. Whitfeld himself. 
In this case, as in all other prob- 
lems, the solution should not be 
consulted until all efforts to work 
out the answer have failed, or until 
it is desired to verify a solution 
arrived at: 



WHITFElvD, WIIyLIAM H. 5^9 WHITFELD, WILIylAM H. 



4k None. 
<?8, 7. 
*A, 2. 
OJ. 5- 
North. 



♦ Q, 7. 

^ None. ■§ 

♦ J, 3- ^ 
2,7. 



Hearts trumps. 






South to lead. 




♦ J, 6. ' 
^ None. 


North and south 


^ 


to win all six 


to 


*8. 

6, 8, 10. 


tricks, east and 


S. 


west doing their 




best to prevent. 







South. 

♦ 10, 9. 
^ None. 
« 10. 
A, K, 9. 



The correct solution of tlie prob- 
lem is as follows: 

Trick I. — South leads ace of dia- 
monds, on which north plays jack. 
Thisis the key to the problem. Only 
by this play can north reserve the 
opportunity of playing a diamond 
through west and giving south a 
finesse, should the development 
warrant such a course. 

Trick 2. — South leads ten of 
spades, which north wins with seven 
of hearts. 

Trick 3. — North leads eight of 
hearts, on which south discards ten 
of clubs. West is obliged to un- 
guard one of the plain suits. His 
best discard is the spade, since his 
partner also guards that suit. 

Trick 4. — North plays ace of 
clubs, and east is compelled to un- 
guard the spade or diamond suit. 
South, playing after east, keeps 
the suit from which east has dis- 
carded. 

Trick 5. — North leads a diamond, 
which south wins with the king. 

Trick 6. — South leads the thir- 
teenth spade or diamond. 



It should be noticed that if at 
trick three west discards the queen 
of diamonds, he leaves south with 
the tenace over east, and if he dis- 
cards a club, north will make his 
small club. 

We may add that the problem, 
since its original publication, has 
frequently been republished in a 
somewhat altered or disguised 
form. One of these variations was 
given in the London Field of De- 
cember 14, 1889, where the suits 
and some of the unimportant cards 
were changed from the original. 
The New York Sun of March i, 
1896, contained another variation. 

The first publication of the prob- 
lem in the Field was followed by 
other interesting and difficult hands 
composed by Mr. Whitfeld, as well 
as by articles on whist, in which 
his mathematical genius was dis- 
played in close reasoning and subtle 
analysis. In 1892 he became regu- 
larly connected with the staff of 
the Field y and in 1893 he had entire 
charge of its card department dur- 
ing " Cavendish's" absence in 



WHITFBLD, WILLIAM H. 520 WHITFELD, WILLIAM H. 



America. Mr. Whitfeld is also a 
frequent contributor to Whist, 
America's representative journal 
of the game. In 1896, with " Cav- 
endish," he attended the sixth con- 
gress of the American Whist League, 
at Manhattan Beach, when Presi- 
dent Schwarz introduced him in the 
following words: "I would like 
to say, in regard to Mr. Whitfeld, 
that he has long been associated 
with ' Cavendish' in the conduct 



of the London Field, and has made 
many valuable contributions to the 
whist literature of this country; and 
that, as a whist mathematician, he 
is without a superior." 

In closing this brief notice, we 
take pleasure in giving another one 
of his very best double-dummy 
problems; in fact, he himself 
considers it of nearly equal merit 
with his more celebrated achieve- 
ment: 



♦ 9. 7. 6, 3. 
^ None. 
*5. 3- 
7,2. 

Not th. 







Spades are trumps. 




4k None. 




South to lead. 


4> None. 


^K,5. 


I'U 


North and south 


^ ^Q,7,6,3 


* K, 9, 8. 


^ 


to make 


.^ *L4. 


J, 10. 6. 




the eight tricks. 


0Q,3. 



South. 

t^ None. 
<0 A, 10, 9, 4. 
*A, 7. 
OK, 8. 



The correct solution of the prob- 
lem is as follows: 

Trick I. — South leads a small 
heart, which north trumps. 

Trick 2. — North leads a trump, 
forcing a discard from east. If he 
discards a heart, south will finally 
make a trick in that suit with the 
last heart. He must, therefore, 
discard a club or a diamond. The 
position of the cards in these two 
suits being in all essential respects 
similar, we need only take one 
case. We will suppose that he dis- 
cards a club. South then also dis- 
cards a club. 



Trick 3. — North leads a club, 
which south wins. 

Trick 4. — South leads the best 
heart, to which north discards a 
diamond. 

Trick 5. — South leads a small 
heart, which north trumps. 

Trick 6.— North leads the last 
trump. Unless east keeps his heart 
south will make the last heart. 
East must therefore discard a dia- 
mond. South then discards his 
heart. West is now in a difficulty. 
If he discards a club, north will 
take a trick with the last card of 
that suit, and if he discards a 



WHlTFEIvD PROBI.EM 52 1 WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 



diamond his remaining one will 
fall to south 's master card, and 
south's last diamond will win a 
trick. In either case, north and 
south win all the tricks. 

Not one player in fifty can solve it [the 
Whitfeld problem] without assistance. 
It seems remarkable that so difficult a 
combination could be set up with only six 
tricks. — Whist, October, i8g2. 

The problem which we gave on the six- 
teenth is generally known as the " Whit- 
feld " problem, and was composed by W. 
H. Whitfeld, "Cavendish's" understudy 
as whist editor of the London Field. 
"Cavendish" says it is the most difficult 
problem with six cards ever composed. 
Some persons call it the Proctor problern, 
but Proctor simply introduced it to this 
country.— i?. F. Foster {S. O.}, New York 
Sun, March i, j8g6. 

Whitfeld Problem.— See, "Whit- 
feld, W. H." 

Winning Card. — The highest 
card in play of any suit; the king 
card; the master card {q. v. ) 

Play out a winning card before a twelfth 
or thirteenth card, as the adversaries 
might discard the only one of the suit, 
and rufif your best card. — H. F. Morgan 
[O.]. 

"Win the Rest."— Some play- 
ers, either through carelessness or 
inexperience, at times show undue 
haste in taking in the final tricks 
which they consider as good as 
won. There are good reasons why 
every hand should be played out to 
the last round. 

Should a player saj', "I can win the 
rest," " I have won the game," or make 
signs to that effect, his hand shall be 
thrown down. — Deschapelles [0.], ^'Laws," 
A rticle 122. 

If any player says, "I can win the 
rest," " The rest are ours," "We have the 
game," or words to that effect, his part- 
ner's cards must be laid upon the table, 
and are liable to be called. — Laws of 
Whist {American Code), Section ^6. 

By the English code, if a player says, 
" I have game in my hand, I can win the 
rest," there is no penalty. By the Ameri- 
can code, law 36, the partner's cards 
must be laid upon the table, and are lia- 



ble to be called. — A. W. Drayson [/,+ 
^+], "'Whist Laws and Whist Deci- 
sions." 

Woman's Whist League. — This 
most interesting and welcome na- 
tional organization dates from the 
woman's whist congress (the first 
of its kind) which was held at the 
Hotel Walton, Philadelphia, begin- 
ning April 27, 1897. The Woman's 
Whist League was the outcome of a 
movement which had been gather- 
ing force for several years. The 
rapid increase of women whist- 
players, thanks to the efi&cient 
teaching of Miss Kate Wheelock, 
and many other able women fol- 
lowing in her footsteps, and the 
great proficiency in the game shown 
by thousands of the fair sex, made 
it inevitable that they should event- 
ually have a central organization, 
aside from their local clubs or co- 
teries. 

While the constitution of the 
American Whist League did not 
prohibit women from joining, the 
idea of a separate league seems to 
have been entertained by the great 
majority. At first Miss Wheelock 
planned an auxiliary to the Ameri- 
can Whist League, but after due 
consideration the matter was post- 
poned for a time. It was next taken 
up in the Trist Whist Club, of 
Philadelphia, and a delegation of 
its members went to the sixth con- 
gress of the American Whist 
League, at Manhattan Beach, 1896, 
with a communication asking the 
advice of the League upon the sub- 
ject, but after an informal confer- 
ence action was deferred. The com- 
munication was as follows: 

At a meeting of the executive board of 
the Trist Whist Club, of Philadelphia, 
held June 10, the possibility of being in 
some way affiliated with the A. W. L. was 
discussed. The board appreciated the 
difficulties in the way of full member- 
ship, but realizing the benefit that would 
accrue to the women whist - players 



WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 522 WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 



throughout the country could they have 
the stimulus of the counsel and interest 
of the League, they decided to ask if in 
the opinion of the A. W. L. board the for- 
mation of an associate league is feasible. 
A committee, consisting of Mrs. T. H. 
Andrews, vice-president and founder of 
the Trist Club, Mrs. Charles Williams, 
and Mrs. Edwin I,. Hall, members of the 
executive board, was appointed to act for 
the Trist Club; and they now ask if the 
members of the A. W. ly. approve of the 
plan, and, if so, whether they will kindly 
advise the proper steps to take toward 
the formation of such an a.ssociate league. 
Mary P. Hall, 
Secretary pro tern. 

Mrs. Andrews, who had caused 
the Trist Club to take action, was 
very much in earnest and not in 
favor of any further delay. Her 
interest in the cause of woman's 
whist had already been demon- 
strated the previous year by a whist 
tournament which she had insti- 
tuted among the ladies of Philadel- 
phia, and that tournament was the 
beginning of the movement for a 
separate league, to which she now 
bent all her energies. The mat- 
ter took formal shape at another 
woman's whist tournament, held in 
Philadelphia, November, 1896, at 
which four other cities were also 
represented — Washington, by Mrs. 
Joseph R. Hawley; Brooklyn, by 
Mrs. E. T. Baker; Pottsville, Pa., 
by Mrs. Baird Snyder; and Cam- 
den, N. J., by Mrs. William J. Wil- 
liams. At this meeting the follow- 
ing resolution was unanimously 
adopted : 

Resolved, That the contestants in the 
■woman's tournament, held at 1119 Spruce 
street, Philadelphia, November 11, 12, and 
13, 1896, heartily approve of the forma- 
tion of a woman's whist league, and for 
the accomplishment of that object call 
upon the women whist-players of Amer- 
ica to organize whist clubs and send rep- 
resentatives from such clubs to a meet- 
ing to be held for the purpo.se of league 
organization. That Mrs. T. H. Andrews 
be requested to act as chairman of a 
committee of five, she to appoint the 
other four; the duties of said committee 
to be to select the time and place for 
such a meeting, and issue a call for the 
same. 



On December 18 Mrs. Andrews 
announced the other four members 
of the committee, as follows: Mrs. 
J. R. Hawley, Washington, D. C; 
Mrs. Waldo Adams, Boston, Mass.; 
Mrs. Clarence Brown, Toledo, O.; 
and Miss Susan D. Biddle, Detroit, 
Mich. That the efforts of the la- 
dies met with warm and kindly re- 
cognition everywhere, appeared 
from the comments made in the 
press as well as from the following, 
which was adopted by the execu- 
tive committee of the American 
Whist Leagtie, at its mid-winter 
meeting held at Nashville, Tenn., 
February 22, 1897: 

Your committee, to whom was referred 
the communication of the Trist Whist 
Club, of Philadelphia, beg leave to re- 
port: In the opinion of your committee, 
the organization of a woman's whist 
league of America is both practicable 
and commendable, and, if properly con- 
ducted, will be in the highest degree 
beneficial to the interests of the game. 
We realize that the training-schools of 
our whist-players are and should con- 
tinue to be in our homes, where our wives 
and daughters reign supreme, and where 
their ennobling and refining influence 
can best be exerted. Whist is essentially 
a home amusement, and can and should 
be made the inducement to home enjoy- 
ments of an attractive and elevating na- 
ture. To this end, the co-operation of our 
women is essential. We therefore wel- 
come with sincere satisfaction a move- 
ment that, if successful, must result in 
securing such co-operation, and in pro- 
moting the study of the game within the 
sacred precincts of our homes. In the 
opinion of your committee, such a wo- 
man's league should be entirely distinct 
from, and independent of, the American 
Whist League, but in sympathy with it. 
It should have its own constitution, laws, 
and officers, and should perform in its 
own sphere the functions that are pecu- 
liar to itself, and consonant with the ob- 
jects for which it is created. To such an 
organization, so conducted, the American 
Whist League hereby extends most fra- 
ternal greeting. 

Respectfully submitted, 

E. S. Elliott, 
John M. Walton, 
Theo. Schwarz, 

Committee. 

On March 29, the committee on 
organization, of which Mrs. An- 



WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 523 WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 



drews was chainnan, issued the 
formal call for the congress and 
formation of the league, in re- 
sponse to which 226 accredited del- 
egates attended from all parts of 
the United States, among other 
cities represented being the follow- 
ing: Philadelphia, New York, 
Brooklyn, Jersey City, Princeton, 
Newark, Boston, Providence, Wash- 
ington, Baltimore, Richmond, Chi- 
cago, San Francisco, Minneapolis, 
Toledo, Detroit, Denver, Indian- 
apolis, Pittsburg, Wilmington, and 
Camden. Mrs. Andrews, as chair- 
man of the organization committee, 
called the meeting to order at 
eleven o'clock on the morning of 
April 27, and was made temporary 
chairman upon motion of Mrs. J. 
R. Hawley. Mrs. Henry Krebs, of 
San Francisco, was made tempo- 
rary secretary upon motion of Mrs. 
Clarence Brown. Mayor Warwick, 
of Philadelphia, delivered a pleas- 
ant address of welcome to the 
ladies, and was followed by Mrs. 
H. C. Townsend, the senior whist- 
woman of the Quaker City, who 
made a brief but excellent response. 
Walter H. Barney, president of the 
American Whist League, was pres- 
ent, and also made a speech, which 
was warmly received. Thereupon 
the Woman's Whist League was 
duly formed, on motion of Mrs. L. 
M. Hall, seconded by Mrs. J. B. 
Colahan. A motion for the ap- 
pointment of committees on con- 
stitution and by-laws, tournament, 
reception, and nominations was 
made by Mrs. Walter Peck, of 
Providence, and carried. The pres- 
ident accordingly announced the 
following appointments: 

On Constitution and Bv-laws — Mrs. Jo- 
seph R. Hawley, Mrs. Abbie H. Krebs, 
and Mrs. Charles Williams. 

On Tournament — Mrs. H. Toulmin, 
Mrs. Silas W. Pettit, and Mrs. Frank 
Samuel. 

On Reception — Mrs. H. C. Townsend, 



Mrs. Morris Longstreth, Mrs. Duncan 
Buzby, Mrs. J. B. Colahan, Mrs. B. P. 
Moulton, Mrs. Roberts I<owrie, Mrs, Har- 
rison K. Caner, Mrs. Milton C. Work, 
Mrs. Joseph S. NeiT, Mrs. Lewis J. Lev- 
ick, Mrs. B. M. Gaskill, and Mrs. Rodman 
Wister (the last-named being also treas- 
urer of the League). 

On Nominations. — Mrs. Leech, of Wash- 
ington; Mrs. Walter Peck, Mrs. Bradt, 
Mrs. C. Bond Lloyd, and Mrs. Frank Sam- 
uel. 

At the second day's session, fifty 
clubs being represented, the report 
of the committee on constitution 
and by-laws was presented and 
adopted. As a device for the 
League the ace of diamonds was 
selected, bearing the initials W. W. 
L. The club dues were fixed at ten 
dollars, and individual fees at five 
dollars. The attendance at the 
third day's session was the largest 
of any, and interest was centered in 
the following nominations, which 
were reported by the nominating 
committee and all duly ratified: 

President — Mrs. T. H. Andrews, Phila- 
delphia. 

First Vice-President — Mrs. Joseph R. 
Hawley, Washington, D. C. 

Second Vice-President — Mrs. Clarence 
W. Brown, Toledo, Ohio. 

Treasurer— Mrs. Silas W. Pettit, Phila- 
delphia. 

Secretary— Miss Florence C. Oreene, 33 
Mawney street. Providence, R. I. 

Board of Governors — Mrs. Waldo Ad- 
ams, Boston; Mrs. Elihu Chauncey, New 
York; Miss Trist, New Orleans; Miss 
Susan D. Biddle, Detroit; Mrs. Lucian 
Swift, Minneapolis; Mrs. Abbie E. ICrebs, 
San Francisco: Mrs. O. W. Potter, Chi- 
cago; Mrs. J. M. Walker, Denver, Col.; 
Miss Frances D. Dallam, Baltimore; Mrs. 
O. D. Thompson, Allegheny, Pa.; Mrs. 
Henry E. Wallace, of Staten Island (who 
resigned in favor of Mrs. E. T. Baker, of 
Brooklyn); and the Viscomtesse de Si- 
bour, of Washington, D. C. 

In a general way the new League 
followed closely the lines upon 
which the American Whist League 
was organized, and the laws of 
whist and duplicate whist adopted 
by that organization were also held 
to govern. The tournament, which. 



WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 524 WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 



was a great feature of the congress, Seven pairs being inconvenient, 

lasted all week, various contests Mrs. McCrea and Mrs. Earle, of 

being arranged. That the interest Washington, were selected to make 

taken was full of enthusiasm may up the necessary complement. Mrs. 

be judged from the fact that in Bradt and Mrs. Richardson, repre- 

the championship pair contest no senting the "Cavendish" Club, 

less than 112 pairs were entered. Boston, proved the winners, while 

There were over two hundred con- the complementary pair tied the 

testants in the mixed double pairs, winners as to matches, and made 

forty-three teams of four in the a trick score of 10^ to the winners' 

teams-of-four competition, and 350 4}(. The prize was a silver loving 

in the general contest on the clos- cup, presented by Mrs. J. P. Weth- 

ing night. Seven pairs qualified erill, of Philadelphia, and known 

for the finals in the "pair cham- as the Philadelphia Trophy (q. v.). 

pionship." They were: The individual souvenirs consisted 

1. Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Raw- of handsome enameled pins, and 
son, Staten Island. were presented by the "Cavendish" 

2. Mrs. Christman and Mrs. Club, of Philadelphia. Mrs. Wal- 
Troth, Philadelphia. lace and Mrs. Rawson, who lost the 

3. Mrs. Swift and Mrs. Clinton, match by but one trick, won the 
Minneapolis. second prize, which consisted of 

4. Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Pettit, a pair of ivory glove-stretchers, 
Boston and Philadelphia. given by the Mantua Village Club, 

5. Mrs. Samuel and Mrs.Wister, of Philadelphia. 
Philadelphia. In the " mixed double" pair con- 

6. Mrs. Brooke and Miss Fisher, test, for the mixed double pair 
Germantown and Philadelphia. championship, six pairs qualified 

7. Mrs. Bradt and Mrs. Richard- for the finals, which resulted as 
son, Boston, follows: 

W. T. L. s. 

Mrs. Vodges and Mr. Durban, Philadelphia i i 3 ij/^ 

Mrs. EUisoxi and Mr. Shinn, Philadelphia 2 2 i 3 

Mrs. Thomson and Mr. F. "Wister, Philadelphia and Pittsburg . . . i 1 3 ij^ 

Mrs. Baker and Mr. Baker, Brooklyn i 2 2 2 

Mrs. Toulmin and Mr. Work, Philadelphia 3 i i 35^ 

Miss Goldsborough and Mr. McCoy, Baltimore 3 i I z% 

There was a tie in the match upon which are inscribed the fol- 
score, but Miss Goldsborough and lowing words: " 1897. The Wash- 
her partner were three tricks to the ington Trophy, W. W. L. Cham- 
good, and were therefore declared pionship won by fours." Three 
the winners. So the clocks donated wins are necessary for its permanent 
by the Hamilton Club, of Philadel- possession. It was pla3^ed for at 
phia, went to Baltimore, and Mrs. the congress, under the Mitchell- 
Toulmin and her partner received Howell system forprogressive fours, 
the silver repousie dishes presented and was won, by a half-match, by 
by the Colonial Club. the team from the Trist Club, of 

The principal trophy played for Philadelphia, consisting of Mrs. 

at the congress, the Washington Frank Samuel, Mrs. Rodman Wis- 

Trophy, was presented by the ter, Mrs. Eugene L. Ellison, and 

women of Washington, through Mrs. Harry Toulmin. The individ- 

Mrs. Hawley. It consists of a ual prizes for the winners were four 

beautifully enameled silver shield silver cups. The full score follows: 



WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 525 WOMAN'S WHIST LEAGUE 



Games Match Trick 
Club. Won. Tie. I^ost. Score. Score. Plus. M. 

"Washington 7 6 3 10 16 9 — 

Belmont 4 3 9 5% 6 — 9 

Merion 4 7 5 7}^ 6 — — 

Colonial 6 7 3 g% 11 8 — 

ABC 3 6 7 6 4 — 8 

Boston 7 6 3 10 13 8 — 

No Name 6 5 5 8)^ 6 — 4 

Cavendish 6 6 4 9 11 7 — 

Trist 7 7 2 loj^ 10 7 — 

Pottsville 7 2 7 8 16 4 — 

Manheim 5 5 6 7J^ 7 — i 

PJmma Andrews ..5 4 7 7 9 — 4 

Sarah Battle 4 7 5 7^ 4 — 2 

Providence 4 4 8 6 5 — 6 

Loescher 6 6 4 9 7 — — 

Baltimore 8 i 7 85^ 9 — i 

Kate Wheelock 3 6 7 6 4 — 8 

The Washington four, captained the successful first congress of the 

by Mrs. Hawley, won the individ- Woman's Whist League, 

ual prizes, given by the Trist Club, In speaking of the officers of the 

for the team winning the greatest new League, Eugene S. Elliott says, 

number of tricks in the contest. in IVkisl of August, iSgy: "Mrs. 

In the "detached fours," the Andrews is the wife of a physician 
four silver vinaigrettes, given by of eminence in the city of Phila- 
the Sarah Battle Club, were won by delphia. She is a lady of remark- 
the Western team — Mrs. Clinton able executive ability and energy, 
and Mrs. Swift, of Minneapolis; and it is to her untiring efforts that 
and Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Lloyd, the present flattering condition of 
of Toledo — with a score of plus 9. the Woman's League is undoubt- 
The Heath duplicate whist cabinet, edly due. Mrs. Hawley, the first 
presented by Gen. Heath, of Grand vice-president, is the wife of Gen- 
Rapids, Mich., was won by Mrs. eral Joseph R. Hawley, one of the 
Dickson, recently of London ; Mrs. senators from the State of Con- 
Bottomley, of Camden, N. J., and necticut to the Congress of the 
the Misses Croft, of Philadelphia, United States. Mrs. Brown is the 
all of the Emma D. Andrews Club, wife of one of the leading lawyers 
of Camden, N. J., with a score of of Toledo, Ohio, and Mrs. Pettit is 
plus 8. the wife of one of the most distin- 

The highest individual score of guished lawyers of Philadelphia, 

the week was made by Mrs. Brooke Miss Greene is a member of one of 

and her sister, Miss Fisher, of Ger- the best families of Providence, R. 

mantown, and this entitled them to I., and is said to be of marked 

the gold-linked sleeve-buttons pre- ability as a whist-player." 
sented by the Manheim Club. Their 

score was plus 18. The far-reaching- results of the move- 

'rv.a -r^-i-^i^^c-o^ ^^«4-o£.4- ■U^4-r,,^^.^ men t for the cause of good whist among- 

The proposed contest between ^j^^ ^^^^^ ^f our laSd, of which this 

women and men, which was to woman's whist congress is both a symp- 

have been played on the evening torn and a result, can hardly be realized. 

nf Anril on hnH fn hp ahntif^nnPff * * * it means a wider, more gener- 

01 Aprii 29 naa to oe aOanaonea, ^^g^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ development of the 

as the number of players was alto- game. The influence of the American 

gether too large, and impromptu whist League, in a certain measure at 

r)roo-re'?sive nlav wfl<? c^nbcititnterl in ^^^■^''. '^ confined to comparatively small 

progressive piay was SUDSUtU tea, in coteries of players in the clubs. The 

which all participated. This closed widespread, persevering, and intelligent 



WOMEN AS AUTHORS 



526 



WOMEN AS AUTHORS 



study of the game by the women of our 
land within recent years,and the enlisting 
and organizing of their enthusiastic ef^ 
forts is destined to cause the game to be es- 
tablished,ina (ruer sense than ever before, 
as the national indoor game of America, 
the game of the home as well as the game 
of the club. — President Walter H. Barney 
\L. A.], Annual Address before the A. IV. 
L., 1897. 

Women as Whist Authors. — Up 

to the time that the women of 
America took up the game of whist, 
there was on record one solitary in- 
stance of whist authorship on the 
part of the fair sex. " Bob Short's 
Rules," which appeared in Eng- 
land in 1792, were compiled from 
Hoyle by Anne Lsetitia Aikin (af- 
terwards Mrs. Barbaud), and at- 
tained immensed popularity, some 
7000 copies being sold in a year. 

In this country, during the past 
few years, several interesting and 
valuable contributions to whist 
literature have been made by wo- 
men. Not that they have an- 
nounced any new or startling theo- 
ries, or produced any original 
method of play, but the little 
volumes which they have published 
have been clear and lucid exposi- 
tions of the game from the stand- 
point of woman, and especially 
adapted to her wants. The earliest 
effort in this direction was by Miss 
Kate Wheelock, the pioneer among 
women whist-teachers, who issued, 
in 1887, a 22-page brochure, which 
had on the outside of the cover 
this wording: " The Modern Scien- 
tific Game of Whist and How to 
Play It;" and on the title-page the 
following: "The Fundamental 
Principles and Rules of Modern 
American Whist, Explained and 
Compiled by a Milwaukee Lady." 
The passenger department of a 
prominent Western railway pub- 
lished the booklet and issued sev- 
eral editions, consisting of many 
thousands of copies in the aggre- 
gate. 



In 1894 appeared a 32-page 
" Condensed Text-Book of Whist," 
by Roberta G. Newbold, of Phila- 
delphia, and this was followed by a 
second edition in 1895. It con- 
tained ' ' the American leads, with 
the principal plays of the second 
and third hands, together with a 
few rules," according to the title- 
page. The little volume was dedi- 
cated to Miss Gertrude E. Clapp, 
whose pupil Mrs. Newbold had 
been. Next came a small book of 
fifty-four pages, which Mary D'l. 
Levick dedicated to her teachers, 
Miss Kate Wheelock and Mrs. 
Roberta G. Newbold. It was enti- 
tled, "A Whist Catechism," and 
was issued from the press of the J. 
B. Ivippincott Company, early in 
1896. A second edition was pub- 
lished in 1897. 

In 1896 Miss Wheelock published 
her well-known "Whist Rules," a 
75-page book, in which she sets 
forth the rules and precepts of 
whist as used by her in her instruc- 
tions. Miss Wheelock was compli- 
mented by Whist upon the good 
judgment shown in her order of 
arrangement, which journal also 
said: "All rules and suggestions 
are worded with a remarkable de- 
gree of accuracy. It is seldom 
that one sees a new book on whist 
which is so entirely free from erro- 
neous and careless statements." A 
second edition was called for in the 
fall of 1897. 

In February, 1897, "The AB 
C of Whist," by Emma D. Andrews 
(Mrs. T. H. Andrews),, the first 
president of the Woman's Whist 
League, was published in Philadel- 
phia, and soon passed through 
several editions. This neat little 
whist primer was followed shortly 
afterwards by a sequel, entitled 
"The X Y Z of Whist," being 
designed for advanced players. 

In April, 1897, a new book for 



WOMBN AS PLAYERS 527 WOMEN AS PLAYERS 



beginners appeared from the pen 
of Elizabeth H. Gay, of Boston, 
entitled " Whist Stud}^ Suits." The 
work included about fift}' diagrams, 
each showing a suit of from two to 
six cards, each diagram being ac- 
companied by directions for the 
lead, second, and third hand play in 
both trumps and plain suits. In some 
instances where there is a difference 
of opinion among expert players as 
to the best lead, both are given. 
At the end of the book long and 
short-suit leads are discussed, to- 
gether with various other points in 
whist strateg5^ In explaining the 
reasons for her manner of arrang- 
ing the explanatory matter in the 
book, Mrs. Gay says: "The study 
suits were planned for beginners, 
and were meant to be studied. It 
seemed to me that by having the 
key to the suit under study on the 
back, it would require more inde- 
pendent judgment on the part of 
the student, who could refer to the 
key for corroboration; whereas, if 
the plan of play could be read in 
connection with the suit, the lesson 
would not be so perfectly learned. ' ' 

Women as Whist-Players. — 

From the earliest days in which 
whist was elevated from the posi- 
tion of a tavern game and received 
into polite society, the game has 
had its fair devotees. While, as a 
rule, in England and other old- 
world countries, women, as a class, 
were not well grounded in, or thor- 
oughly familiar with, the game — 
and while, as a rule, the sterner 
sex took to their clubs to escape 
what they called " sick whist" — ex- 
amples of brilliant proficiency 
were not lacking among those 
whose play was thus looked down 
upon. Charles Lamb's ideal whist- 
plaj^er was a woman, and some- 
where he must have met her 
prototype, or he could not so faith- 



fully have delineated the character 
and play of Sarah Battle. For 
many of the ancient dames in Eng- 
land, born in the earlier years of 
this century, whist has had a life- 
long charm, and instances are on 
record where they have played 
whist — and good whist, too — for up- 
wards of sixty years. W. C. Cope, 
the Royal Academician, in his rem- 
iniscences, tells of two members of 
a family named Green, residing in 
South Shields, who were " very 
keen whist-players," and formed 
part of a remarkable quartette 
whose combined ages, in 1890, was 
342 years. Miss Green, the oldest 
of the four, was ninety-three j'ears 
old, and the next had attained to 
eighty. In commenting upon their 
achievements an English writer 
says; "Such success in overcom- 
ing the attacks of time and pre- 
serving the enthusiasm of youth, is 
worthy of imitation among the 
younger sisters in their sex." 

The old-fashioned woman whist- 
player had her foibles, of course, 
and often she suffered, too, from 
being dragged into the game when 
she had no natural taste or talent 
for it. The domestic rubber, there- 
fore, was sometimes a stormy one, 
as we may judge from the following 
curious incident: Alexander Henry 
Haliward, a famous physician of 
Belfast, Ireland, left his wife a leg- 
acy of ^100, "by way of atone- 
ment for the many unmerciful 
scolds I have thrown away upon 
her at the whist-table." In every 
other respect, however, she was a 
model wife, for among his other 
bequests to her is the further sum. 
of ;^50o, "for her never having 
given on any other occasion from 
her early youth till this hour any 
just cause to rebuke or complain 
of her." Her one fault was that 
she could not play whist, and could 
not be scolded into learning. 



WOMEN AS PLAYERS 



528 



WOMEN AS PIvAYERS 



Sometimes the ancient dames 
•were fond of sharp practices, just 
the same as the men; and they had 
tempers, too. Charles Mackay, for 
instance, tells of an exciting game 
in which he took part in the rooms 
of Sir John Easthope, in Paris. 
His partner was Lady Wyatville, a 
keen, active woman of eight}', who 
still retained traces of her former 
beauty. She revoked, and being 
accused of the offense, denied it 
vehemently. When the proofs 
were produced she treated her ac- 
cuser with "haughty disdain, and 
not very polite contradiction." Sir 
John thereupon lost his temper, 
and rasped out abruptly, "Mad- 
ame, you are a cheat!" Her eyes 
flashed fire; she arose from her 
chair and advanced upon her ac- 
cuser, who by this time had recov- 
ered his presence of mind and was 
bent upon extricating himself from 
his unpleasant position. "Yes, 
madame, I repeat it — you cheat 
abominably; and in the course of 
a long life," he added, placing his 
hand upon his heart, " I have inva- 
riably noticed that the handsomer 
a woman is, the more she cheats at 
cards." This compliment had the 
desired effect. She resumed her 
seat, all smiles. In the words of 
Mackay, " the tigress became the 
dove. ' ' 

If we pass from these glimpses of 
old-time whist, and turn to the 
present, and especially to the 
United States, we will find hun- 
dreds, aye, thousands, of charming, 
bright-eyed, intelligent women v/ho 
could give Sarah Battle points in 
her favorite amusement. As Dr. 
Pole says in his " Evolution of 
Whist:" "It is noteworthy that 
while accomplished lady whist- 
players are so rare in England, in 
America they abound; they take 
part in the League matches, and 
are said to hold their own among 



the best club members. There can 
be no doubt that since the game 
has been reduced to more system- 
atic principles it has become more 
liked by the fair sex. ' ' 

It was the modern scientific 
game as defined and advocated by 
Dr. Pole, and especially the long- 
suit game and American leads as 
perfected and introduced by Trist 
and " Cavendish," that caused the 
great whist revival in America, and 
brought with it a general interest 
in the game on the part of women. 
Under the old system of play, whist 
was supposed to be played well 
only by those who had a special 
genius for it, but the modern mech- 
anism of the game opened up pos- 
sibilities for all, and once inter- 
ested, those from whom the least 
was expected very often showed the 
most surprising aptitude for genu- 
ine whist-play. Too much credit 
for the high standing which Amer- 
ican women already occupy in the 
whist world cannot be given to the 
instructors who led the way, and 
first caused them to see the possi- 
bilities of the game. (See, ' ' Teach- 
ers of Whist.") If the same 
methods were employed, and the 
same determination and enthusiasm 
shown, there can be no doubt that 
the women of England, or any 
other country in which whist is 
played, would make relatively the 
same progress. Their natural apti- 
tude for whist is great. They have 
quick perception and keen intu- 
ition, which go a great way in 
whist strategy. When woman once 
mastered also the necessary ad- 
juncts of silence and attention at 
the whist-table, her success was as- 
sured. There is to-day no com- 
parison between the thoughtful, 
earnest players who cultivate the 
game, and the giddy chatterers who 
in years gone by were usually rep- 
resented as playing bumblepuppy 



WOMEN AS PLAYERS 



lent dames 

actices, just 

<; as ilie tufcii, aud they had 

. too. Charles Mackay, for 

■ - of an exciting game 

' ook part in the rooms 

..ni Easthope, in Paris. 

•)artner was Lady WyatviUe, a 

<; active woman of eighty, who 

retained traces of her former 

uty. She revoked, and being 



the best club members. There can 
be 13 o doubt that since the game 
has been reduced to more system- 
atic principles 't has become nior* 
liked by the f 
It was the 



Hi' 

ket 

St! I 
bca 

accused of the offense, denied it 
vehemently. When the proofs 
were produced she treated her ac- 
cuser with "haughty disdain, and 
not very polite contradiction." Sir 
John thereupon lost his temper, 
and rasped out abruptly, " .'\?;i<l- 

flSeT'fi^she jSil^iGHaQlpiqn^!;,^ l§^n\n?'mJle' 



giea . 

broi!_ 

in the game uu Vat: part of womtu. 

Under the old system of play, whist 

was .supposed to be played well 

only by those who had a special 

ppni'is for it. but the modern v^-c'^^~ 



chair aJnd advanced upon her ac- 
cuser, who by this time had recov- 
ered his presence of mhia. and was 
bent upon eJEiiS$8r\leMiiMi^?tf from 
his unpleasant -position r>" Yf ^ir 
madame, I repeat Jasept^tScffibgli- 



ested, those from whom the least 
was expected very often showed the 
most surprising aptitude for genu- 
ine whist-play. Too much credit 
for the high standing which Amer- 
ican women already occupy in the 



abominably; and in the coursg of ,, J^hist world cannot be given to the 
a long life," he added, placin J-h4l8- Wjtlfia^ 



hand upon his heart, " I have inva- 
riably noticed that the handsomer 

a woman i=, tbe iDor^ ^l)-^ r-heats at 
c ' .id the 

(i led her 

seii.. cm ••! ;■. icK. in -..jir words '"' 
Mackay, "the tigress became ' 



■y. cO uie 

r. '1 hun- 

d- ■ :<, 

h:., :-o 

COUjvi i;.v>:.; o(; ■.(.-. .■■-.,( j^v-.n-; in 

her favorite amu.sement. As Dr. 
Pole says in his ' ' i); volution of 
Whist:" "It is noteworthy that 
while accomplished lady whist- 
players are so rare in England, in 
America they abound; they take 
part in the League matches, and 
are said to hold their own among 



tors who led the way, and 
test reused them to see the possi- 
M-tiTs «i?Hl Bristol, (See, " Teach- 
er? of v_ - \ jf the same 
- Leoni MeU,9^^ and the 

. and enthusiasm 
_, ., ...iu ,,- ' '1:^-^1 that 
n of E- any 

, ountry in - aist is 

played, would make relatively the 
same progress. Their natural apti- 
tude for whist is great. They have 
quick perception and keen intu- 
ition, which go a great way in 
whist strategy. When woman once 
mastered also the -•-- ->-v -.i 
juncts of silence : 
the whist-table, lie 
sured. There 



parison betw' 
earnest playe. 
game, and th 
in years gone 



i:om- 

: iitful, 

AXiiiQ the 

erers who 

usually rep 



resented as plujiog bumblepuppy 



WOMEN AS PLAYERS 529 WOMEN AS PLAYERS 



in its most naive form wiien help- 
ing to make up a table. The writers 
■who in years gone by poked fun at 
the "sick whist" of the ladies, 
would be amazed could they drop 
in and see the play at a woman's 
whist- club, or at the annual con- 
gress of the Woman's Whist 
League. 

That women play first-class whist 
is testified to by men everywhere. 
F. H. Stephens, of the Capital 
Bicycle Club, Washington, D. C, 
says in ^Az^^ for July, 1894: "In 
the recent tournament played in 
Philadelphia between the Capital 
Bicycle Club and All-Philadelphia, 
in which the former was defeated, 
there was only one team from the 
Capital Club which had a plus 
score to its credit. This team was 
composed of Messrs. Carr, Fogg, 
McComb, and Ouackenbush. In a 
tournament for pairs lately held at 
the rooms of the Chess and Checker 
Club of this city, and open to all 
comers, Fogg and Quackenbush 
stood first, with Carr and McComb 
well up on the list. In an open 
tournament for pairs held this 
spring at the Capital Bicycle Club, 
these gentlemen again attained a 
high standing. I cite these facts 
for the purpose of showing that 
these gentlemen, three of whom are 
immediately concerned in this his- 
tory, were players of experience 
and ability. In the latter part of 
April I asked Carr, Fogg, and 
Quackenbush if they would join 
me in a contest with a four from 
the Woman's Whist Club. They 
would. On the evening of April 
27 I presented them to Miss Daly, 
the president; Miss King, the sec- 
retary; Miss Lockhart, and Miss 
Ravenburg. We formed two tables 
and played eighteen hands dupli- 
cate, changing partners at the end 
of every six hands. Result, plus 
two for the yovmg ladies! We met 

34 



again May 3; result, a tie. On 
May 1 1 we met for the third time, 
and played twenty- four hands; re- 
sult, plus one for the men. The 
ladies are still one trick ahead of 
us on the sixty hands, and we are 
wondering how we are to get even. ' ' 

This is but one example out of 
many that might be cited. In 
Whist for April, 1895, the editor 
called attention to the fact that not 
only in active play at the table, but 
in solving whist problems, women 
were showing the highest aptitude. 
Among the sixty-two answers re- 
ceived to a prize problem in suit- 
placing, the best was that of Mrs. 
W. C. Coe, of Chicago, who re- 
ceived the prize. 

' ' Every • successive meeting of 
whist-players," says R. F. Foster 
in the New York Sun, ' ' demon- 
strates more clearly the approach- 
ing equality of the sexes in the 
matter of skill at the whist table. 
At the sixth congress [of the Amer- 
ican Whist League] the women 
were only moderately successful. 
At the seventh they were much 
more in evidence, and in the vari- 
ous association meetings and com- 
pass games on guests' nights at the 
men's clubs, they have been steadily 
gaining ground. The averages 
made by women in women's clubs 
is much higher than that made by 
men in men's clubs, and their play 
is much freer and more enjoyable. 

" Recent returns," he continues, 
"show some remarkable scores 
made by women against men. In 
the Ohio state congress we find a 
team of four women, from the Kis- 
met Club of Cincinnati — Mrs. 
Poyntz, Mrs. Davidson, Mrs. Gaar, 
and Mrs. Poyntz — winning the 
progressive match for fours b}' de- 
feating such crack teams as four 
men who have all been on cham- 
pionship teams. President Mandell, 
BuflEngton, Mitchell, and Parsons, 



WOMEN AS PIvAYERS 53° WOMEN AS PLAYERS 



the cracks of the Chicago Whist 
Club. The four women players 
from Toledo were next to the top 
in almost every event, and some of 
them got six more tricks than the 
best men's pair entered." 

And just as these last pages are 
going through the press, we learn 
that on January 29, 1898, the three 
years' contest for the trophies do- 
nated by Mrs. T. H. Andrews, 
president of the Woman's Whist 
League, came to an end at Phila- 
delphia. Mrs. Andrews' team, 
consisting of herself, Mrs. J. E. 
Goodman, Mrs. E. L. Ellison, and 
Mrs. H. Toulmin, completed the 
necessary twelve wins which, under 
the rules, entitle them to perma- 
nent possession. Mrs. Toulmin 
having removed to Milwaukee, 
Miss Getchell filled her place dur- 
ing the last few games. The team 
making the next highest record 
was that captained by Mrs. W. H. 
Newbold. Nine was the number 
of wins to its credit. Thus ended a 
contest which must ever find a place 
in the history of woman's whist. 

There can be no doubt of the gen- 
uine interest which the women of 
America are taking in the game. 
In every part of the country they 
are studying whist under compe- 
tent teachers. They are forming a 
network of women's clubs which 
already extends from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific famong the latest 
and most notable organizations of 
this kind being the Chicago Whist 
Club, organized by Mrs. O. W. 
Potter). Their contests for in- 
dividuals, pairs, and teams-of-four 
are just as interesting as those 
of the men. They are welcomed, 
and admitted to membership, in 
many clubs heretofore composed 
exclusively of men. Altogether, 
women have a right to be justly 
proud of the progress which they 
have made. 



It is not long ago the idea prevailed 
that a woman could not play whist. 
Those who wanted to make the state- 
ment charitably put it that she could not 
play equal to a man. Modern develop- 
ments are going on to relegate all opin- 
ions of this nature to a deserved oblivion, 
for we have the proof now that women 
are capable of playing the game with all 
the skill of men. — Cassius M. Paine {L. 
A.'\, Whist, April, z8gs. 

The current imfjression is that women 
are too much inclined to adhere to rule 
of play; that they are unable to grapple 
with th&Jinesse of the game; that when 
an unusual deal falls to woman's lot the 
management is inferior to that that would 
be exercised by the average club man. 
There is only one way to settle a cotnpli- 
cation of this kind, and that is to have a 
contest, w^hich would prove a very inter- 
esting affair. — Mrs. M. S. Jenks [L. A.'], 
Home Magazine, July, 18%. 

It is a difficult matter to make a woman 
believe that it is worth while to play a 
good game of scientific whist. She is 
quite satisfied to play a fair game, and 
thinks anything more a bore, and not 
worth the time it would take. But once 
aroused to the pleasure of the scientific 
game, she is an apt, eager, earnest stu- 
dent, seizing the points with avidity, and 
rushing ahead in a way that is a delight 
to the teacher. — Harriet Allen Anderson 
\L. A .] , Home Magazine, July, i&gs- 

Whist throws a glamour of sport over 
mental exercises that would be deemed 
onerous if per formed in school. It bright- 
ens the wits, sharjiens the memory, and 
trains the perceptive faculties into their 
highest excellence. In fine, whist is al- 
virays elevating, and never demoralizing 
in its influence. It is well, therefore, that 
woman is giving careful attention to its 
study, for she is the autocrat of our homes, 
and what she opposes can gain no foot- 
hold there. — Cassius M. Paine [L. A.}, 
Whist, December, i8g2. 

As soon as women have its points re- 
vealed systematically they are interested; 
interest means thought, and thought 
knowledge. The appreciation of the 
game, and consequent love for it, is grow- 
ing in an astonishing degree. Many who 
begin their study for the sake of hus- 
band, friend, or even fashion, continue 
from real interest. So many women have 
been subject to such discouraging influ- 
ences as to be under the impression that 
they cannot learn whist, and are perfectly 
delighted to discover that they can. Most 
women are acquiring their knowledge 
from a scientific standpoint — are studying 
the game; therefore I believe in their iyx- 
ture.— Adelaide B. Hyde [L. A.], Home 
Magazine, July, 1895. 

The question whether ladies should play 
whist IS one which has often exercised 



WORK, MIIvTON C. 



531 



the feminine mind. In October of four 
years ago this absorbing matter was dis- 
cussed in the columns of a paper pub- 
lished mainly for the reading of women. 
Some weeks were spent in giving the 
reasons which brought the writers to 
a definite and affirmative conclusion. 
* * * Yes, they should play whist — in 
that all the writers were agreed— but not 
because it was a pleasure to themselves. 
They should play whist, and play it to 
exalt that mean thing — man! Thus could 
ladies amuse a father, a husband, or a 
brother, "confined to the house by gout 
or rheumatism," and brute enough not 
to care for days spent in the more refined 
pleasures of books or music. Thus could 
ladies help to keep the game within 
reasonable bounds, and restrain man — 
that wicked manl — from gambling for 
heavy stakes. Their presence would add 
to the pleasure of the lords of creation, 
and would drive far, far away the occa- 
sional oath or evanescent expletive. 
These were their reasons.— W. P. Court- 
ney [L-\-0.], "'English IVhist and IVkist- 
Players," 1894. 

Work, Milton C. — An expert 
whist-player and whist analyst, and 
a whist author of much originality 
and power. Mr. Work is a native 
of Philadelphia, and was born Sep- 
tember 15, 1864. He was graduated 
from the University of Pennsyl- 
vania in 1884, and in 1887 was ad- 
mitted to practice at the Phila- 
delphia bar. He has been actively 
engaged in the practice of law ever 
since, being a member of the well- 
known firm of McCarthy, Work & 
De Haven. 

Mr. Work's interest in whist 
dates from an early period of his life. 
While still in his university years, 
in the spring of 1882, he was a 
member of a team which beat four 
other good players at the first du- 
plicate whist match between teams 
ever played in the Quaker City. 
Two of the members who played 
with him then became, with him, 
members of the famous team of the 
Hamilton Club, upon its organiza- 
tion in 1885, and under his leader- 
ship it recently achieved the unpre- 
cedented feat of winning twenty 
matches for the challenge trophy 



of the American Whist League, 
thereby permanently winning the 
trophy. Mr. Work also captained 
the Philadelphia eight which won 
a series of successive victories from 
New York, Baltimore, and Wash- 
ington, in i894-'95. He has been 
deeply interested in the welfare of 
the American Whist League ever 
since its organization, and has 
served on a number of its com- 
mittees. In 1894 Mr. Work wrote 
and published a pamphlet entitled 
"New Whist Ideas," and this was 
followed in 1895 by " Whist of To- 
day," a wonderfully successful 
book, in which many original ideas 
are set forth. It was in its fifth 
edition in 1897. Mr. Work is an 
advocate of the long-suit game, but 
has liberal ideas as to when excep- 
tions should be made in the play. 
In his own play he employs Ameri- 
can leads, with Hamilton modifica- 
tions {q. v.). He has also achieved 
great success as a whist editor. He 
was in charge of a weekly whist 
department of the Philadelphia 
Inquirer in i889-'90, and was the 
first to suggest a congress of Ameri- 
can whist-players. He wrote on 
whist for the Philadelphia Public 
Ledger in 1893, 1894, and 1895. He 
was the whist editor of the Phila- 
delphia Evening Telegraph in 1895, 
1896, and 1897, and its daily whist 
department (the first ever pub- 
lished) was his idea. In i897-'98 
he took charge of the whist inter- 
ests of the Philadelphia Press and 
the New York Mail and Express. 

Mr. Work's opinions probably have 
more weight with the whist-players of 
America to-day than those of any other 
writer.—/?. F. Foster [5. 0.\ Monthly 
Illustrator, 1897. 

X. — In whist notation, any card 
smaller than a ten-spot is usually 
represented by the letter x. Thus, 
A, Kxxx means ace, king, and 



532 



YARBOROUGH 



three cards of no particular value, 
generally low. 

Y. — The partner of Z, with whom 
he plays against A and B. This des- 
ignation is generally used in noting 
down hands of whist. In the first 
or original round or trick, the 
second hand is Y. In duplicate 
whist the corresponding designa- 
tion is " east." 



Yarborough. — A hand at whist 
containing no card higher than a 
nine. Named after Lord Yarbor- 
ough, who offered a standing bet 
of ;^iooo to ;^i against such a hand 
being dealt. 

Many yarboroughs are dealt 
annually that meet the above con- 
ditions, but an effort made in 1892 
to locate the lowest possible hand 
— the yarborough par excellence — 
failed. In November of that year 
JVhist offered a prize of twenty-five 
dollars for a well-authenticated in- 
stance of such a hand being dealt 
during the next twelve months, 
but no one claimed the money, al- 
though a number of interesting 
yarboroughs were reported. 

The following yarborough was 
published in the Westminster Pa- 
pers, London, April i, 1879, ^"^ 
the editor prefaces it with the fol- 
lowing remarks: "Any queer com- 
bination of cards will occur; but 
the hand certainly contains more 
of the smallest cards than any hand 
that we have ever seen recorded." 
It was dealt at the Surbiton Club, 
and it was calculated that the odds 
of holding no card above any six 
in any particular deal were 10,922,- 
144 to I. Clubs were trumps, and 
the cards held were: 



♦ 2, 3, 4. 5- 
^ 2,3,4,6. 

* 2,6. 

O 2,3,4. 



On October 7, 1892, "H. T.," at 
the Hamilton Club, Philadelphia, 
had dealt to him, in the regular 
course of play, a yarborough with- 
out a trump. It was as follows: 

4k None. 

^ 2, 3, 4, 6. 

* 2, 4, 5, 7, 9. 
3,4,6,8. 

Whist, in its issue of April, 1896, 
gives the following yarborough 
held by E. Leroy Smith, of the 
Albany Whist Club (trumps not 
stated) : 

* 2, 3, 5. 
^ 2, 6. 

* 2, 4, 5, 6. 
3, 4, 5, 7- 

It adds: "That he should have 
captured two congressional prizes 
in successive years is so extraordi- 
nary as to almost justify the sus- 
picion that he is a lucky holder; 
but nothing could be further from 
the truth. In order to prove it, the 
Albany Club has been keeping tab 
on him ever since the Minneapolis 
congress, and proves beyond a 
doubt that he is most fortunate in 
taking tricks when he holds a yar- 
borough, and that as a yarborough- 
holder he is a phenomenon." 

Another yarborough is reported 
by Arthur Remington, from Ta- 
coma, Washington, under date of 
June 4, 1897. Mr. Remington says: 
" On May 13, at the Olympia Whist 
Club, Mr. J. C. Horr, of the Olym- 
pia Club, dealt to a former justice 
of the Supreme Court the following 
hand. 

♦ 2. 3, 4- 
^ 2, 3, 4. 

* 3> 4, 5 (trumps). 
2, 3, 4, 5. 

" I believe this is the champion 
yarborough on record. At least it 
shows how the champions of the 
Pacific Northwest treat their visit- 
ors from Tacoma when we run 
down to the capital city." 



YARBOROUGH 



533 



Here is still another specimen, 
reported by G. W. Parker, of Read- 
ing, Mass., who writes under date 
of July 8, 1897: "Kindly let me 
know if the following hand, which 
I held last night in a game of dupli- 
cate, has ever been equaled or 
beaten in the number of small 
cards held. The hand was as fol- 
lows: 

♦ 2> 3- 

^ 2, 3, 4, 5- 

* 3. 4, 5- 

2, 3, 4, 5 (trumps). 

' ' Dr. Sawyer, Frank Peirce, and 
Frank Rafferty, who made the rest 
of the table with me, will all make 
sworn affidavit if, for any reason, 
you should desire the same, in case 
this hand should make the record. ' ' 

In a yarboroug-h there must be a suit of 
four cards, and the holder should lead the 
lowest card of that suit. It has happened 
that a yarborough, containing four 
trumps, was of service to the partner 
who led trumps, the echo allowing him 
to place the rest and win the game. — G. 
IV. Pettes \L. A. P.], ''American Whist 
Illustrated." 

A former Karl of Yarborough was al- 
ways ready to wager ^^looo to £\ against 
the occurrence of a hand at whist in 
which there should be no card better than 
a nine. The bet was decidedly unfair, 



and if made a great number of times 
must have resulted in large gains to the 
person who made it. It is easy to calcu- 
late the odds. * * * Lord Yarborough, 
if he had been fair (assuming always that 
he knew how to calculate probabilities) 
should have offered rather more than 
^1827 to £\ against the recurrence of the 
hand in question. It must be understood, 
of course, that he wagered with one of 
the players against that player having a 
yarborough, not against the occurrence 
of a yarborough among the four hands 
dealt. The chance of this latter event is, 
of course, greater. — R. A. Proctor [/,. O.]. 

Young Players. — Beginners at 
whist; those who are learning the 
game. 

Young players may be divided into two 
classes — the young player who is humble, 
and the j'oung player who is self-suffi- 
cient. — A. IV. I)rayson[L+A+], "The Art 
of Practical Whist." 

Younger Hand. — ^The player to 
the right of the dealer; the third 
hand on the first round. 

Z. — One of the four letters of the 
alphabet generally used in desig- 
nating players at the whist-table. 
Z is the partner of Y, and with him 
plays against A and B. On the 
first round or trick the fourth hand 
is Z. In duplicate whist the cor- 
responding designation is "west." 



GENERAL INDEX 



(Titles of articles in small capitals; cross-references in italics; other references in 
Roman. I<etters a and b refer to columns i and 2, respectively.) 



Abandoned Hand, la {also, zjsb). 

Abandoning a suit, 47Qa. 

A-B, Y-Z, la {also,j27'b). 

Ace, lb. 

Ace and four, lead from, 2b. 

Ace and one small, Starnes' lead from, 

385a. 
Ace, followed by king, 302b. 
Ace, forcing out, in adversary's band, 

115b. 
Ace, jack, ten, nine, lead from, 278b. 
Ace, king, lead from, 3b. 
Ace, king; ace, queen; ace, jack alone, 

385a. 
Ace, king, queen, jack, and others, lead 

from, 226a, 446a. 
Ace-lead, 14a. 

Ace-lead, first change in, 285b. 
Ace-lead from long suit, 169b. 
Ace-lead, Howell's, 382b. 
Ace-lead, Keiley's, 383b. 
Ace not a face card, 169a. 
Ace, proper play of, second hand, 179a. 
Ace, queen, ten, nine, lead from, 278b. 
Adams, Mrs. Waldo, 44a, 522b, 523b. 
" Admiral," 58a, 335a. 
Admission to Clubs, 4a {also, 486a). 
Advantage, 232b. 
Advantage of having exposed hand in 

dummy, 129a. 
Advantages of deal and lead, 112a. 
Adversaries, 5a. 
Adversaries, playing into the hands of 

the, 174b. 
Adversary's Game, Playing the, 5a. 
Adversary's lead, 452a. 
Adverse Lead, 5b. 
Adverse Trick, 5b. 
Adverse trumps, first exhausted, 463a. 
Advice for Beginners, 5b. 
Advice, satirical, 125b. 
Advisory committee on play, 415b. 
Age, 5a. 

Aged whist-players, 527b. 
Aggressive Game, 6a. 
Aikin, Anne Lstitia, 55b, 57b, 335a, 526a. 
Ainsworth, Mrs. Charlotte i,., 44b. 
Albany Lead, 6b (also, 458b). 
Albany Whist Club, 31b, 33a, 38a, 88b, 

416b, 498b, 503b. 
Allen, Miss Bessie e;., 7a {also, 35a, 39b, 

44b, 422b, 424b). 



Allen di-scard, 117b. 

Allen, Ruius, 7a, 173a, 173b, 345b. 

Allison, James, 7b {also, 130b, i3sb,4g6b). 

American and English Laws, 8a. 

American Code, 30a, 30b, 232a. {See, "Laws 
of Whist, American Code.") 

American Code, proposed revision of, 244a. 

American Game, The, 8b {also, %b, i2ga, 
2y3a ) . 

American game, first English text-book 
to conform to the, 205a. 

American Leader, loa. 

American Leads, loa {also, 177a, 183b, 
187a, 24ga, 280b, 2g6a, 382a, 4g6a, 4ggb). 

American leads adopted, 30a. 

American leads and whist in England, 
60b. 

American Leads, Changes in, 12b. 

American leads employed by their oppo- 
nents, 445a. 

American Leads, History of, 17b. 

American Leads, Objections to, 25b 
{also, looa). 

American leads, opponent of, 272a, 29Sa. 

American leads used in trumps by short- 
suiters, 382b. 

American leads, variation in, 26Sa. 

"American Whist," 28b. 

American Whist Club, Boston, 31b, 88b, 
95b, 142a, 175b, 206a, 301b, 409b, 503b. 

American Whist League, 29b {also, 
361b, 415a, 4_45b, 484b, 4g6b, 521b, 522b). 

American Whist League, action on pri- 
vate conventions, 328b. 

American Whist League, first congress 
of, 344b. 

American Whist League, opposed to 
stakes or bets, 30a. 

American Whist League Trophy. See, 
"Challenge Trophy.''^ 

American women complimented, 528a. 

Ames, Fisher, 40a {also, i6a, 31a, 38a, gsb, 
105b, iJ3b, 127b, 141b, 173b, 204a, 232b, 
373O; 434a, 4&3b, 488b, 48gb, 4gga, 501b, 
503b, 306a, 511b, 513a). 

Amusement, Playing for, 41a. 

Analyst. See, "Whist Analyst.''^ 

Anderson, M. E., 39a. 

Anderson, Mrs. Harriet Allen, 424b. 

Andrews, Mrs. T. H., 41b {also, 35a, 44b, 
228a, 423a, 424b, 522a, 523b, S2sb, s^6b, 
530a). 



(535) 



536 



INDEX 



Andrews trophies, 277a, 423a, 530a. 
Anecdotes, whist, 80a, 97a, 192b, 194a, 

202b, 2iob, 25 lb, 267a, 269b, 309a, 399a, 

413b, 437a, 460a, 467b, 472b, 482a, 527b. 
Anson, George, 41b {also, 172b, 237a, 

369b)- 
Answering trump signal. See, ^^ Mcho." 
Antepenultimate Lead, 42a {also, i8a, 

23b, 286a, 444a). 
Antouelli, Cardinal, 84b. 
Aptitude, woman's natural, for whist, 

528b. 
" Aquarius," 42a {also, la, 57a, 57b, 335a). 
Arbitrary conventions, 184a. 
Arbitrary conventions, avoiding, 99b. 
Arbitrary meaning, 90b. 
Arbitrary Signals, 42a. 
Arlington Club, 42b {also, 4ga, 237a, 



Arnaud, E. M., 57b. 

Around, chances of suit going, 331a. 

Art or science, 357b. 

"Artful Dodger, The," 42b. 

Articles on Whist in Periodicals, 
42b. 

Artifice, 177b. 

Artificial memory, 267a. 

Artillery of the hand, 459a. 

Ask for trumps. See, " Trump Signal." 

Associate Members of the League, 
44a. 

Atlantic Whist Association, 46b, 63a. 

Attack and defense, 383b. 

Attention at the Whist Table, 44b. 

Attention, wrongfully calling, 165b, i66a. 

Atwater, Mrs. Frank H., 44b {also, 
423b, 424b). 

Aubrey, Major, 262a. 

Australia, whist in, 488b. 

Authority in England, 176a. 

Authority, Whist, 45a. 

Automaton Whist-player, 45b. 

Auxiliary Associations, 46a. 

Averaging method of scoring at dupli- 
cate, the, 362b. 

Aymar, H. F., 173b. 



B, 47a. 

Bad Play, 47a {also, 247a, 306b, 318a, 466b, 

471a, 521a). 
Bad Player, 47b {also, 64b, 114a, iiga, 

133b, 21 lb, 212b, 225b, 437b). 
Bailey, George W., 57b, 262a, 335a. 
Baker, Elvs^ood T., 48a {also, 38b, 3ga, 

ggb, 173b, 424a, 424b, 48gb, 508b). 
Baker, Mrs. E. T., 48b, 522a, 523b. 
Baldwin, J. H., 31a, 31b, 173b. 
Baldwin, John Loraine, 49a {also, 26b, 

58a, 2s7a, 327a, 388b). 
Baldwin, Miss N. S., 509b. 
Ballantme, Serjeant, 84a, 261b. 
Ballard, E. A., 34b, 135a, 173b, 199b. 
Baltimore Whist Club, 34b, 35a, 88b, ma, 

268b. 
Barbaud, Mrs., 55b, 526a. 
Barnes, Tracy, 38a, 491b. 



Barney, Walter H., 49b {also, 34b, 35a, 

3gb, 154b, 157a, 167a, 232b, 472b, so4b, 

sua, 523a). 
Barrick, C. M., 72b. 
Barrows, F. I,., 513b. 
Bath Coup, The, 51a. 
" Battle royal of brains, a," 383a. , 
"Battle, Sarah," 51b. 
Beaconsfield, Lord, 83a, 96b, 436b. 
Becker, Charton L. , 173b, 409a. 
Beckham, C. H., 38a. 
Beecher, N. B., 38b, 503a. 
Beginner, 52a {also, 5b, 44b iigb, 203a, 

477a, 510b). 
Beginners, Mistakes of, 52a. 
Beginners, trials of, 94b. 
Belaieff, 173a. 
Beunet, Charles, 54b. 
Benson, F. W., 201a. 
Bentinck, Lord Henry, 52b {also, 172b, 

194b, 327b. 374b. 455a, 455b). 
Best Card. See, '^Master Card." 
Betting, 191b. 

Betting, action of A. W. L. on, 30a. 
Bets, heavy, 127b, 532a. 
Bibliography of Whist. See, "Books on 

Whist." 
Bid for a ruff, looa. 

Biddle, Miss Susan D., 44b, 522b, 523b. 
Bigelow, I. H., 173b. 
Bingham, W. T., 30b, 70b, 199a, 356b. 
Bird, William O., 511b. 
Bisler, G. A., 512a. 
Bismarck, 33b. 
Blind Whist-players, 53b. 
Blocking, 54b. 
Bliicher, Field Marshal, 192a. 
" Blue Peter," 54b {also, S2b, 455b). 
Blyth, A. F., 251a. 
Boardman, Emery, 55a {also, ^8b, 372b, 

483b). 
Boards, 440b. 
"Bob Short's" Rules, 55b {also, 57b, 

335a). 
Bold trump-leading, an advocate of, 175a. 
Book, 56a. 
Book Game, 56b. 
Book Player, 56b. 
" Books of the Four Kings," 57a, 
Books on Whist, 57a. 
Boomerangs, false cards sometimes, 170b. 
Booth, C. U., 501b, 503a. 
Borden, J. McK., 72b. 
Borden, T. P., 72b. 
" Boston," 59a. 

" Boston DE Fontainbleau," 59b. 
Boston Duplicate Whist Club, 416b, 417a. 
Boston Press Club, 409a, 503b. 
Bottomley, Mrs., 525a. 
Boutcher, Charles S., 58b, 344b, 446b, 488b. 
Boutwell, George S., 512b. 
Bouv6, Lander M., 31b, 34a, 36a, 173b, 4893, 

498a, 503b. 
Boyce, Matthias. See, "Mogul." 
Bradt, Mrs. Julia B., 44b, 313a, 523b, 524b. 
Braine, L- F. and B. G., 513b, 514a. 
" Bridge," 6oa {also, 162a, ig2b, 327b), 



INDEX 



537 



Briggs, J. H., 62a {also, 31a, 3Tb, 34a, 173b, 

jgga, 24gb, 306a, 431a, 483b, 488b, 48gb, 

490a). 
Briggs, O. H., 31a, 31b, 173b, 199a. 
Brilliant play, 105a. 
Bring in, 62b {also, 2S3b). 
Bringier, L. A., 443b. 
Bristol, W. T. G., 38a, 174a, 199b. 
Brittain, Thomas, 58b. 
Bronson, W. G., 31b, 36a, 173b. 
Brooke, Mrs. Gertrude, 424b, 525a. 
Brooklyn congress, 33a. 
Brooklyn Trophy, 62b {also, 448a). 
Brooks, Phillips, Bishop, 84b. 
Brown, Clarence, 38a. 
Brown, Mrs. Clarence, 3gb, 44b, 509b, 522b, 

523b, 525a, 525b. 
Brown University, whist at, 504b. 
Bruck, L. J., 38b. 
Brush "Tramp Trays," 63a. 
Brush, W. B., 63a, 509b. 
Brummell, Beau, 192a. 
Bryant, F., 503a. 
Bryant, O. S., 38b. 
Bucklaud, C. T., 58b. 
BuELL, Mrs. Sarah C. H., 64a {also, 

424b)- 
Bufifalo Whist Club, 39a. 
Buffinton, E. A., 34a, 34b, 36a. 

"BUMBLEDOG," 64b. 

BuMBLEPUPPiST, 64b {also, 2g5a, 461a). 
Bdmblepuppy, 65a {also, 47a, 2iga, 225a, 

273b, 280a, 2g8b, 318a, 337a, 466b, 517b.) 
Bumper, 66b. 
Bunbury, H. C, 58b, 335a. 
BuNN, George L., 66b {also, i6a,3ia, 34a, 

173b, 199a, 372a, 483b, 491b). 
Bureau for experimental play, proposed, 

35b, 37t). 
Burnand, F. C, 506a. 
BuRNEY, Admiral James, 67b {also, 58a, 

295b, 3S5a)- 
Burt, Colonel A. S., 44b, 509b. 
Butler, Florence H., 515a. 
Butler, John G. ,511b. 
Buzbv, Mrs. Duncan, 523b. 
'■ B. \V. D.," and " Cavendish," 474b. 
By cards, 73a. 
Bye, Drawing the, 68a. 
Byrd, W., 503a. 
Byron, Lord, 34b, 321a. 
Bystander, 68a {s.\so,i65b, i66a). 

"C-s:lebs," 68a {also, 58a, 2g6a, 335a, 340a, 

369b, 455a). 
Calculation, 68b {also, 264b). 
"Calculation Puzzle, Sir," 68b. 
Call, The, 69a. 

Call for Irtimps. See, " Trump Signaiy 
Call through an honor, looa. 
Called, cards liable to be, at duplicate, 

140b. 
Calling a Card, 69a. 
Calling Attention, 6ga. 
Calling for new cards, 243a. 
Calling Honors, 69b {also, 205a). 
" Cam," 69b {also, 17b, 58b, 298b, 33sa). 



Cameron, D. P., 503a. 

Cameron, R., 503a. 

Cameron. S. , 503a. 

Campbell, Miss M. H., 39a. 

Campbell-Walker, Arthur, 69b {also, 
57b, 73b). 
Can you one? " 69a, 454b. 

Canadian Whist League, 70a {also, 
223a). 

Caner, Mrs. Harrison K., 523b. 

Capital Bicycle Club Team, 72b {also, 
30b, 31a, 88b, jgga, 371b, 4$2b, 438a, 
529a)- 

Card, 73a. 

Card of Uniformity, 73a. 

Card Sense, 73a. 

Cards, 73a. 

Cards, Arrangement of, 73b. 

Cards in suit higher than one led, 153b. 

Cards Liable to be Called, 75a {also, 
168a, 235a, 240b). 

Cards, locating, 305b. 

Cards of equal value, 163b. 

Cards of Re-entry, 75b. 

Cards played in error, 241b. 

Cards, played, that may be seen, 316b. 

Cards, taking up, during the deal, 419b. 

Cards, trick-taking value of, 442b. 

Carleton and Wanderers' Clubs, historic 
match between the, 135b, 270a. 

Carleton, J. W., 76a. 

Carlyon, Edward A. See, "Calebs.'" 

Carpenter, A. F., 502b. 

Carter, Charles S., 151a. 

Carthage Whist Club, 3Ta. 

"Catch-the-Ten.'" See, '^Scotch Whist.'''' 

"Cavendish," 76a {also, la, 7a, loa, 17b, 
i8b, iga, 2oa, 30a, 31a, 42a, 43a, 44a, S7a, 
58a, 58b, 6oa, losb, loSa, 124a, 125b, 127b, 
133b, 157b, i68b, 169a, 173a, 176a, 183a, 
185a, 187a, 192b, 204a, 205a, 212a, 223a, 
232b, 2sib, 252b, 2S7a, 272a, 278b, 2ggb, 
327b, 337a., 339b, 340a, 360a, 369b, 373a, 
410b, 42ga, 433a, 439b, 443a, 443b, 444a, 
444b, 4450-, 4470-, 4^4^^, 467a, 473a, 483b, 
488a, 495b, 5isb). 

"Cavendish," Anecdote by, Soa. 

"Cavendish" Club, 276a, 487a. 

"Cavendish" and Trist, one difference 
in leading, 177a, 187a, 445b. 

Cavour, Count, 83a. 

" Cayenne," 80b. 

Celebrated People who Played 
Whist, 8ib. 

Challenge, 240a. 

Challenge Trophy, 86a {also, 448a). 

Champions, 89a. 

Championship matches, 184b. 

Championship Trophy. See, "Hamilton 
Trophy." 

Chances at Whist, 89a {also, 260a '30b, 
467a). 

Chance and skill combined, 487a. 

Chance, eliminating, 394b. 

Change the Suit Signal, 89b {also, 23b, 
90a). 

Changing Suits, gob. 



538 



INDEX 



Character and Whist, 91b. 

Charles X. loses his throne while at whist, 

82b. 
Chase, A. B., 490a. 
Chauncey, Mrs. EHhu, 523b. 
Cheating at Whist, 91b {also, 314a, ^gsb, 

419b, 443a, 52Sa). 
Chesterfield, Lord, 83a. 
Chicago congress, 30b. 
Chicago Duplicate Whist Club, 38a, 48a, 

270a. 
Chicago Whist Club, 33a, 33a, 137b, 268a, 

357b, 530a. 
Child of six at whist, 123b. 
Chinese Whist, 93a. 
Chips, counting by means of, 130b, 360a. 
Churchmen, noted, fond of whist, 84a. 
Cincinnati ladies at whist, 529b. 
Cincinnati team, 39a. 
Clapp, Miss Anna C., 348b, 421a. 
Clapp, Miss Gertrude 'E,., 94a (also, 

421a, 425a, 526b). 
Clark, F. L., 38b. 
Clay, Charles M., 95a {also, issa, 174a, 

300b, 305a, 306a, 3isa, 332a, 4oga, 483b, 

508b). 
Clay, Henry, 85b. 
Clay. James, 96a {also, la, 58a. 73b, 83a, 

i6qa, 172b, 237a, 251b, 2()<)b, 327b, 340a, 

36gb, 388b, 406a, 4S5b, 460b, 48^b). 
Clay, James, anecdotes concerning, 97a. 
Clay, James, and modern whist, 98a. 
Clay movement, the, g5a. 
Clayton, Paul, 34b, 268b. 
Clear a Suit, To, 98b. 
Clerical Errors, 98b. 
Clinton, Mrs., 525a. 
Club record, a remarkable, 267b. 
Clubs, 9ga. 

Clubs. See, " Whist Clubs." 
Coat Cards. See, "Court Cards." 
Cocklebergle-Diitzele, Ludwig von, 58a, 

296a. 
Code. See, '^ Laws of Whist." 
Coe, W. C, 305a, 529b. 
Cohen. H. A., 43a. 
Coffin Charles Emmet, 99a {also, 

57b, 146a, 147b, 22ob,5o8a). 
Colahan, Mrs. J. B., 523a, 523b. 
Cole.s, Charles Bardwell, 58a, 261b, 335a. 
Collins, Clinton, 141a. 
Columbia Athletic Club, 38b. 
Combination Game, The, 99b {also, 4ga). 
Combination Principle, The, loia. 
Come to Hand, loib. 
Command, loib. 
Command, keeping, loob. 
Commanding card in partner's suit, get- 
ting rid of, 464a. 
Commanding Cards, loib. 
Comments, loib. 

Committee on systems of play, 34a, 36a. 
Common sense game, 273a, 288b, 346a, 

378b. 
Common Sense of Whist, 102a. 
Common Sense School, 102a. 
Common sense whist, 499b. 



Commonwealth Club, Worcester, Mass., 

137a. 
Communication between partners, 328b. 
Comparative system, the, 354b. 
Compass Whist, 102a. 
" COMPLEAT Gamester, The," 102b. 
Complete table, a, 418a. 
Concealed cards, influence of, 207b. 
Congress, Whist. See, "American Whist 

League." 
Conklin, L. R., 503a. 
Consultation, 103a. 
Contest, 264a. 

Continental Club, New York, 88b. 
Control of temper, 427a. 
Conventional, 103a. 
Conventionalities, 103a. 
Conventional Play, 103b {also, 3gob, 



Conventional Signals, 103b. 

Conventions. See, ^^ Private Conventions." 

Conversation, 104a {also, i6sa, 247b). 

Cooke, W. G., 503a. 

Cooper, Sir Astley, 84a. 

Cooper, E. B., 39b. 

Cope, W. C, 527b. 

Cornell, whist at, 505a. 

Coroner's Table, 104b. 

Correct play, 193b, 39Sa. 

Correspondence match. See, '■'• Whist Match 

by Correspondence.'''' 
Cotton, Charles, 104b {also, 352a). 
Count, 104b. 
Counters, 104b. 
Counting from the top of suit, i8b, 187a, 

445a. 
Coup, 105a {also, 332a). 
Coop de Sacrifice, 105b. 
Court Cards, 105b. 
Courtney, William Prideaux, 105b 

{also, 57b, io8b). 
Court of Appeals. See, "fudges of Appeal." 
Cover, io6a {also, 202b, 304a). 
Cover an honor led, 364b. 
Crabbe, 321a. 
Crane, F. W., 44a. 
"Crawley, Captain," 107b {also, sjb, 

58a, 58b, 335a). 
Critical Endings, 107b. 
Croft, the Misses. 525a. 
Cross-Ruff, 107b {also,36sb). 
Crown Coffee-House, 108a {also, i8oa, 



Crummer, Dr. B. F., 518b. 

Curiosities of Whist, io8a. 

Curious social phenomena, 421a. 

"Curse of Scotland, the," 413a. 

Curtis, C. L., 38a, 174a. 

Curtis, George W., 44a. 

Cusack-Smith, Sir William, 109b {also, 

57b)- 
Cut, 337b. 

Cutting, 109b {also, 233a, 238a). 
Cutting cards of equal value, 238a. 
Cutting for partners, 400a. 
Cutting In, iioa. 
Cutting Out, iioa {also, 238b). 



INDEX 



539 



Cutting to the Deaier, nob (also, 
233b)- 

Dale, Parson, ma. 

Dallam, Miss Frances S., iiia {also, 

425a, 426a, 533b). 
Dana, Charles W., 201b. 
Dartmouth Club, 38b. 
Davies, Clement, ma (also, sSa), 
Davis, C. S., 39a. 
Davis, J. C, 173a. 
Dead Suit, nib. 
Deal, nib (also, 239a, 3^^b). 
Deal, never lost, at duplicate whist, 138b, 

268b. 
Dealer, 112b. 
Dealing, 234a, 494b. 
Deane, Walter Meredith, 112b (also, 

60a). 
Deceiving partner, 126b. 
Deceiving the adversary, 170b. 
Decisions, whist, compiling, 265b. 
Deck, 291b. 

Declared Trump, 112b (also, zyia, 276a), 
Declaring trump, 449b. 
Declining to draw a losing trump, 258b. 
Defensive game, 353b. 
Denison, W. T., 501b. 
Denver Whist Club, 146b. 
DeRos, Henry, Lord, 172b. 
Deschapelles Club, 95b, 232a. 
Deschapelles Coup, 115b (also, 338a). 
Deschapelles, disciple of, 343a. 
Deschapelles, G. Le Breton, 114a (also, 

4jb, 58b, 83b, I2ga, J72b, 4950, 505b). 
Destitute young Englishmen wandering 

about the continent, story of, 97b, 

460b. 
Detached Card, 115b. 
Deuce, 115b (also, i8oa,463b). 
" Devil's bed-posts," 413a. 
Diamonds, ii6a. 
Dick, W.B., 335a, 458b. 
Dickens, Charles, 284a, 313b, 505b. 
Dickson, Mrs., 525a. 
Difference between American and Bjng- 

lish laws, 8a. 
Difference between long and short-suit 

play, 373a. 
Dillard, Henry K., 53b, 84b. 
Discard, ii6a (also, 404b). 
Discard call. See, "Single Discard Call.^' 
Discard, force a, 304b. 
Discard from weak suits, 270a. 
Discard, importance of, illustrated, 520a. 
Discard, reverse, 341b. 
Discard, rotary. See, '■^Rotary Discard.^' 
Discarding, elementary directions for, 

480b. 
Discipline, mental, 485a. 
Disguising the Number, n8b. 
Disputes About Penalties, iiSb. 
Doe, Charles H., 48Sb. 
Dolliver, Mrs. Sewall, 425a. 
Domestic Rubber, the, 119a. 
Donally, Mrs. John B., 312b. 
DONT's, 119a. 



Double, 119b. 

Double-Dummy, 119b (also, 210b). 
Double-dummy for two, three, or four,g3a. 
Double-dummy problems, 249b, 517b. 
Double-Dummy Puzzle, 120b. 
Double Echo, 121b. 

DOUBLETON, 12lb. 

Doubtful Card, 121b. 

Doubtful Trick, 122a (also, 450a). 

Doubt, In, 122a. 

Down, playing, 374b. 

Draw of Cards, 122a. 

Drawing cards prematurely to lead with, 

165b. 
Drayson, Alfred Wilkes, 122b (also, 

lb, i8a, 3/a, 42a, 42b, 57a, 58b, 73b, i2ob, 

133a, 187a, 204b, 24sa, 317a, 341b, 431a, 

444a, 473b, 483b. 
Drew, Rev. F. R., 348b. 
Drive Whist, 125a. 
Drogheda, Marquis of, 162b. 
Drummond, G. H., ig2a. 
Duchess of Kent at whist, the, 82a. 
Duffer, 125a. 
DuGGAN, George K., 127a (also, 422a, 

425a). 
Duke of Cumberland's Famous Hand, 

127b (also, 254a). 
Dummy, 128b (also,4oga). 
Dummy bridge. See, ''Bridge." 
Dummy table in duplicate whist, 157a. 
Duplicate play. See, "Overplay." 
Duplicate Whist, 129b (also, 266a, 280b, 

339a, 359a, 466b, 467a). 
Duplicate whist an unerring test, 405a. 
Duplicate whist, Coffin's three-table 

schedule for, 147b. 
Duplicate whist counters, 105a. 
Duplicate whist, distinct advance in, 

135b. 
Duplicate whist, early attempts at, i33a.°J 
Duplicate Whist, History of, 132b. 
Duplicate whist, improvement in, 7b. 
Duplicate Whist, Inter-Club, 137a. '^ 
Duplicate Whist, Laws of, 137b. 
Duplicate whist, laws of, amended, 36a. 
Duplicate whist, laws of, committee on 

new revision of the, 497a. 
Duplicate Whist, Luck at, 140b. 
Duplicate whi.st, opposition at, 287b. 
Duplicate Whist, Progressive, 143a. 
Duplicate Whist, Schedules for 

Playing, 145b (also, ^ob, 289b, 354b). 
Duplicate whist, .single-table schedule 

for, 147a. 
Duplicate whi.st, true beginning of, 134b. 
Dutton, C. T., 517a. 
Duvall, W. E. P., 173b, 201a. 

Eakin, L. G., 30b, 72b, 199a, 356b. 
Earle, Mrs. William E., 44b, 425a, 524b. 
Earliest reference to whist, 84b. 
Earmarks of the short-suit game, 382a. 
East, 157a. 

Easthope, Sir John, 528a. 
Ebersberg, T. S., 57b. 
Echo, 157a (also, 433a, 444a). 



540 



INDEX 



Echo, do not, on adversary's lead of 

trumps, 157b. 
Elcho, plain-suit, 315b. 
"Echoes," 37b, 492a. 
Echoing from three, 433a. 
Echoing with high cards, 445b. 
Eight or higher card, discard of, as a 

trump-signal, 393a. 
Eight, seven, or six, lead of, Howell's, 

382b. 
Eight -Spot, 158b. 
Eighth trick, playing to the, for study, 

409a. 
Eldest Hand, isSb. 
Eleven Rule, 158b. 
Eleven rule, and fourteen rule, 186b. 
Eleventh card, 159a. 
Elliott, Eugene S., 159b (also, zgb, ;o6, 

227b, 267b, 2g2b, 344a, j4sb, 439a, 470b, 

473a, 482a, 484b, S22b, 525b). 
Ellison, Eugene I,., 470b. 
Ellison, Mrs. Eugene I,., 471a, 524b, 530a. 
Ellithorp, F. T., 223b. 
Elwell, J. B., 173b. 
Emblems, Whist, i6ia. 
Emerson, William C, 39a. 
Emma D. Andrews Whist Club, Camden, 

N. J., 525a. 
Endicott, H., Jr., 503a. 
End-play of a hand, 465b. 
England, Whist in, i6ia {also, 487a). 
English Code, defective, 244a. 
English Code. See, "Laws of IVhist.^' 
English IVhzst Clubs. See, " Whist 

Clubs." 
Entry and Re-Entry, 163b (also, 238b). 
Envelope system, duplicate whist, 130a. 
Equal Cards, 163b. 
Equal value, cards of, 219b. 
Equality, placing the players on an, 130a. 
Equivocal card. See, "Doubtful Card.'''' 
Error, Cards Played in, 164a. 
Errors, 164a (also, iisb). 
Establish, 164b. 
Established, assuming suit is, though led 

but once, 179b. 
Established by usage, 103a. 
Established Suit, 164b. 
Ktiquette of Whist, 165a (also, 30b). 
Everard, H. H., 44b, 513a, 513b. 
Everett, Edward, whist anecdote by, 82a. 
Every-day hands, importance of analyz- 
ing, 167b. 
Evolution of Whist, 166b (also, 373b, 

476b). 
Exercise, whist, 409a. 
Experiments, Whist, 167a (also,3sb). 
Expert, 45a. 

Exposed Card, i68a (also, 75a). 
Exposed Hand, i68b. 
Extracting trumps, i8ia. 

Face Cards, 169a. 
Fads, 169a. 
Fallacy, 170a. 

Fall of the Cards, 170a (also, 126b, 207b, 
2i8b, 314b) . 



False Card, 170a. 

False Carding, 172a.' 

False cards, opportunities to play, i88b. 

Falselead. See, "Irregular Lead." 

False scorijig at duplicate. See, "Scortng.^^ 

Famous Whist-Players, 172b (also, 

264a). 
Fancy Whist, 174a. 
Farnum, Mrs. Sadie B., 44b, 423a, 425a. 
"Father of the Game," 174a (also, 

2o6b). 
Faults, 174a. 
"Favorite Whist," 174b. 
Fenby, Richard, 44b. 
Fenollosa, Mrs. Martha W., 35a, 44b. 
Fenollosa, William S., 174b (also, i6a, 

J74a, 187a, 2oib, 421b, 42sa, 461b, 483b, 

508b). 
Fetridge, William P., sSa, 335a, 449b. 
" Field, The," 175b (also, 519b). 
Fielding and Whist, 175b (also, sosb). 
Fifth-best Lead, 177a (also, 23b). 
"Fifth Honor, The," 177b. 
Final rounds in a hand, 107b. 
FinessEj 177b (also, 265a, 46sb). 
Finesse in second round of suit, 179b, 
Finesses, when advisable, 178a. 
Finessing Against Yourself, i7ga. 
Finessing by the Eleven Rule, i7ga. 
First American to write on whist, 488b. 
First A. W. L. match, 354b. 
First call for trumps, 45b. 
First daily whist journal, 37b, 492a. 
First duplicate match on record in the 

West, 136a. 
First English text-book to conform to the 

American game, 205a. 
First Hand, 179b. 

First inter-club duplicate match in Amer- 
ica, 135a, 
First printed description of whist, 104b. 
First printed mention of whist, 493b. 
First school of whist, i8oa. 
First scientific writer on whist, 2oga. 
First treated as a regular pastime in 

print, whist, 488a. 
First use of stereopticon pictures in 

teaching whist, 475b. 
First whist-book by an American 

woman, 473b. 
First whist department published in 

America, 488b. 
First woman elected to associate member- 
ship in the A. W. L., 472b. 
First woman to publish anything on 

whist, 526a. 
First woman to teach whist, 420b, 472a. 
First woman to write on the technical 

side of whist, 469b. 
First woman's whist congress, 521b. 
First woman's whist match, 506b. 
Fisher, Miss, 525a. 
Five, four, three, or two, lead of, Howell's, 

3S2b. 
" Five of Clubs," 79b (also, 57b, Jija). 
Five or more, suit of, indicated, 335b. 
Five-Point Whist, 179b. 



INDEX 



541 



Five-Spot, i7qb. 

Five trumps, lead frotO, 272a, 450b. 

Fletcher, E. C, 39a. 

Fletcher, G., 43a. 

Folkestone, Lord, i8oa {also, io8a, 256b, 
zgsb, 494b). 

Follow, iSob. 

Follow Suit, i8ia. 

Force, i8ia (also, ^Sza). 

Force, taking a, 419a. 

Forced Discard, 182a. 

Forced Dead, iS2a (also, S3<)b, 467a). 

Forced leads, detecting, 404b. 

Forced leads more liberally employed, 
500a. 

Forcing, 307a. 

Forcing partner, 174b. 

Forgetting fall of cards, T22a. 

FORMiNG THE Table, 182b (also, 2j8a). 

Forming the table at duplicate, 138b. 

Forrest, M. H., 3ca, 199a, 204a. 

Foster, Edward Tavener, 173a. 

FOSTER, R. F., iS3a (also, ib, 2ib, 26a. sSb, 
3ga, 43b, 57b, 58b, 72b. 73b, 78a. issb, 
1^60, 158b. 157a, i7^a, 174a, r7ga, i8sa, 
206a 274a, 217b 2§4a. 268b, 280b, soia, 
308b ^I4b. ^44b, 34sb, ^s8a, 360a. 363a. 
S^sb, ^7^b, ^74a, ^S^a, 384b, 413a. 420b, 
425a, 427b, 4Z9b, 442b, 4S4a. 464b, 483b, 
4Qoa, 4Qia, 4g7a, so6b, 510b, 511a, sr6a, 
518b, 52gb. 

Foster, R. F., leading the attack on the 
long-suit game, 370b. 

Foster's notation, 217b. 

Foster's short-suit leads, 377b. 

Founder of the A. W. L., 159b. 

Four-card suit, lead from, 272a. 

Fourchette, 184b (also, 304a). 

Four of the suit led, showing, 203a. 

Four or more in suit led by partner, show- 
ing, 25gb. 

Four or more trumps, showing, 157b. 

Four Signal, 185a (also, j6gb, j/56, 339b). 

Four signal, objections to, 185a. 

Four-sVot. i86b. 

Fourteen Rule, The, i86b, 

Fourth-Best Lead, 187a (also, 197b. 286a, 
366a, 416b)- 

Fourth-best lead, after ace, 177b. 

Fourth-best lead suggested also by "Cav- 
endish." 445a. 

Fourth-best principle, 13a, i8a, 24a, 444b. 

Fourth-best remaining, 177a. 

Fourth Hand, i88b (also. 480a). 

Fourth hand refusing to take king, 51a. 

Four-trump echo, 175b. 

Four trumps. indicating,without playing, 
6b. 

Four trumps, lead from, 450b, 461a. 

Four trumps, showing more than, 121b. 

" Four you may — five you must,'" 460a. 

Foxy proceeding, a, 442a. 

France, whist in, 129a. 

Francklin, Rev. Thomas, 484b. 

Franklin, Beniamin, 85a. 

Freak Hands, 189b (also, 167b). 

" French Boston," 190a. 



French Game, The, 190a. 
French, H. B., 301b, 508b. 
French Whist, igob. 
Fresh Cards, 190b. 
Full swing, giving partner, g8b. 
Fuller. E. B., 44b. 
Fuller, Robert, 425a. 
Fumbling the cards, 478a. 
Fundamental principles, 430a. 

Gambit Opening, 190b. 

Gambling, 191a (also, 2iga, 400a). 

Game, 193b (also, 2^30). 

Game, Each Playing his Own, 194a. 

Game, saving the, 356b. 

" Gammer Gurton's Needle," 493a. 

Gardner, Miss Maude, 421a, 472b. 

Gaskill, Mrs. B. M., 523b. 

Gay, Mrs. Elizabeth H., 527a. 

General rules (English), 243a. 

George, J. A., 174a. 

George III. and whist, 8ib. 

'•German Whist," 194a. 

Getchell, Miss, 530a. 

Gibbon, Edward, 84b. 

Gill ray, 500b. 

Gleason, John B., 174a. 

Godkin, E. L., 43b, 421b. 

Going on with a Suit, ig4b. 

Goodman, Mrs. J. E., 530a 

Goodrich, F. B., 44a. 

Gordon, Charles, 174a. 

Gorton, William, 38b. 

Graham's Coffee-House, iQ4b {also, 

4550). 
Grammalogues of whist. 167b. 
Grand Coup, 195a. 
Grant, General, wins an English rubber. 

86a, 338b. 
Granville, Earl of, 195a (also, 172b). 
Great Game, Playing a, 195b (also, 

6a). 
Great Suit, 195b. 
Greene, Miss Florence C, 523b, 525b, 
Greene, H. E., 305a, 433a. 
Guarded, 195b. 
Guerilla Tactics, ig6a. 
Gunnison, W. T., 502b. 
Gurley, R. A., 185a. 
"G IV. P." See. "Peiies, G. fV." 

Habits induced by whist, 4853. 

Hadlock, Professor A., 143b, 

Haliward, Dr. A. H., 527b. 

Hall, E. K., 520b. 

Hall, Mrs. Edwin L., 522b. 

Hall, George W., 292b, 482a. 

Hall, John, 5ogb. 

Hall, Mrs. L. M., 523a. 

Hamilton, C. D. P., 196a (also, 13b. 35a, 

38a, 58a, i7^b, 177a, ig4a, 2740, 2;2b, 

30Sa. ^44b, 372a, 459a, 461a, 48^b, 487b, 

488b, 'io^h,). 
Hamilton club house, Philadelphia, 470b. 
Hamilton Leads, 197b (also, ija, i6gb, 

170a, 197a, 249(1, 335b, 404b, 42ga), 



542 



INDEX 



Hamilton team, 13a, 33a, 34b, 87a, 88b, 

:35a, i86a, igyb. iggb, 42qa. 448a, 453b, 

531b. 
Hamilton Trophy, igga (also, 743a, ??jd, 

448a). 
Hand, 200a. 

Hand, complete play of, required, 435b. 
Hand, looking over a, 258a, 443a. 
Hands, arrangement of . See, "Cards, Ar- 
rangement of." 
Hands, Difficdlt to Lead from, 200b. 
Hands, illustrative. See, "Illustrative 

Hands.'" 
Hands, Instead of Points, 202a. 
Hands, memorizing, 266a. 
Hands, phenomenal, 311b. 
Hands played by correspondence. See, 

"Whist Match by Correspondence.'" 
Hands, playing both, as one, 296a. 
Hands, Unclean, 202a. 
Harbach, W. C, 39b. 
Hare, W. J., 443b. 
Harrison, Miss R. Frances, 44b. 
Hart, E. Stanley, 38a, 174a, iggb. 413b. 
Hart, Frank, 38a. 
Hartz, Irving T., 36b. 
Harvard- Yale whist match. See, " Whist 

in Colleges and Universities." 
Haslam, Percival, 57b. 
Hatch, C., 301a, 306a. 
Havpes, W. H., 31a. 
Hawkins, W. E., 34b, 174a, 374b. 
Hawley, Mrs. J. R., 44b. 522a, 522b, 523a, 

523b, 524a, 525a, 52,sb. 
Hawley, Warren A., 491a. 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. 85b. 
Haynes, A. M., 508b. 
Havward, Abraham, 202b (also, 43h, 

314a). 
Head, 202b. 
Hearts, 202b. 
Heath, L. W., sub. 
Heighs, G. W., 393. 
Heilig, F., 503a. 
Helping partner, 115b. 
Hendrick, W. A., 503a. 
Henniker, Mrs., 506a. 
Henriques. Clarence A.. 34a, 34b, 38b, 

173b. 
Henriques, Mrs. Clarence A., 413b. 
" Herald, Boston Daily," 488b. 48ga. 
Hess, Mrs. Minnie, 425a. 
Hetzel, George C, 41 ih. 
Hewby, John Fetch, 297b. 33.sa. 
Hickox, W. E., 305a. 
High-Card Echo, 203a. 
High-Card Game, 203a (aho, 230a'). 
High-Card Leads, 203b (also 24a). 
High Cards, 203b. 

High cards accurately indicating, 249a. 
High cards, forcing out, iSia. 
Higher card on a high card led, io6a. 
Higher ideals of whist, a84b. 
High indifferent cards, leads from, 24a, 

44b. 
" High-low," 388a. 
High, third hand, 430b. 



Hill, C. W., 174a. 

History of whist. See, " Whist, History 
of." 

Hobart, E. W., 501b. 502b. 

Hoekstra, Jacob A., 57a. 

Hogg, James, 327a, 335a. 

Holdings, 203b. 

Holding Up, 204a (also, 46sb). 

Holman, I. W., 44b. 

Home game, whist a, 273b, 484a. 

Home Player, 204a. 

Home team, 468b. 

Honor, covering an, To6b. 

Honorary Members of the Lbagub. 
204a. 

Honors, 204b (also, 6gb). 

Honors eliminated, 273b. 

Honors, Scoring, 205a. 

Hooker, E. H., 305a. 

Hopley, John, 250b. 

Horr, J. C, 532b. 

Horr, N. T., 508b. 

Howard, A. H., 514a. 

Howell, Edwin C, 205b {also, ib, zb, 
31b, ^40, S7b, 144b, 174a, 203a, 2T4a,283b, 
301b, 30_';a, 363a, Z72a, 379a, 383a, 384a, 
407b, 414b, 438a, 48^b, 487b, 48ga, 502a, 
508a). 

Howell, Mrs. E. C, sogb. 

Howell Game, The, 206b (also, 288b). 

Howell's short-suit leads, 381b. 

Howell Whist Club, 206a. 

How to avoid misdealing, 269a. 

HOYLE, Edmond, 206b (also, s^ci> 73b, 
172b, i8ob, 2ioa, 2iob, 212a, 236b, 267a, 
320b, 339b, 388b, 417b, 420b, 494b). 

HOYLE Game, The, 210a. 

HoYLE Player, 210a. 

Hud.son, William, 174a, 306a. 

Human nature, weakness of, g2a, 266a. 

" Humbug Whist," 210b. 

Hume, David, 84b. 

' Humours of Whist," 210b. 

Hutchings, Colonel Hy., 509b. 

Hutchinson, James A., 305a. 

Hyde, Miss Adelaide B., 423b, 425a. 

Hyde Park Whist Club, 32b, 199b, 270a. 

Ignorance, 55a. 

Ignorant Players, 211b. 

Illustrative Hands, 212a (also, 3a, 66b, 
I2ia, 128a, 140b, 172a, 250a, 254a, 281b, 
283b, 300b, 302a, 304b, 305a, 306b, 337b, 
345a, 379b, 386a, 394a, 411a, 427b, 447a, 
468a, 474b). 

Illustrative Hands, Recording, 214b. 

Imperfect Pack, 218a. 

Improvement in announcing results of 
match-play, 361a. 

In, 2i8b. 

Inattention, 218b. 

Income from Whist, 219a. 

Independent Players, 219a. 

India, whist in, 488b. 

Indiana Whist Association, 46a, 46b. 

Indianapolis Whist Club, ggb. 

Indicating players or hands, la. 



INDEX 



543 



Indicating strength in suit by discard, 
350b- 

INDICATORS, 219a. 

Indifferent Cards, 219b- 

Individual judgment, 391b. 

Individual merit score-card, Cofi&n's, 147b. 

Individual Record, 219b. 

Individual responsibility, 247b. 

Individuality of players, 263a. 

Inequalities of sides, at duplicate, 293a. 

Inferences, 219b {also, 231a). 

Inferences, drawing, 207b, 222b. 

Inferences from bad play, 295a. 

Information, 221a. 

Information exchanged, lob. 

Information, vyhen it should not betaken 
advantage of, 165b. 

Informatory Game, 222a (also, ^om). 

Innovations, 222a {also, 3650. 4.16a). 

In Play, 222b. 

Instinct in Whist, 222b. 

Intention of players vrishing to enter a 
table, 163b. 

Inter-club duplicate match, first in Amer- 
ica 135a. 

Inter-club duplicate whist. 137a. 

Inter-collegiate whist matches, 501a. 

Interior Cards, 222b {also, 407b). 

Intermediate Leads, 222b {also, 375a). 

Intermediate sequence, 300a. 

International Match, A Proposed, 
223a. 

In the Lead, 223b. 

Intimation concerning the hand or game, 
165a, i66a, 247b. {See, also, " Conver- 
sation.''') 

Intuition, 300a. 

"Invincible Whist," 2235. 

"Invitation Game, The," 223b {also, 
380a ) . 

Invite, The, 223b. 

Inviting a Ruff, 224a. 

Irregular Lead, 224a. 

Irregular original lead, when an honor 
is turned to the right, 169b. 

Irregular Play, 224b. 

Irregular tactics, 202a. 

Irregular Whist, 225a. 

Irregularities in the Hands, 225a 
{also, i3ga, 234b). 

Irving, Washington, whist his solace up 
to his death, 85b. 

"It Didn't Matter" Player, The, 
225b. 

"It made no difference," 127a. 

Jack, 225b. 

Jack-lead, 14a. i6a, 446a. 

Jack-lead, Howell's, 382b. 

Jack-lead, Keiley's, 384a. 

Jack, lead of, denying ace, 13b. 

Jack, ten, or nine, lead of, 222b. 

Jack when not to cover, second hand, 

179a. 
Jackson, Lowes d'Aguilar, 42a, 57a, 57b, 

335a. 
Jackson, L. McL., 38b. 



James, H. K., Z9^ 

Jameson, Mrs., 85a. 

Jenks, Mrs. M. S., 226b {also, 44b, 421b, 

42sa, 48sa, 488b, 48gb). 
"Jeroboam Hand," 227a. 
Johnson, C. F., 39a. 
Johnson, Mrs. F. H., 39a. 
John.son, James W., 515a. 
Johnson on Whist, 227a {also, 494a). 
Johnson, W. T., 5T4b. 
Jones, Henry See, "Cavendish." 
Jones, H. D., 237a. 
Jones, M. B., 502b. 
Judges of Appeals, 227a. 
Judgment. 227b {also, 452b). 
Jumping a Suit, 227b. 
Jumping from suit to suit, 203b. 
Junior Whist Clob, 228a. 

Kalamazoo method, 292a. 

Kalergi, M., 173a. 

Kansas City Whist Club, 293a. 

Kate Wheelock Whist Club, Philadelphia, 

469a. 
Kate Wheelock Whist Club, Portland, 

Oregon. 473a. 
Kate Wheelock Whist Club.Staten Island, 

N. Y., 470a. 
Keehn, G. W., 34a. 36a, 38a. 173b. 
Keiley, Charles R.. 228b {also, 34b, 57a, 

174a, 372a, 423b, 425a. 4gob). 
Keiley's short-suit leads, 383a. 
Keim. Mrs. George de Benneville, 

22ga {also, 424b, 4230). 
Kennedy, J M., 173a, 443b. 
Kernochan. Mrs. Frank. 425a. 
Kieb, E C, 38b. 
Kimball, William S. 470b. 
Kinds of players, twenty-six, 317a. 
King, 22gb {also, 51a). 
King and one small, with, covering 

queen, io6b. 
King and one small, not led from by 

Starnes. 38sa. 
King caid. See, "Master Card." 
King, jack, ten, 197b. 
King-lead, 14a. 

King-lead and unblocking, 4643. 
King-lead, Howell's. 382b. 
King-lead, Keiley's, 384a. 
King, queen, jack, and two or more, lead 

from, 226a. 
King, queen alone, Starnes' lead from, 

385a. 
King second hand on low card led, 230a. 
King, ten, jack, lead from, 446a. 
Kismet Club, Cincinnati, O., 529b. 
Knave, 230b (also. 225b). 
Knickerbocker, A. M., 481b. 
Krebs, Mrs. Abbie 'B,., 423b, 425a, 488b, 

523a, 523b. 

Ladies and gentlemen at duplicate, 145a, 

149a, 529a. 529b. 
Ladies, school of whist for young, 208a. 
Lady whtst-players. See, " Women as 

lVhist-playe->s." 



544 



INDEX 



I,AMB, Charles, at Whist, 230b {also, 
4jb, 84a, 202b, 527a). 

Language, A, 230b {also, 33b, 392b). 

I^anigan, George T., 43a, 321a. 

Uist trick, seeing the. See, "Quitted.'''' 

Last Trump, 231a. 

Latimer, Bishop, 493a. 

Lawrence, C. S., 39a. 

Lawrence, G. A., 5o5a. 

Laws, object of, 231b. 

Laws of duplicate whist, 137b. 

Laws of Whist, 213a. 

Laws of Whist, American Code, 232a. 

Laws of Whist, English Code, 236b 
{also, 4ga). 

Laws of Whist, Proposed Revision, 
244a. 

Lead in trumps and in plain suits, differ- 
ence between, 245b. 

Lead, irregular, 224a. 

Lead of trumps invited, 223b. 

Lead, original, 288b. 

Lead, taking the, in the partnership, 
294a. 

Lead, The, 246a. 

Lead, throwing the, 436a. 

Lead, uses of, 246a. 

Leader, 247a. 

Leading back the suit led, 339b. 

Leading out of Turn, 247a {also, i68a, 
235b). 

Leading out of turn, preventing partner 
from, 247a. 

Leading Through, 248b. 

Leading trumps from five, 175a. 

Leading Up To, 248b. 

Leads, American. See, '''' American Leads." 

Leads and their meaning, 220a. 

Leads, best and next best, 478b. 

Leads, correct from certain hands, 200b, 
214a. 

Leads, difficult, 200b. 

Leads, low card, 259a. 

Leads, old, 285a. 

Leads, Systems of, 248b. 

Leads, trump, 450b. 

Leads, trump showing, 453a. 

League territory divided into two sec- 
tions, 86b. 

Learning to play, 213b. 

Led more frequently than any other card, 
ace, lb. 

Led up to, cards more valuable when, ac- 
cording to short-suiters, 385b. 

Lee, Miss J. K., 509b. 

Leech, Mrs., 523b. 

Lemmon, Charles H., 4Qib. 

Lennox, Dr. Richard, 301b, 508b. 

Lesser evil, choosing the, in leading, 
182a. 

Lever, Charles, 84b. 

Levick, Mrs. Mary D'Invilliers, 249b 
{also, 523b, 526b). 

Lewis, Frederic H., 249b {also, 43a, 120a, 
2y6a, 298b, 332a). 

Lewis problem, the, 250a. 

Lewis, Waller A., 17b, 58b, 69b, 335a. 



Lexicographers in error, some modern, 

494a. 
Liberal ideas in whist, 500a. 
"Lieutenant-Colonel B.," 250b {also, 

S8b, 213a, 335a). 
Lindsay, C. F., 201b. 
Literary men and whist, 84b. 
Little Slam, The, 251a. 
"Little Whist School, The," 251a 

{also, yja, 2ggb, 501a). 
Lines of play, 316b. 
Living Hand, 252a. 
"Living Whist," 252a. 
Lloyd, Mrs. C. Bond, 523b, 525a. 
Lodge, B., Jr., 31b, 199a. 
Long and short-suit concroversy, 497a. 
Long and short-suit game combined, 99b, 

271b. 
Long Cards, 252b. 
Long Suit, 252b {also, loia). 
Long-Suit Game, The, 253b {also, 182a, 

222a, 287b, 288b, 324a, 402a, 435b, 

463b). 
Long-suit game, the, defended, 498a. 
Long-suit game, the, objections to, 497a. 
Long-suit game, when advised by short- 
suiters, 383b, 385b. 
Long suit, headed by an eight, treatedas 

worthless, 387b. 
Long suit, one in every hand, 331a. 
Long-suit openings, alleged trick losers, 

184b. 
"Long Suiter," 253a {also,2yib'). 
" Long-suiters" challenged, 371b. 
Long Trump, 256b. 
Long Whist, 256b {also, 210a). 
Longest Suit, Lead from the, 257a 

{also, 418a). 
Longest or best suit, lead from, 416b. 
Longstreth, Mrs. Morris, 523b. 
Looking Over a Hand, 258a. 
Loose Card, 258b. 
Losing Card, 258b. 
Losing Trump, Declining to Draw a, 

258b. 
Love, 259a. 
Love- All, 259a. 
Love Game, 259a. 
Lovell, Sidney, 113a. 
Low-card leads, Starnes', 385a. 
Low-card leads, Keiley's, 384a. 
Low-card opening from long suit, loob. 
Low Cards, 259a. 
Lowell, James Russell, 85b. 
Lowered Hands, 259b {also, 2s8b). 
Low, H. N., 30b, 70b, 174a, 259b, 356b. 
Lowrie, Mrs. Robert, 523b. 
Lowest of a sequence, 366a. 
Low's Signal, 259b. 
Lucas, Charles, 494a. 
Luck, 260a. 

Luck in duplicate whist, 140b, 500a. 
Lundstrom, John EI., 44b. 
Lurch, 261a. 
Lyell, Charles, 84a. 
Lytton, Lord, as a Whist-Player, 26xa 

{also 84b). 



inde;x 



545 



MacBrair. D. J., -viSb. 

Mackay. Charles, 528a. 

MacMillaa, Professor Conway, 505a. 

"Major A.," 261b {also, jSa, jj^a). 

'■ Major Tenace," 262a (also, i7b, iij;a). 

Make, 262a. 

Make Dp, 262a {also.jSgd). 

Management of cards, 62b. 

Management of trutnps, 451b, 4813, 

Mandell, Henry A., 252b {also, ^40, ^^d, 
36a). 

Manhattan Athletic Club, 354b. 

Manhattan Whist Club, 4b, 184b, 371b, 
374b. 

Mannerisms, 263a {also, zgjb), 

Mansou, Thomas, 174a. 

Mark, 263b. 

Markers, 263b. 

Marking. See, 'Scoring." 

Marlborough, Duke of, 83b. 

Married couples, schedules for, at dupli- 
cate, 150b. 

Martineau, Harriet, 85a. 

Masking a Signal, 263b. 

Master Card, 263b {also, S3gb). 

Master Holdings, 264a. 

"Master, the," 127b. 

Match, 264a {also, i^ia, 40^0). 

Match, international, proposed, 223a. 

Match play, 440a. 

Matches instead of tricks, counting, 363b. 

Mathews, Thomas, 264a {also, iva, 67b. 
7jb, 172b, 262a, s8sb, 2c/5b, Sfoa, 4oga, 
4'/ lb, 4950-). 

Mathias, F. W., 38a, 268b. 

Mathias, L. J., 38a- 268b. 

Matthews, W. H. S., 489b. 

Maxims, 265a. 

Maxims for the guidance of partners, 
294a. 

Maximum method of scoring at dupli- 
cate, 363a. 

McCay, A. Harvey, 34b, 174a, 201a, 268b, 
350b. 

McCrea, Mrs. Henry, 44b, 524b. 

McDiarmid, C. J., 39a. 

McDougall, Hugh, 152b. 

MclNTOSH, Andrew J., 265b (also, s8a). 

McKay, Theodore, 174a. 

McLaughlin, Mrs. George B., 252a. 

Medium Cards, 265b. 

Meeting and Opposing, 266a (a/so, 
2S7b). 

Melick, Leoni, 38a, 199b. 

Membership of the A. W. I,., present, 37a, 
486b. 

Memories, short, 130b. 

Memorizing the Hands in Doplx- 
cate, 266a (also, soib). 

Memory, 266a (also, 28jb). 

Memory, Artificial, 267a (also, 207b). 

Meinory duplicate. See, '' Mnemonic Du- 
plicate IVhisi." 

Meredith, John C, 293a. 

" Merry Andrew," 22b, 42b. 

Metternich and a game which cost 2000 
lives, 83a. 



Middle Card, 267b {also, J^Sb). 

Milwaukee Congress, sgb. 

Milwaukee Whist Cldb. 267b {atso,2gb, 

30a, j6oa, 2g2a, j#5a, 34Sb, 44gb). 
Minchin, J. I., 43a. 
Minneapolis Chess. Checkers, and Whist 

Club, 31a, 31b, 88b, igga. 
Minneapolis Congress, 32a. 
' Minneapolis Lead," 268a. 
Minneapolis Trophy, 268b {also. 4480). 
Minnesota, University of, whist at the, 

505a. 
Miscellaneous laws of whist, 236a. 
Misdeal, 268b (also, 23gb). 
Misdealing, 234a. 

Misdealing, How to Avoid 269a. 
Miss To'dd's Whist Party, 269a. 
Mistakes, 269b. 
Mistakes of adversaries, 164b. 
Mistakes of beginners, 52a. 
Mitchell, John T., 269b (also, j^b, 32b, 

^8a. 48a, ijb, 131a, 1330,1360, 143a, 147b, 

~T73b, iggb, 2g2a, 347(1,3620, 483b, 48gb). 
Mitchell, Hugh, 513a. 
Mixed system, 4T6b. 
" Mixers," 270b. 

Mnemonic Duplicate Whist, 270b. 
Mnemonic duplicate whist, laws of, 140a. 
Model hands. See, '■'lUustrattve Hands." 
Model games at whist, 213b. 
Model games, use of, 76b. 
Model whist-players, 51b, ma. 
Modern game foreshadowed, 297a. 
Modern Scientific Game, 271a (also, 

328b, 3pia}. 
Modern signaling game, 443b. 
Modes of play, testing, 307b" 
" Modified Game, The," 271b (also, 372b, 

407b, 418a). 
Mogridge, F. P., 34b. 173b. 199b, 201a. 
" Mogul," 272a (also, 22b, 2sb. 42b, 43^, 

J33b, i6ga, 272a. 2g8b, 335a, 370a). 
Money, playing for, 400a. 
Mongrel Whist, 273b (also, 225a). 
Montagu, Mary Wortley, 85a. 
Montgomery, F). A., 174a. 
Moore, Professor E. H., 145b. 
Moore, Miss M. Ida, 422a, 425a. 
Morality of Whist, The, 273b (also, 

30a). 
Morgan. H. F., 274a (also, 58b) 
Morrill, F. N., 503a. 
Morse, G. W., 38b, 174a. 
"MoRT." 274a (also, so.) ■ 
Mo,ssop, Charles, 275a (also, 60a, 73b. 

280b, 2g8b, 370a, 471b. 488b). 
Most frequently led high card, 229b. 
Moulton, Mrs. B. P., 523b. 
Movements of teams of six. 502b. 
Muhlfelder, David, 38a, 173b. 
Mutes and whist-play, 104a. 

Napoleon I. at whist, 82b. 

Napoleon III. a vacillating player, 82b. 

Narragansett Whist Club, Providence, R. 

I., 88b, 372a. 
Nashville Whist Club, 33a, 39a, 88b. 



^5 



546 



INDEX 



National Trump, 276a. 

Neff, Joseph S., 38a, 173b, 199b. 

Neff, Mrs. Joseph S., 523b. 

Newbold, Mrs. William Henry, 276b 

{also, 44b, 422a, 425a, 526b, 5300). 
New Challenge Trophy purchased, 88b. 
Ne'w Deal, 277a {also, 23^0). 
New Deal, Not Entitled to a, 277b. 
New Ijugland Whist Association, 34b, 

46a, 47a, 50b, 63a, 206a, _473b. 
New Jersey Whist Association, 46a, 46b, 

63a. 
New Orleans Chess, Checkers, and Whist 

Club, 135a. 
"New Play, The," 277b. 
Newton Club, the, 41a, 141b, 503b. 
New York Congress, 30b. 
New York State Whist Association, 38b, 

47a, 63a. 
" Nightmare Whist," 27Sa {also, 

409a). 
Nine, lead of, 169b, 278b, 384a. 
Nine-Spot, The, 27Sb {also, 2ojb). 
Noble, Miss Evelyn, 425a. 
Noel, Mrs. Lillian Curtis, 279a {also, 

44b, 423a, 423a). 
Nom de plume. See, "Pseudonyms of Whist 

Authors.''' 
NoN-lNFORMATORY Game, 28oa {also, 



North Pacific Whist Association, 46b. 

Northrop, H. M., 344a. 

Norton, J. B., 38a. 

Notation, whist, la, 214b, 531b. 

Novices, play of, 203a. 

Nowell, Mrs. Lavinia S., 44b, 422a, 425a. 

N-S, E-W, 280b. 

Number-showing craze, 20a. 

Number-Showing Leads, 280b. 

Objectionable practices, 419b. 

Objections to American leads, 25b. 

Objtect of Whist Play, 281b. 

Object of whist laws, 232b. 

Observation, 281b. 

Odd Trick, The, 281b {also, i8oa, 195b, 



Odd trick, playing for the, 317b, 318b. 
Odd trick not played for at duplicate 

whist, 281b. 
Odds at English Whist, 282a. 
Offenses, claims for. See, "Penalties." 
Officers of the A. W. L., 39b. 
Officers of the Canadfen Whist League, 

71a. 
Old and new methods of dealing, iiib. 
Old and New Schools, 2S2b. 
" Old Bumble's Art of Whist," 348b. 
Old-fashioned player, 97a. 
"Old-Fashioned Whist- Party, An," 

284a. 
Old fogy, 2ioa. 

Old Leads, 285a {also, 226a, 248b). 
Omitting Playing to a Trick, 287a, 
Omwake, John, 515b. 
One-handed player, 114b. 
Open Game, 287a. 



Open hands, play of, to settle controver- 
sies, 307b. 
Opening^ 287b. 
Opening Lead, 287b. 
Opponent, 287b {also, 5a). 
Opposition, 287b. 
Optional Trump-Showing Leads, 288a 

{also, 454a). 
Original discard, ii6b. 
Original Fourth-Best, 288a {also, i8ya, 

ma, 445b). 
Original Lead, 288b {also, 246b). 
Original Play, 289a. 
Orndorff, Thomas C, 289b {also, 30a, 

145b). 
Otis, T. ,E., 290b {also, 424a, 425a, 4goa, 

508a). 
"OuiDA's" Tribute to the Game, 

290b. 
Out, 291a. 
Out of turn, playing. See, "Error, Cards 

Played in." 
Overlooking hands, 103a. 
Overplay, 291a {also, 130a). 
Overtrump, 291a. 

Pacific Coast Whist Association, 46b, 361b, 

438b, 473b. 
Pack, 291b. 
Packet, 291b. 
Paine,. Cassius M., 291b {also, ya, 2gb,34a, 

36b, 136b, 174a, 232b, 283b, 422b, 440b, 

482a ,496b, 508b , 511a , 513a ) . 
Pair, A, 292b {also, 426b). 
Pairs, schedules for, at duplicate, 155a, 

2o5b. 
" Pam," 43a. 
Pardon, George Frederick, 57b, 58a, 58b, 

107b, 335a. 
Park Club, Plainfield, N. J., 88b. 
Parker, George W., 311a, 533a. 
Parks, Charles E., 512a. 
Parry, N. H., 174a. 
Parsons, R. L., 32b, 174a, 199b. 
Partie, 293b. 

Partner, 293b {also, 203a). 
Partner, A Bad, 295a {also, 225b). 
Partner, forcing, when weak yourself, 

i8ia. 
Partner, helping, 408a, 430b. 
Partner's Hand, 295b. 
Partner's lead, returning, 339b. 
Partner, selection of, iioa. 
Partnership, 296a. 
Partnership game, 252b, 253b, 264b, 324a, 

328b. 
Partnership play, 221a, 223b, 271a, 487b. 
Partner's Suit, 296b. 
Party, whist, 131b. 
Pass, 296b. 

Passing the trick, 122a. 
Patents. See, " Whist Patents." 
Payn, James, 84b, 85a, 352a, 506a. 
Payne, George, 297a. 
Payne, William, 297a {also, 58a, 257a, 

285b, 339b, 4g5a). 
Peabody, George, 84a. 



INDEX 



547 



Peck, J. H., 502a. 

Peck, J. W., 503a. 

Peck, Mrs. Walter, 523a, 523b. 

Peckham, James S., 201b, 305a. 

Pecdliakities of Players, 29'?b. 

"Pembridge," 2gyh (also, lb, 236, 26a, syb, 
58b, 335a, 4290.) ■ 

Penalties, enforcing, at duplicate, 140a. 

Penalties, purpose of, 232b. 

Penalty, 299a {also, ii8b). 

Penalty for employing private conven- 
tions, 329a. 

Penalty for re^'oking, 342a. 

Penalty, a, should not be purposely incur- 
red, 165b. 

Pendltimate, 299b (also, i8a, 2730,2860, 
i44b). 

Perception, 300a (also, 314b, 4oga, 410b). 

Perception Problems, 3003 (also, gsa, 
278a). 

Pervtanent trump. See," Declared Trump,'^ 
and '^National Trump." 

Permutation, 307b. 

Personal skill. See, ''Skill." 

Petaluma Whist Club, 45a. 

Peter. See, "Trump Signal." 

Peterborough, Lord, 309a (also, igza. 



Pettes, George W., 309b (a/50, la, 12b, 
2ib, 28b, 37a, s8b, 73b, gsb, losb, i6gb, 
2140,2270, 232a, 277b, ■j3$a, 337b, 3930, 
3p6o, 4200, 442a, 459a, 488b, 48ga, 48gb). 

Pettit, Mrs. Silas W., 523a, 523b, 525b. 

Phenomenal Hands, 311b (also, 467b, 

Philadelphia a centre for woman's whist, 

276b. 
Philadelphia Congress, 31a. 
Philadelphia Cup, 313a (also, 524b). 
Philadelphia Whist Club, 38a, 199b, 351a, 

4t3b. 
Philosopher of Whist, 324a. 
Philosophical Game, 313a. 
" Piano Hand," 313a. 
" PicKvsficK '' AT Whist, 313b (also, 

284a ) . 
Pike, Manley H., 223a. 
Pilling, Mrs. J. W., 44b. 
Pioneer whist teacher, 94a. 
" Piping at Whist," 314a. 
Pitt and Burke vs. Fox and Sheridan, 

314a. 
Pitt Coup, 314a. 
Placing Cards, 314b. 
Placing the lead. See, " Throwing the 

Lead." 
Placing the tricks during play, 441b. 
Plain Suit, 315a. 

Plain-Suit :Echo, 315a (also, 464a). 
Plain suit led by an adversary, signal in, 

185a. 
Plain-Suit Signal, 315b. 
Plain Suits, Choice of, 316a. 
Play, 316a. 
Play for gain, i5i3. 
Play, Lines of, 316b. 
Played Cards, 316b. 



Players, Kinds of, 317a. 

Players, positions of, 327b. 

Playing at Playing Whist, 317b. 

Playing Cards, 317b. 

Playing for the Odd Trick, 317b. 

Playing Out of Turn, 318a (also, 235b). 

" Playing Pictures," 318a. 

Playing the cards at duplicate, 139b. 

Playing the Game, 3iSa. 

Playing to the Score, 318b (also, iiib). 

Playing Two Cards to One Trick, 
318b. 

Playing weak suits down, 229a. 

Poe, Edgar Allan, on Whist, 319a 
(also, 8sb). 

Poems on Whist, 320a. 

Point, saving a, 357a. 

Points, 323b. 

Points, counting, objected to, 202a. 

Points, rubber, 352a. 

Pole, William, Mus. Doc, F. R. S., 324a 
(also, lb, iga, 24a, 31a, 43a, s7b, s8a, 
128a, r34b, 166b, 204b, 213a, 220b, 231b, 
257a, 358a, 36gb, S73a, 467b, 4g3b, 4gsb, 
528a). 

Pole's rhyming rules, 345a. 

Pone, 327a. 

Poor players, 260a. 

" Portland," 327a (also, s8b. ^350). 

Portland Club, 327a (also,' 4ga, 237a, 
2sib,388b, 455b, 487a). 

Portland rules. See, "Laws of Whist, 
English Code." 

Portrait of Hoyle, spurious, 208b. 

Position, 327b. 

Position, tenace, 427a. 

Post-Mortem, 328a. 

Postulations upon which the American 
Code is based, 232b. 

Pote, B. E., 43b. 

Potter, Mrs. O. W., 523b, 530a. 

Potter, William A., 491a. 

Practice, 328a. 

Praed, 321a. 

Pre-arranged games, 365b. 

"Preference." See, "Swedish Whist." 

Prince of Wales, 82a. 

Princeton, whist at, 504a. 

Princeton Whist Club, 504b. 

Principles, General, 328b (also, 324a). 

Private Conventions, 328b (also, 103b, 
3Sia, 3g2b). 

Private conventions defined, 329a. 

Prize contest, large, 491a. 

Prizes, 125a, 131b, 47-8a. 

Probabilities, 330b (also, Sga, 206a). 

Problems, 331b (also, 24gb, 300a, 5190, 
5200). 

Proctor, Richard Anthony, 332b (also, 
lb, 26a, 43a, 43b, 44a, 57b, 84a, ro8b, 
1 20b, i7gb, 3_oob, 335a, 370a, 488b, 518b). 

Progress vs. stick-in-the-mud, 124b. 

Progressive duplicate whist. See, "Dupli- 
cate Whist, Progressive." 

Progressive duplicate whist, early form 
of, 102a. 

Progressive Fours, 334b. . 



548 



INDEX 



Progressive Pairs, 334b. 
Progressive whist. See, "Drive Whist." 
Protective Discard, 334b. 
Providence Athletic Club, 475b. 
Providence Whist Club, 140b. 
" Prussian Whist," 334b. 
Pseudonyms of Whist Authors, 334b. 
" Psj^cho," 45b. 

Public schools, teaching of whist in, ad- 
vocated, 485a. 
Puzzles, whist, 120b, 127b. 
Pyramid Whist Club, Boston, 375a. 

QuACKENBUSH, Earle C, 335a {also. 

Quart, 335a. 

Quart Major, 335a. 

Queen, 335b. 

Queen, jack, ten, lead from, 175b, 197b, 

416b. 
Queen-lead, from ace, king, queen, etc., 

13b, 404b. 
Queen-leads, 446a. 
Queen-leads, Howell's, 382b. 
Queen-leads, Keiley's, 384a. 
Queen-leads, simplifying the, 13a. 
Questions concerning laws, 227b. 
Quint, 336a. 
" Ouisquis," 42b. 
Quitted, 336a. 
"Quiz Cards," 7b. 

Radnor, Countess of, i8ob. 

"Railroad Whist," 337a. 

Rank, 338b. 

Rasmussen, S. J., 517a. 

Rawson, Mrs. Sidney F., 470a, 524b. 

Reade, Charles, 46a, 85a. 

Reagan, Mrs. James M., 201b. 

Recording hands at whist, 214b. 

Re-entry, Card of, 338b {also, 75b). 

Reform Club, 338b. 

Refusing a Force, 339a. 

Registering hands at duplicate, 8a. 

Rejoue, 339a. 

Remak, Gustavus, Jr., 34b, 36b, 135a, 173b, 

199b _ 
Remembering cards 104b. 
Remington, Arthur, 532b. 
Reneging, or renouncing, 103a. 
Rennie, Sir Richard, 162a. 
Renounce, 339a. 
Reprehensible practice, 258a. 
Re-sorting cards, in early duplicate, 135b. 
Responding to the trump signal, 456a. 
Retaining a small card, 480a. 
Returning the Lead, 339b {also, 431a). 
Returning trumps, 461a. 
Reverse Discard, 341b {also, 416b). 
Revoke, 341b. 

Revoke, concealing a, 165b, i66a. 
Revoke, saving a possible, 69b. 
Revoking, 235b. 
Revoking at duplicate, 139b. 
Rheinart, John, 343a {also, 115a, 173a, 

267b). 
Rhyming Rules, 346a. 



Richards, B. L., 32b. 

Richardson, Mrs., 313a, 524b. 

Richter, Otto, 174a. 

Roberts, Miss Edith, 425a. 

Rogers, C. W., 39a. 

Rogers, G. T., 174a. 

Rogers, Mrs. Harry, 424a, 425a. 

Rogers, Howard J., 489a, 498b. 

Rogers, J. W., 214a. 

Rogers, R. M., 32b, 174a, 199b. 

Rotary Discard, 350b {also, 170a). 

Rowlandson, 501a. 

Round, a, 351b. 

Rubber, 351b {also, 237b). 

" Rubber, A Very Quiet," 352a. 

Rubber game, 352a. 

Rubber Points, 352a. 

Rubbers won and lost by " Cavendish," 

78b. 
Rubbers won and lost by Dr. Pole, 326a. 
Rudiments of the game, 477a. 
Ruff, 352b. 

"Ruff and Honours," 352b. 
Ruffing Game, 353a {also, 158b, 366a, 

394a). 
Rules, 353a. 

Rules, " Bob Short's," 55b. 
Rules for bumblepuppy, 65b. 
Rules may be departed from, when, 341b. 
Rules modified by the fall of the cards, 

262b. 
Rules not opposed to common sense, 

423b. 
Running, 353b {also, 375a, 383b). 
Russell, J. E., Jr., 305a. 
" Russian Boston," 354a. 
Ryerson, E- W., 501b. 

Sacrifice lead, 190b. 

Sacrificing hand to partner, 380b. 

Sadler, E. H., 134b. 

Safford, a. G., 354a {also, 30a, 146a, 147a, 
150b, 151a, 363a, 441b). 

Salinger, A. D., 502b. 

Same hands, to avoid playing the, at du- 
plicate, 143b. 

Samson, W. H., 491a. 

Samuel, Mrs. Frank, 471a, 523a, 523b, 524b. 

Sanderson, F., 134b, 514a, 515a. 

San Francisco Whist Club, 423b, 438b. 

Sarah Battle Whist Club, Philadelphia, 
506b. 

Satire, whist, 210b. 

Savage, M. W., 506a. 

Savages and the trump signal, 455b. 

Saving the Game, 356b. 

Schedules for large numbers of individu- 
als, at duplicate, 148b. 

Schedules for team play, duplicate whist, 
i5?a. 

Schmidt, Miss C. H., 38b, 39a, 44b. 

Schools of whist, io8a, 264b, 298b, 309b, 
516a. 

Schools, whist in. See, "Whist as an Edu- 
cator." 

Schools of Whist, 357a. 

Schuyler, R., 503a. 



INDEX 



549 



ScHWARz, Theodore, 357b {also, 32b, 33a, 
232b, 415a, 522b). 

Science or Art ? 357b. 

Scientific game, modern, 271a. 

Scientific play, 253b. 

Score, 359a. 

Score-Book, 359b. 

Score-Card, 359b (also, 105a, 360b). 

Score, duplicate, 138a. 

Scoring, 360a {also, 237b, 293a). 

Scoring, erroneous method of, at dupli- 
cate whist, 360b. 

Scoring, Tormey's method of, 361a. 

Scoring, unsatisfactory condition of, 362a. 

" Scotch Whist," 363b {also, jgob), 

Sebring, James L., 136b, 292a, 440b, 511b. 

Second Hand, 354a. 

Second hand, fourchette a defense for, 
184b. 

Second hand, play of, 479b. 

Second Hand Signal, 365a. 

Seeing the hand. See, "Looking Over a 
Handy 

Seeley, J. B., 490a. 

See-Saw, 365b. 

Self-Playing Cards, 365b. 

Semi-Honors, 365b. 

Sequence, 366a. 

Sequence, leading from a, 126a. 

Set, 366a. 

Seven-Point Game, The, 366a {also, 
496b). 

Seven-Spot, 366a. 

Seymour, S., 57b. 

Shakespeare and Whist, 366a. 

Shea, J. J., 312a. 

Shelby, Miss Annie Blanche, 367b 
{also, 423b, 491a). 

Shepard, E- H., 368a. 

Shepherd, W., 39a. 

Sherwood, A. C, 503a. 

Short Suit, 368b. 

Short-suit call for trumps, 456b. 

Short-Suiter, 368b (also, 271b). 

Short-suit (forced) leads, 182b. 

Short-Suit Game, The, 369a (also, 182a, 
183a, 2o6b, 288b, 328b, 4020). 

Short-suit ideas, 41b, 265a. 

Short-suit lead not generally applicable, 
373b. 

Short-Suit Leads, Foster's, 377b. 

Short-Suit Leads, Howell's, 381b. 

Short-Suit Leads, Keiley's, 383a. 

Short-Suit Leads, Starnes', 384a. 

Short-Suit Leads, Tormey's, 387b. 

Short-suit play, looa. 

Short-suit play, essence of, 414b. 

Short suits, choice of lead from, loob, 
102a. 

Short Whist, 388b (also, 309a, 495b). 

Short whist without honors, 179b. 

Showing no more of suit, 374b. 

Showing number of trumps after a sig- 
nal, 461b. 

Show^ing number of trumps by signal, 
461b. 

Showing strength, 374a, 375a. 



Showing trump strength, 458a. 
Shuffling, 389b (also, 233b, 238b, 262a). 
Shwab, J. E., 39b. 
Sibour, Vicomtesse de, 44b, 523b. 
Sick whist, 529a. 
Sign, 390b. 
Signal, 390b. 

Signal After a Lead, 391a. 
Signal for trumps. See, '•'■Trump Sig- 
nal." 
Signal, Mistaking the, 391a. 
Signal, plain-suit, 315b. 
Signaling Game, The, 391a. 
Signaling, when is a player justified in, 

456a. 
Signals, 328b. 

Signals, conventional, 103b. 
Signals, eschewing all conventional, 

378b. 
Signs, 392b. 
Silence, 392b. 

Silence essential to whist, 494a. 
Single, 393a. 

Single Discard Call for Trumps, 393a. 
Single-table duplicate. See, "Duplicate 

Whist, Schedules for Playing.^' 
Single-table duplicate, laws of, 140a. 
Singleton, 393a (also, 479a). 
Singleton lead, 265a, 272a, 385b. 
Sitting, 394a. 
Six-Spot, 394a. 
Six trumps, lead from, 450b. 
Six trumps, repeating the signal to show, 

460b. 
Six trumps, showing, 391a. 
Sixth sense developed by whist, 404a. 
Skill, 3g4b (also, 73a, 467a). 
Skill, experiment to determine, 133b. 
Slam, 395b. 
Slavens, L. C, 514a. 
Slous, F. L., 348b. 
Small card, lead of, 272a. 
Small Cards, 396a. 
Small cards, value of, 52b. 
Small suit opening, 417a. 
Smith, Adam, 84a. 
Smith, Arthur D., 34b, 268b. 
Smith, Beverley W., 34b, 174a, 268b, 350b, 

489a. 
Smith, Cecil, 54a. 
Smith, E. LeRoy, 31b, 38a, 114a, 174a, 

532b. 
Smith, J. K., 490a. 
Smith, Wilbur F., 35a, 174a. 
Smoking While Playing, 306a, 
Sneak Lead, 396b {also, 393a). 
Snow, C. F., 36a, 38a, 173b. 
Snyder, Mrs. Baird, 522a. 
Snyder, Miss Edith, 425b. 
" Solo Whist," 397b. 
" Sorters," 8a. 
Sorting cards. See, " Cards, Arrangement 

Sound Play, 398a. 
South, 398b. 
Southey, Robert, 450a. 
Sowdon, William, 512b. 



550 



INDEX 



Spades, 398b. 

Special Trump Lead, 398b. 

Special Trump-Suit Leads, 399a. 

Speech at a Whist Dinner, 399a. 

Spots, 399b. 

Sprague, O. M. W., 503a. 

Spread, 400a. 

Springer, C. H., 39a. 

Stael, Madame de, 85a. 

Stafiford, Harry F., 152a. 

Stakes, 400a (also, 191b, 27jb, 389a, 

412a). 
Stakes, A. W. L- opposed to, 30a, 32a. 
Standard of play wanted, 35b. 
Stanley, blind organist, 54a. 
Starnes, Val. W., 402a {also, ^8a, 372I1, 

427b). 
Starnes' snort-suit leads, 384a. 
Steele, J. N., 174a. 
Steinitz, 446b. 
Stephens, F. H., 529a. 
Stevens, Harry S., 174a, 283b, 301a, 508a. 
Still Pack, 403a. 

Still pack, turning trump from a, 449b. 
Stock, 352b. 

Stockley, Edith Keeley, 321b. 
Stow, Bond, 403b {also, 15b, , 
St. Paul Chess and Whist Club, 33a, 88b. 
Straight Whist, 405a. 
Strain of- Whist, The, 405a. 
Strangers, Playing With, 405b. 
Stratagem, 177b. 
Strategy, 4063 {also, 332a, 418b, '.j27a, 

464a, 465b, 471b, 480b). 
Street Attachment, 408a. 
Street, Charles Stuart, 407a {also, 

s8b, 271b, 372b, 387b, 423b, 425b, 429a). 
Street, W. J., 174a. 
Streeter Diamond Medal, 408a {also, 

30a). 
Strength, 408a {also, 431a). 
Strengthening Cards, 408a. 
Strength or weakness, informing partner 

of, 339b. 
Strength or weakness, lead from, 121b. 
Strength signal. See, ^' Plain-Suit Signal.'" 
Strong and weak cards, 68b. 
Strongest suit, original lead from, i8oa. 
Strong hand, play of the, 318a, 379a. 
Strong Suit, 408b. 
Stuart, A., 44a. 

Study, systematic, recommended, 167a. 
Study table, a, 409b. 
Study Whist, 408b {also, gsb,278a). 
Sub-Echo, 409b {also, 445b). 
Subordinate leagues. See, "Auxiliary As- 
sociations." 
Sub-Sneak, 410b. 
Suit, 410b. 

Suit echo. See, "Plain-Suit Echo." 
Suit, not following, 339a. 
Suit Placing, 410b. 
Suit Signal, 412a. 
Sumner, Charles, at Whist, 412a (;also, 

85b). 
" Sun, the New York," 370b, 490a. 
Superstition, 412b. 



Supporting Card Game, 414a {also, 226a, 

279a, 335b, 375a). 
Surplus card, 287a. 

Swabbers. See, "Whisk and Swabbers" 
"Swedish Whist," 414b. 
Swift, Dean, 84b. 
Swift, Mrs. Lucian, 523b, 525a. 
Swing, Dr. David, 84b. 
" Swings," 363b, 499a. . 
System, 415a {also, 499b). 
System, Mixed, 416b. 
Systems of play, harmonizing, 33b, 35b. 

Table, 418a. 

Table, forming, 233a. 

Table of American leads, iia. 

Table of American leads, with changes, 

14a, 15a. 
Table for post-mortems, 328a. 
Tables, arrangement of. See, "Duplicate 

Whist, Schedules for Playing.''^ 
Tables in first duplicate whist contest, 

134a. 
Tactics, guerilla, 196a. 
Tactics, Whist, 418b. 
Take the trick as cheaply as possible, 

i88b. 
Taking a Force, 419a. 
Taking in the Tricks, 419a {also, 441a). 
Taking partner's trick, 195a. 
Taking Up Cards During the Deal, 

419b. 
Talking at Whist, 420a. 
Talleyrand's Mot, 420a {also, 83a). 
Talmadge, Henry P., 174a. 
Tatnall, George, 301b, 508a. 
Taylor, A. E., 173b, 489b, 508a. 
Teachers of Whist, 420b. 
Teaching whist. Miss Wheelock's method 

of, 474a. 
Team, 426b. 

Team against team, 131a. 
Team-of-four matches, 137a. 
Team-of-six matches, 501b, 502b. 
Teams, schedules for, 153a. 
Technical Terms, 426b. 
Telegraph, whist match by, 509b. 
Temper, Control of, 427a. 
Ten. See, "Ten-Spot." 
Tenace, 427a {also, 304a). 
Tenace, play illustrated, 386a. 
Ten-lead, 14b, 197b, 272b, 384a, 404b, 416b, 

446a {also, see, "Ten-Spot"). 
Ten-lead, substituting fourth best for the, 

13a, 197b. 
Ten or nine, lead of, Howell's, 382b. 
Ten-point game, i8oa. 
Ten-Spot, 428b. 
Ten-spot considered as an honor, 177b, 

204b. 
Text-Book, 429b. 

Thackeray on Whist, 429b {also, 306a), 
Thayer, N. P., 39a. 
Theory, 430a. 
Theory and practice, 328a. 
Theory of duplicate, true, 113b. 
Third Hand, 430b {also, 480a). 



INDEX 



551 



Thirteenth Card, 432a. 
Thirteenth Trump, 432b. 
Thompson, L. C, 514b. 
Thompson, Mrs. O. D., 523b. 
Thomson, Alexander, 432b {also, 213a, 

320b, 484a). 
Three-Spot, 435b. 
Three three-card suits and four trumps, 

lead from, 387b. 
Three-Trump Echo, 433a (also. 1970). 
Three trumps, not more thau, showing, 

409b. 
Throwing Cards Down, 435b, 
Throwing the Lead, 436a (a/50, 432b). 
Thurston, C. S., 502b. 
Thwaits, C. F., 503a. 
Tib, 436a. 
Tierce, 436a. 
Ties in cutting, iioa. 
"TiRESiAS," 436b. 
Toledo Whist Club, 38a. 
Toledo Yachting Association, 38b. 
"Tom Jones," whist in, 176b. 
Top of nothing, 374a, 375a, 3843. 
Top-of-Nothing Lead, 436b. 
Top-of-nothing lead, objection to, the, 

100a. 
Top-of-nothing lead, origin of, 229a. 
TORMEY, p. J., 436b {also, 13b, 34a, 36b, 

46b, 113b, 174a, j86b, 223a, 3Sob, 361a, 

368a, 415b, 485a, 488b, 491b). 
Tormey's short-suit (forced) leads, 

387b. 
Toulmin, Mrs. Harry, 471a, 523a, 524b, 

530a. 
Tournament, 440a. 
Tournament play at colleges, 502a. 
Tournament, Woman's Whist, 522a. 
Tournee, 440b. 
Tourney. See, "Tournament." 
Town and Gown Club, Ithaca, N. Y., 505a. 
Townsend, E. P., 30a, 408a, 470b. 
Townsend, Mrs. H. C, 523a. 
Townsend, Samuel, 174a. 
Trainor, William, 174a. 
Transition period, whist passing through 

a, 257b. 
Tray, 440b (also, 130a). 
Treble, 440b. 
Trey, 441a. 
Trick, 441a. 

Trick, failing to play to a, 287a. 
Trick-Losing Leads, 442a. 
Trick-losing play, 90b, 197b, 3653, 442a, 

458a. 
Trick, quitted, 336a. 
Trick-taking power, giving a, to low 

cards, 441a. 
Trick-Taking Value of Cards, 442b. 
Tricks, 323b. 

Tricks, counting total number of, 202a. 
Tricks instead of games and rubbers, 

273a. 
Tricks, taking in, 4193. 
Tricks, winning all the, 395b. 
Tricks won, placing cards of, 8a. 
"Triple-Dummy," 443a. 



Trist, Nicholas Browse, 443a (also, 10a, 

15b, i8b, 20b. 21b, 30a, 31a, 34a, 42b, 43a, 

124a, 135a, 174a, J77a, 187a, 204a, 232b, 

244a, 409b, 420a, 42ga, 438b, 483b, 488b, 

4g6a,5isb). 
Trist, N. P., 443b. 
Trist, Miss, 425b, 523b. 
Trist Whist Club, Philadelphia, 41b, 471a, 

506b, 521b, 524b. 
Trollope, Anthony, 85a, 269a, 506a. 
TroUope, Mrs., 85a. 
Trophy, 447b. 
True Cards, 448b. 
Trumbull, H., 31b, 199b, 283b, 508a. 
Trumbull, Perrj', 250b, 305a. 
Trump, ace, nor court card. See, '■'New 

Deal, Not Entitled to a." 
Trump Attack, 448b. 
Trump-Card, 449a (also, 234b, 240b). 
Trump card at duplicate, 138b. 
Trump cut from a still pack, 59a, 334b, 

403a. 
Trump, declared, 112b. 
"Trump, Jr., A.," 449b (also, 58a,i6ga, 

335a)- 
Trump-Lead, Original, 450b. 
Trump Management, 451b. 
Trump misers, 460a. 
Trump or discard, 122a. 
Trump, permanent, 113a. 
Trump-play, curious, by "Cavendish," 

447a. 
Trump, refusing to, 339a. 
Trump-Showing Leads, 452b (also, 417b). 
Trump Signal, 454a [also, S2b, ii6b, i6gb, 

390b, 447b) ■ 
Trump signal, first published reference 

to, 68b. 
Trump signal, new use for, 408a. 
Trump signal, noting, joSb. 
Trump signal, responding to, 456a. 
Trump Signal to Show no More of a 

Suit, 458a. 
Trump Strength, Showing, 458a. 
Trump Suit, 458b. 
Trump-suit leads, special, 399a. 
Trump, superfluous, getting rid of a, 195a, 

306a. 
Trump, Turning, from a Still Pack, 

449b. 
Trumping a Doubtful Trick, 450a. 
Trumping In, 450b (also, 480a). 
" Trumps," ^sSh (also, 57a, 57b, 335a). 
Trumps, 459a. 
Trumps, average number of, held by each 

player, 331a. 
Trumps, four, five, or six small, no good 

plain suit, lead from, 388a. 
Trumps, leading, 289a, 448b. 
Trumps, leading, short, 417a. 
Trumps, management of, 481a. 
Trumps, not Leading, 460a. 
Trumps, Repeating the Signal to 

Show Six, 460b. 
Trumps, Returning, 461a. 
Trumps, seven small, and no good plain 

suit, 388a. 



552 



INDEX 



Trumps, short-suit call for, 456b. 

Trumps, Showing Number of. After 
A Signal, 461b. 

Trumps, Showing Number of, by Sig- 
nal, 461b. 

Trumps, Showing Number of, on Ad- 
versary's I<EAD, 462a. 

Trumps, uses of, 459a. 

Trumps, weak, leading, 374a. 

Trumps, when to call for, 456a. 

Turf Club, 487a {also, see, " Arlington 
Club"). 

Turning trump. See, "Trump Card." 

Turn-Up, 462b. 

Twelfth Card, 463a. 

Twenty-six cards, playing, 295b. 

Two cards, playing, to one trick, 318b. 

Two-handed whist. See, "Double-Dum- 
my," and " German IVhist." 

Two-Spot, 463b. 

Two-spot, playing a, as a sub-echo, 410a. 

Two Trumps for One, 464a. 

Unblocking, 464a {also, loib, 306b, 340b, 

350a, 444a). 
Underplay, 465b {also, 204a). 
Undertrumping, 466a. 
Unfair advantage, 419b. 
Unfairness, intentional, how dealt with, 

231b. 
Unguarding and blanking, 303b. 
Unintentional, infraction of laws and 

rules supposed to be, 232b. 
Universities, whist in. See, " Whist in 

Colleges and Universities." 
University Whist Club, Chicago, 31b, igga. 
Unnecessarily high card, play of an, 90a. 
Unscientific Play, 466b. 
Up-and-Back Game, 466b. 
Up and Down. 466b {also, 384a). 
Useless cards, throwing away, 1:6a. 
Uses of trumps, 459a. 

Value of cards, trick-taking, 442b. 
Value of Good Play, 467a. 
Value of the game, 359b. 
Varian, S. T., 467a {also, 511b). 
Variations in the play of a hand, 476b. 
Varieties of whist, 5i5b. 
Victoria Club, Toronto, team from, 71a. 
Vautre, Baron de, 467b {also, 57b, 2951^, 

2C)6a, 346a). 
Vice-Tenace, 467b. 
Vienna Grand Coup, 467b. 
Visiting Team, 468b. 
Vivant, 252a. 
Void, 468b. 
Von Moltke and his last slam, 83b. 

Wager-Smith, Mrs. Elizabeth, 468b. 

Wagers, 127b, i68b. 

Waiting Game, 469a. 

Walbrook Whist Club, Baltimore, 417b, 

454a. 
Walker, Mrs. J. M., 523b. 
Walker, W. J., 31b, 32b, 38a, 173b, 199b. 



Wallace, Mrs. 'Henry Edward, 469a 

{also, 44b, 322a, 348b, 424a, 425b, 490b, 

499a, 523b, 524b). 
Waller, J. I^., 31b, 199a. 
Waller, W., 31b, 199b. 
Walls, Dr. George, 38b, 39a, 174a, 492a. 
Walls, Mrs. George, 5a. 
Walton, John M., 470a {also, 31b, 32a, 

522b). 
Ward, H. H., 174a. 
Ware, Eugene, 321b. 
Warren, Sam, 485a. 

Washington Trophy, 471a {also, 524a). 
Washington ladies at whist, 529a. 
Waterhouse, Mrs. C. S., 39a. 
Waterman, Mrs. Hattie, 44b. 
Watson, F. P., 58a, 68a, 336b. 
Watson, W. H., 174a. 
Wayne Whist Club, 39a. 
Weakening the adversary, i8ia. 
Weak Move, 471a. 
Weakness, 471a. 
Weakness, concealing, 471b. 
Weakness, exhibition of, disadvanta- 
geous, 169b, 453b, 461b, 499b. 
Weak Suit, 471b. 
Weems, R. H., 32b, 34a, 36b, 48a, 174a, 

223a, 447a, 472b, 489b). 
" Welsh honor, the," 177b. 
West, 471b. 

Westminster Club, 276a. 
"Westminster Papers," 471b {also, 

169a, 2y3a). 
Weston, J. W., 39a. 

Wetherill, Mrs. John Price, 313a, 524b. 
Whallon, J. F.. 31a, 199a. 
Wheeler, W. H., 31b. 
Wheelock, H. M., 489b. 
Wheelock, Miss Kate, 472a {also, 44b, 

73b, 325b, 390b, 420b, 425b, 434b, 438b, 

521b, 526a, 526b). 
Whelan, T. A., 34a, 173b, 199b. 
When in doubt, old and new advice, 102a, 

122a. 
"Whisk and Swabbers," 476b. 
Whist, 476b. 
" Whist," 482a. 
Whist Analyst, 483b. 
Whist and old age, 420a. 
Whist : a Poem in Twelve Cantos, 

484a. 
Whist as a Home Game, 484a. 
Whist as an aid in studying law, 485a. 
Whist as an Educator, 4S4b. 
Whist a trois, 274a. 
Whist books. See, "Books on Whist." 
Whist centre of Europe, 77b. 
Whist Club, the New York, 34b, 88b, 

383b. 
Whist Clubs, 486a {also, 4b). 
Whist committee, duties of, 486a. 
Whist Compared with Chess, 487a. 
Whist, early definition of, 352a. 
Whist Editors, 488a. 
Whist editors who favor the short-suit 

game, 492a. 
"Whist Empress," 7b. 



INDEX 



553 



Whist for its own sake, 192b, 232b, 260a, 

273b, 400b. 
Whist, History of, 4g3a. 
Whist in America, 169a, 496a. 
Whist in Art, 500b. 
Whist in Canada, 71b. 
Whist in Colleges and Universities, 

501a. 
Whist in France, 505a {also, 190a). 
Whist in Novels, 505b. 
IVhisttn the public schools. See, " IVhtsi 

as an Educator." 
Whist Lesson Cards, 506a. 
W^hist lessons, prices charged for, 425b. 
Whist-markers, 360a. 
Whist Match Between Women, 506b. 
Whist Match by Correspondence, 

506b. 
Whist Match by Telegraph, 5ogb. 
Whist, meaning of the word, 476b, 493b. 
Whist Memory, 510b. 
Whistograph, the, 476a. 
"Whiston, Professor," 510b. 
Whist Pack, 510b. 
Whist Party, 511a. 
Whist Patents, 511a. 
Whist-play, object of, 281b. 
Whist played by three players, 128b. 
" Whist Popes, The," 515b. 
Whist, probabilities of, 330b. 
"fi^hzst Queen." See, " IVheelock, Miss 

Kate." 
Whist Received at Court, 515b. 
Whist revival, 420b, 528b. 
Whist, Schools of, 516a. 
Whist Season, The, 516a. 
Whist Sense, 516b. 
Whist strategy. See, '■^Strategy." 
Whist unknown to Shakespeare, 366a. 
Whist, Varieties of, 516b. 
Whist Without a Trump, 517a. 
Whister, 517b. 
White, Charles E., 512b. 
White, Charles P., 492a. 
White, Horatio S., 505a. 
" Whitechapel Play," 517b. 
Whitfeld, William H., 517b {also, sia, 

35a, i2oa, 145b, 368b, 332a, 447a). 
Whitfeld problem. See, "Whitfeld, W. 



Whitmore, C. E., 503a. 

"Who dealt?" an irregular question, 

i66a. 
Wiley, G. P., 502b. 
William III, of Germany, 83b. 
Williams, Mrs. Charles, 522b, 523a. 
Williams, Mrs. William J., 522a. 
Wilson, P. S., 38b. 
Winning Card, 521a. 
Winning card to be returned at once, 

340a. 
Win on their merits, trumps, 364b. 
" Win the Rest," 521a. 
Wintour, Major, 162b. 
Wister, Mrs. Rodman, 471a, 523b, 524b. 
Witherle, C. B., 305a. 
Wolflfsohn, S., 44b. 
Woman's whist clubs, 4b, 5a. 
Woman's whist congress, 521b. 
Woman's Whist League, 521b. 
Woman's Whist League trophies, 448a. 
Woman's whist tournament, first, 41b. 
Women as Whist Authors, 526a. 
Women as Whist-Players, 527a, 
Wood, Mrs. E- L., 509b. 
Wood, J. H., 174a. 
Woodward, A. H., 512a. 
Wooten, J. P., 30b, 70b, 173b, 194a, 199a, 

508a. 
Work, Milton C, 531a {also, 13a, 34a, 34b, 

S8b, i3sa, 173b, 185a, 197b, 199b, 288a, 

316a, 365a, 372b, 3gia, 42ga, 434a, 442a, 

452b, 454a, 458a, 461a, 461b, 463a, 483bf 

488b, 4gob, 511b. 524a). 
Work, Mrs. Milton C, 523b. 
Wright, W. N. , Jr., 39a. 
Wright, W. W., 344b. 
Wyatville, Lady, 528a, 

X, 531b. 

Y, 532a. 

Yale, whist at, 501a. 
Yarborough, 532a. 
Young Players, 533b. 
Younger Hand, 533b. 

z, 533b. 

Zuckertort, 446b, 



Appendix for 1899; 

Containing Additional Information to date. 






See page 561 for the 

Deip LaiDS of Duplicate Ulhist. 



^% It is the intention of the publishers to issue an ANNUAL 

Appendix, containing all new information, changes, 

etc., to the end of each year, and supply 

it to such subscribers who desire 

it at the nominal price of 

Twenty-five Cents. 



(555) 



OFFICERS OF 

'Cbe Hmerican ^bist League 

Elected at the Eighth Annual Congress, held in 
Boston, July 11-16, 1898. 

President— T^. LeRoy Smith, Albany, N. Y. 

Vice P}-esident — B. L. Richards, Rock Rapids, la. 

Recording Secretary — Clarence A. Henriques, New York City. , 

Corresponding Secretary — Z,. G. Parker, Toledo, O. 

Treasurer— Jon^if T. Mitchell, Chicago, III. 

Directors — (Three years), Hon. George L. Bunn, St. Paul, Minn.; E- C. Fletcher, 

West Newton, Mass.; Joseph S. Neff, Philadelphia, Pa.; J. Ebkrhard 

Faber, Staten Island, N. Y. 

Director— {Oa& year), William E. Talcott, Cleveland, O. 



OFFICERS OF 



Xi^be Cdomen^s Cdbist League 

Re-elected at the Second Annual Congress, held at 
Philadelphia, May 2&-28, 1898. 

President— Mrs. Joseph R. Hawley, Hartford, Conn. 

Pirst Vice-President — Mrs. Clarence Brown, Toledo, O. 
Second Vice-President — Mrs. Waldo Adams, Boston. 

Secretary— 'yi&&. O. D. Thompson, Allegheny City, Pa. 

Treasurer— M-AS. Silas W. Pettit, Philadelphia. 
Governors— ylss,.^^A^iB.^s T. I/Ittell, New York; Mrs. C. H. Reeves, Baltimore; 
Mrs. J. P. Wetherill, Philadelphia ; Mrs. J. M. Walker, Denver ; Mrs. O . 
W. Potter, Chicago ; Mrs. Henry E. Waterman, St. I^ouis ; Mrs. William 
Endicott, Boston (who subsequently resigned, Miss Kate Wheelock being 
elected her successor); Mrs. George E- Bates, San Francisco; Miss Susan 
D. Biddle Detroit ; Mde. de Sibour, Washington, D. C; Mrs. M. J. McCoN- 
NELL, Brooklyn, and Mrs. lyUCiEN Swift, Minneapolis. 

(55^ 



OFFICERS OF 

Cbe Hmerican Qlhidt League 

Blected at the Eighth Annual Congrress, held in 
Boston, July 11-16, J89S 

/Vw/cfen/— E- IvBRov Smith.AI.. 

Vice President— R. h. RlCttAliDS, Kodc R- 

/Recording Secfeiar:)'—Ci,AVLK^C& A. HKS-RlQOEfi, :su.w Votit C-rv 

Corresponding Segyftary—t,. Q. Parkjsr, Toledo, O. 

Treasurer —}ou« T. MiTCHBIX, Chicago, III. 

iJjV-ffc/^^— (Three years), Hon. GEORCa I,. BtrNN, St. Paul, Minn.; E. C. Fletchbr, 

West Newton, Mtir's.; Joseph S. Nbkf, Philadelphia, Pa.; J. Eberhard 

' 4.BER, Staten Island, N. Y. 

'■':■'•■.■ -^ ^•7,r^,,^, V -r^r.-^.-f.-^ Cleveland,©. 



OFFICERS OF 

The Cdomen^s Slbist League 

Re-elected «; ' r liaaual Congfre;'!. ' ' " '■ 

5 May 26-28, i8g8. 

President— -iAK^. Joseph P. Hawtft Hartford, Conn 
First Vice-PresiiX 

Sf.coKd Vn-K- t'rti%dtni-—va.)i;a. Waldo Adams, Boston. 

:~ccretary—'i&BS. O. D. Thompsok, Allegheny City, Pa. 

TVtfajMi'ff^— Mrs. Silas W. Pettit, Philadelphia. 
Governors— 'MiRS. Emlbn T. I,rTrBLL, New York ; Mrs. C. H. Reeves, Baltimore 
Mrs. J. P. Wkthbrill, Philadelphia ; Mrs. J. M. Waickbr, Denver ; Mrs. >. . 
w. Potter, Chicago; Mrs. Henry E. Waterman, St. l>>uis; Mas. Wu.ua: 
Kndicott, Boston (who subsequently resigned, Miss Kate Wheelock being 
ejected her successor); Mrs. George E. Bates, San Pranciaco; Miss Susan 
'.>. Biddle Detroit ; Mde. de Sibottr, Washington, D. C; MUS. M. J. McCoN- 
"JHt-r,, Bnwklyn, and Mrs. I^ucien Swift, Minneapolis. 

(5564 



APPENDIX TO JANUARY i, 1899. 



The Eighth American Whist 
Congress was called to order in 
the Hotel Vendome, Boston, Mass., 
July II, 1898, by the president, 
Henry A. Mandell. In his an- 
nual address Mr. Mandell referred 
to the report of the Committee on 
System of Play as " by far the most 
important business that has claimed 
the attention of the lycague in 
recent years," adding: 

"The League may properly indicate 
certain lines of play that we may recom- 
mend as proper to follow under usual 
and ordinary circumstances. One of the 
master theorists of whist has written ; 
'Whist conventions are in accordance 
with, and are suggested by, principle. 
Indeed, all established conventions of the 
game are so chosen as to harmonize -with 
play that would naturally be adopted in- 
dependently of convention.' It is these 
conventions, based upon reason and the 
accumulated experience of seasoned ex- 
perts, that should now be promulgated 
by the League and recommended to be- 
ginners. We should in no vs^ise attempt 
to dictate to any player that he must 
adopt any system of play, nor advance 
the idea that the principles recommended 
are infallible, for the League should sin- 
cerely encourage original investigation 
and warmly welcome its successful fruit. 
A second equally as strong reason for 
adopting some system of play as a stan- 
dard is the aid it will give teams, com- 
peting in League contests, in defining 
their game. The right is now given 
players to inquire, at proper times, of 
their adversaries what system of play 
they follow. The diflSculty of explaining 
in detail, in a conversation lasting but a 
few minutes, some well-known system, 
has already brought some trouble to the 
League by some ill-advised friends of con- 
testants charging what happily the con- 
testants themselves did not endorse. 
Without some League standard of play, 
as a basis of explanation of particular 
systems advocated, there is grave reason 



to fear troubles that may shake the very- 
peace of the League." 

It was resolved that the report of 
the Committee on System of Play 
be postponed for the consideration 
of the Ninth Congress. 

The report follows: 

Report of the Committee on System 

Play. 
To the President and members of the A. 

W. L- 

Gentlemen : — The committee appointed 
at the annual meeting of the American 
Whist League, in Brooklyn, 189&, to pre- 
pare and recommend a system of play 
which might be endorsed by the League 
at some subsequent meeting, with a view 
to the establishment of a uniform method 
of play, begs to submit herewith its 
report. 

First of all, your committee desires to 
express its conviction that what is com- 
monly known as the long-suit system at 
whist is the most scientific, is productive 
of the highest intellectual pleasure, and 
is the most successful in respect to trick- 
making. Your committee therefore 
recommends this system. 

It recommends also that this system be 
initiated and carried forward by the use 
of the number-showing leads, the second, 
third and fourth-hand plays, the conven- 
tional discards and signals, all of which 
constitute what is commonly known as 
the sj^stem of American leads. 

While it is true that the theory of the 
long-suit system should pervade every 
hand from the first card played until the 
last, it is also evident that detailed 
methods of carrjdng that system forward 
must, in the great majority of hands, be 
limited to the first two or three rounds. 
Reason, fortified by experience, can indi- 
cate in detail methods by which the attack 
should be commenced, and as well the de- 
tails of the beginning of the defence or the 
counter attack. But after the play of the 
hand is fairly under way its development 
must, in the nature of the case, be left 
almost entirely to the individual judg- 
ment of the player. 



(557) 



558 



APPENDIX 



A few general, and for the most part 
obvious, rules may be given for leading 
trumps, for abandoning one's suit and 
playing for partner's, or the reverse, for 
forcing or refusing to force, but the vast 
majority of situations after the play of 
the hand is commenced must be resolved 
by each whist-player for himself. 

Your committee therefore understands 
that its work will be completed when it 
recommends a system of original leads, 
second, third and fourth-hand plays to 
such leads, return leads by partner, sec- 



ondary leads, and, in addition, a system 
of discarding to show strength or weak- 
ness, length, command, etc. It under- 
stands also that such a recommendation 
is now deemed advisable because some 
minor, and for the most part unimpor- 
tant, diflFerences obtain among whist- 
players who use the long-suit system, 
and because it is believed that uniformity 
in these details would enhance alike the 
value and the pleasure of the game. 

Your committee recommends the fol- 
lowing system of play; 



Original Leads. 




Plain Suits. 


Number of 








cards in suit. 


4 


5 


6 




Lead. 


Lead. 


Lead. 


Holding. 


Follow. 


Follow. 


Follow. 


AKQJ 


KJ 


JA 


JK 


AKO 


KQ 


QA 


QK 


AK ~ 


K A 


AK 


AK 


AQJ 


AQ 


AJ 


AJ 


AQ orj 


4th 


4th 


A 4th 


A 


4th 


4th 


A 4th 


KQJ 


K J 


JK 


J Q 


KQ 


K 


Q4th 


Q4th 


QJio 


10 Q 


10 J 


10 J 



Holding any other combination, fourth 

best. 



7 

Lead. 

Follow. 

JQ 
QK 

A K 
AJ 
A 4th 
A 4th 

JQ 

Q4th 
10 J 



In trumps, open as above, except as 
follows . 





4 


5 


5 


7 




Lead. 


Lead. 


Lead. 


Lead. 


Holding. 


Follow. 


Follow. 


Follow. 


Follow. 


AK 


4th K 


4th K 


4th K 


AK 


AK J 


4th K 


4th K 


AK 


AK 


AK 10 


4th K 


4th K 


AK 


AK 


AQor J 


4th 


4th 


4th 


4th 


A 


4th 


4th 


4th 


4th 


KQ 


4th 


4th 


4th 


4th 


KQro 


4th 


4th 


Q 


Q 



Second- Hand Plays to Original Leads. 

Play low, on low card led, except as 
follows : 

Holding A K and one or more small, 
play K in plain suit. 

Holding K Q and one small, play Q. 

Holding Q K and two or more small, 
play Q in plain suits. 

Holding Q J and one small, play J. 

Holding J 10 and one small, play lo. 

Holding AQJ and one or more small, 
play J. 

Holding A Q 10 and one or more small 
in plain suit : 

The play of the small cards is prefera- 
ble unless you want the lead, and hope 
by playing the lo to hold the trick and 
then lead trumps or open your own suit. 

If opponents have opened your only 
strong suit, and you are weak in trumps, 
and the remainder of your hand does not 



warrant a short lead of trumps or suit, 
play low. 

Your partner has an even chance of 
winning the trick fourth hand, and he 
may be able from the fall of the cards to 
place the tenace in the suit with you. The 
risk of third hand winning the trick 
cheaply may be more than counterbal- 
anced by the disadvantage of being 
left in the lead should lo hold the trick. 

K and one, play king only on 9 led in 
plain suits. 

K and one, play king in trumps. Cover 
high card led, holding a fourchette. 

Simply cover original lead, when hold- 
ing all the winning cards, as determined 
by Foster's Fleven Rule, assuming the 
card led to be the fourth best. For exam- 
ple, play 10 from A K 10 on 8 led ; play 8 
from A Q 10 8 on 7 led, etc. 

Holding A and one or more small, 
play A on K Q orJ led, as an original lead. 



APPENDIX 



559 



Third-Hand Play. 

Holding A Q alone, play A, return Q. 

Holding A Q and others, play Q, return 
A. 

Holding A K and two or more, play A, 
return K. 

Holding other combinations, play high- 
est card except when in sequence, then 
play lowest of sequence. 

Holding originally three of partner's 
suit, return highest remaining in hand. 
When not compelled to play a higher 
card than card led, holding four or ra.ore 
of suit, play third best, to show four or 
more and to unblock. 

On winning partner's original lead, or 
when next in the lead, return partner's 
suit at once, unless holding a five-card 
suit with at least two honors, or a four- 
card suit with at least three honors. The 
return of partner's suit becomes more im- 
perative, if from the fall of the cards 
he has presumably led from a five-card 
suit. 

Holding five of suit led originally by 
partner, return winner, if held, otherwise 
original fourth best. Always return 
partner's original trump lead. 

Fourth hand wins the trick as cheaply 
as possible and opens his own suit, which 
is generally better play than to lead 
through the adversary's suit. 

Holding length and strength in the 
adversary's suit, a trump lead is some- 
times advisable from a hand that w^ould 
not otherwise warrant an original lead of 
trumps. 

Discard. 

When trump strength is declared with 
partner, discard weakest suit. 

When trumps are led by adversary dis- 
card strong suit : discard to show com- 
mand when holding A by discarding a 
higher and afterwards playing a lower 
card when the suit is led, unless obliged 
to play high. For example, discard 4 
from A J 9 4 3 and play 3 second hand on 
opponent's lead, or third hand on part- 
ner's lead of Q or 10. 

Ordinarily two discards from your 
strong suit cannot be made with safety 
unless you hold at least six cards in the 
suit. 

Endeavor to protect Q twice guarded 
and J or 10 thrice guarded of the suit that 
is evidently your opponent's strong suit. 

Discard preparing to show command 
when holding K or Q, unless cards are of 
such value that the discard of the third or 
fourth best is likely to result in loss, as K 
Q 10 2 — four in suit. 

As the first discard on adversary' s lead 
of trumps indicates partner's strong suit, 
that suit should be led, particularly when 
holding an honor or a finessing card, and 
also when the size of the card discarded 



may indicate that he probably has com- 
mand, or that the suit is likely to be es- 
tablished on the first round ; except when 
holding an established suit of your own, 
and in that event his suit should be led 
before parting with the control of your 
own suit. In leading to partner's suit, 
lead top of three or less. Lead A from four 
or more in the suit ; from other combina- 
tions lead same as "original plain-suit 
leads." After having discarded to show 
strong suit, or if trumps are led by adver- 
sary after you have shown your strong 
suit by an original lead, discard weakest 
suit. 

Subsequent discards should be made 
with a view of showing command if held, 
as 6 from A 6 4, or preparing to show 
command or re-entry, as 4 from K or Q 5 
4 2, so that partner may know which suit 
to lead should he have no more of your 
original strong suit. 

Trump Call. 

The conventional call for trumps by 
playing an unnecessarily high card, and 
afterwards a lower card, is so universally 
recognized as a valuable and important 
adjunct to the game that it requires no 
discussion at our hands. 

Ordinarily the call for trumps should 
be made when the hand is sufficiently 
strong to have led trumps from as an 
original lead, except when holding five 
small trumps. In that ease it is obviousl3'- 
better to wait and lead them yourself, 
thereby perhaps enabling partner to win 
with an honor that would otherwise be 
sacrificed in responding to a call. 

Holding four or more trumps, signal in 
plain suit, if partner has called for 
trumps, and neither of you has been in to 
lead them, otherwise he would infer that 
you hold three trumps or less. 

Trumps. 

Lead from five or more trumps, regard- 
less of their size or your strength in plain 
suits. This is not intended to be invio- 
lable, as there are exceptional hands 
when any good player's judgment will 
dictate a different line of play; but for the 
majority of hands having the original 
lead, and five or more trumps, the trump 
lead is recommended. 

Four small trumps and no suit is a 
speculative hand, and the trump is likely 
to be the best lead. With four trumps 
and a four-card plain suit, and weak side 
suits, lead the plain suit. 

On Partner^ s Original Lead of Trumps. 

When not compelled to play higher 
than card led, holding four trumps, play 
third best and follow with fourth best. 

With five or more trumps, play third 
best, then fourth best, holding up the 
small card or cards. 



56o 



APPENDIX 



Holding three or less, play lowest. 

Holding four or more trumps, some of 
■which are iu sequence, as lo, 9, 8, 3, play 
10 and then g, whether obliged to play 
higher than card led or not. On partner's 
low trump led, holding four or more 
trumps, including the turned trump, and 
one or more in sequence above the turned 
trump, as Q J 6 4 (J turned), play Q to 
show immediately that you. have four or 
more. 

Holding K Q and two or three trumps 
and cards of immediate re-entry in suit, 
play K on partner's low trump led, and 
return Q if K holds the trick, or when 
next in the lead. 

Without cards of re-entry in suit, the 
play of K, if won by A, might deter 
partner from going on with the trumps if 
he has led from four, as he would be likely 
to place Q with opponents. 

Return of Partner's Original Trump 
Lead. 

Return winner, if held. 

Return highest if you held three or less 
originally. 

lyOwest if you held exactly four. 

And original fourth best, if you held 
five or more. 

When forced, holding five trumps, 
trump with fifth best and lead fourth 
best, if hand warrants trump lead. 

Holding six trumps, trump with fifth 
best and lead fourth best, holding up 
sixth best, except from high card combi- 
nations, then lead accordingly. 

Holding four trumps, trump with third 
best, except when it is a relatively high 
card, as 10 from K Q 10 3. 

If partner forces again, trump with 
fourth best, or if he leads trumps, and 
you are unable to hold the trick, play 
fourth best, or, if you hold the trick, re- 
turn fourth best. Should opponents lead 
trumps and your partner hold the trick 
second hand, and is marked with a losing 
card in adversaries' suit that you can 
trump, play fourth best. Should oppo- 
nents lead trumps, play second best 
second hand, and second best fourth 
hand, if they hold the trick, holding up 
fourth best until later. 

Leading Trumps on Partner's Call. 

I,ead top of three or less. 

lyead A regardless of number and fol- 
low with original fourth best. 

Lead from other combinations same as 
" original leads." 

Trumping in and Leading on Partner's 
Call. 

With four trumps, trump with third 
best, and lead top of remaining cards, if 
it be an honor or a finessing card, and 
play fourth best later. Holding four 



small trumps, trump with third best and 
lead fourth best. 

With five trumps, trump with fourth 
best, lead fifth best; with ace, trump with 
fourth best, lead A, then fifth best; with 
six trumps, trump with fourth best, lead 
fifth best, holding up sixth best; with ace, 
trump with fourth best, lead A, then fifth 
best, holding up sixth best. Except when 
holding high card combination, then lead 
accordingly. 

The false card lead, as a signal to come 
"through the honor turned," should be 
promptly obeyed by partner. This lead 
should not be made, however, without 
such combination as A J 10 and others, or 
A Q 10 and others, against the K turned, 
or K J 9 or 10 and others against the Q 
turned. 

Holding a weak combination like A 9 
or 8 6 4 3, against the K or O turned, it is 
apparent that little could be gained by 
this signal, as you might be obliged to 
part with your high trump on first round, 
leaving the commanding trumps against 
you. 

Optional Call for Trumps. 
With four or more trumps and three or 
four cards of indifferent value in plain 
suit, play second best of the three and 
third best of the four, that you may be in 
a position to call for trumps should the 
development of the hand warrant. This 
call need not be construed by partner as 
an imperative command to lead the 
trump, but as indicating trump strength 
and a willingness to have them led, and if 
partner has an established suit or a long 
suit that there is a reasonable chance of 
making, he should venture a trump lead. 

Changing Suit. 

Avoid changing suits. 

It is better to stick to your own suit 
until you have information as to partner's 
suit, and good reason to believe that it is 
better than yours. Manj' tricks are lost 
by "switching" and valuable re-entry 
cards are killed or taken out of partner's 
hand, without benefiting yours, but with 
a long, weak suit and weakness in trumps 
and lack of probable re-entry in side 
suits, it is frequently advisable to try for 
partner's suit, rather than persist in your 
own suit, when subsequent leads will 
force partner without establishing the 
suit. Without information as to part- 
ner's suit, and when obliged to change 
the suit, secondary leads should be 
made from your next best suit, leading 
low from four and from A and two small 
and high from K Q and one, and Q J and 
one and J and one or two. 

Forcing Partner. 
Refrain from forcing partner, when 
you are weak in trumps, except: first. 



appe;ndix 



561 



■when he has shown a willingness to be 
forced, as by trumping a doubtful trick, 
second hand; or, second, when opponents 
are leading or calling for trumps and 
your partner has shown no strength in 
suit or trumps — while the adversaries ap- 
parently have an established suit, and 
sufficient trump strength to bring it in. 

If partner has called for trumps, or led 
them after a force, and you are also strong 
in trumps, holding four or more, it is 
usually better to respond to his call, or 
return his trump lead, rather than force 
him again before having had one or two 
rounds of trumps. If partner passes a 
doubtful trick second hand, thereby 
showing four or more trumps, do not force 
him. If he discards a low card, and your 
own hand does not warrant the trump 
lead on account of weakness in trumps 
and in the suit he discards, lead the suit 
he is evidently strong in. 

On a high card discarded by partner, 
lead trumps, even if weak in trumps, pro- 
vided you have some strength in the suit 
he discards. If partner refuses to trump 
adversary's winning trick, do not force 
him; lead trumps. 

Command on Third Round Signal. 

When trumps are out, or the remain- 
ing trumps are marked with adversaries 
or partner holding combinations like Q 
and two more in suit, play second best 
and then third best, to show command on 
third round. Holding the losing trump 
and two cards in plain suit, the remain- 
ing trumps being marked with adversa- 
ries, or with partner, the adversaries 
being declared out of trumps, the same 
signal may be given, asking partner to 
come with the third round of the suit. 

Holding K and two others with trumps 
out or the remaining trumps marked with 
adversaries or partner, play second best 
on ace led, holding up the small card to 
show command and winner. 

False card play is a part of the strategy 
of the game. Whether to indulge in it or 
not, and to what extent, is a matter for 
the individual judgment of the player. It 
is often judicious, and it frequently works 
both ways. 

Respectfully submitted, 

George W. Keehn, Chairman, 

E. A. BUFFINTON, 

H. S. Stevens, 
Committee on System of Play. 

A resolution was adopted em- 
powering the Executive Committee 
of the L,eague to 

" provide for the payment of an entrance 
fee from the clubs, teams, or players 
contesting in any of the matches held 



hereafter under its auspices during the 
meeting of a Congress." 

The report of the Committee on 
Laws having been presented, the 
following resolution was unani- 
mously adopted : 

" That the report of the Committee on 
Laws be, and the same hereby is ac- 
cepted, and that the Code of Laws of 
Duplicate Whist, as reported by said 
Committee and published in the supple- 
ment of Whist of July 15, 1898, be, and the 
same hereby is adopted in the place of 
the present Code of Laws of Duplicate 
Whist ; and that the committee be, and 
hereby is, continued and directed to make 
further report as to any changes in said 
Code they may deem advisable at the 
Ninth American Whist Congress." 

Report of the Committee on 
Laws : 

THE liAAVS OF DTJPIilCATE 

1VHIST. 

La-vr 1.— De-finltlons. 

Section i. — The words and phrases 
used in these laws shall be construed in 
accordance with the following defini- 
tions, unless such construction is incon- 
sistent with the context : 

Hand. — The thirteen cards received 
by any one player are termed a " hand." 

Deal. — The four hands into which a 
pack is distributed for play are termed a 
" deal ; " the same term is also used to 
designate the act of distributing the cards 
to the players. 

Tray.— A "tray" is a device for re- 
taining the hands of a deal and indicat- 
ing the order of playing them. 

Dealer.— The player who is entitled 
to the trump card is termed the "dealer," 
whether the cards have or have not been 
dealt by him. 

Original Play and Overplay .—The 
first play of a deal is termed "the orig- 
inal play," the second or any subse- 
quent play of such deal, the " overplay." 
Duplicate "Whist. — ' ' Duplicate 
Whist " is that form of the game of 
whist in which each deal is played once 
only by each player, but in which each 
is so overplayed as to bring the play of 
teams, pairs or individuals into compari- 
son. 

Renounce — Renounce In Error — 
Revoke. — A player " renounces " when 
he does not follow suit to the card led ; 
he " renounces in error " when, although 
holding one or more cards of the suit 



56^ 



APPENDIX 



led, he plays a card of a different suit ; 
if such renounce in error is not lawfully 
corrected, it constitutes a " revoke." 
Trick; " Ttirned and Quitted."— A 

trick is " turned and quitted" when all 
four players have turned and quitted 
their respective cards. 

JjaTV /2. — Formation of Teams aud 
Arrange nment of Players. 

Section i. The contesting teams must 
each consist of the same number of 
players. They may iDg formed and seated 
at tables as determined by agreement, 
lot or othervyise, and the positions of the 
players at the table shall be designated 
as "North," ":East," "South" and 
" West." 

liavt" 3.— Sbuffllng. 

Section i. Before the cards are dealt 
they must be shuffled in the presence of 
an adversary or the umpire. Each 
player has the right to shuffle them once 
before each deal, each new deal, and 
each new cut. In all cases the dealer 
may shuffle last. 

Sec. 2. Rlglit to Re-shnffle.— The 
pack must not be so shuffled as to expose 
the face of any card, and if a card is so 
exposed each of the players has the right 
to re-shuffle the pack. 

Iiatv 4r.— Cnttlng for the Trump. 

Section i. The dealer must present the 
cards to his right-hand adversary to be 
cut; such adversary must take from the 
top of the pack at least four cards and 
place them towards the dealer, leaving at 
least four cards in the remaining packet; 
the dealer must re-unite the packets by 
placing the one not removed in cutting 
upon the other. If, in cutting, or re- 
uniting the separate packets, a card is 
exposed, the pack mu.st be re-shuffled 
and cut again; if there is any confusion 
of the cards or doubt as to the place where 
the pack was separated, there must be a 
new cut. 

Iia-w 5. — Dealing. 

Section i. when the pack has been 
properly cut and re-united, the cards must 
be dealt, one at a time, face down, from the 
top of the pack, the first to the player at 
the left of the dealer, and each successive 
card to the player at the left of the one to 
whom the last preceding card has been 
dealt. The last, which is the trump card, 
must be turned and placed face up on the 
tray, or, if no tray is used, then at the 
right of the dealer. 

Sec. 2. Compulsory New Deal. — 
There must be a new deal — 

(A) If any card except the last is 
faced or exposed in any way in dealing. 



(B) If the pack is proved incorrect or 
imperfect. 

(C) If either more or less than thirteen 
cards are dealt to any player. 

(D) If the dealer's hand does not con- 
tain the trump card. 

Sec. 3. New Deal on Request.— 
There must be a new deal at the request 
of either player, provided such request is 
made by him before he has examined his 
cards — 

(A) If the cards are dealt by any per- 
son other than the dealer. 

(B) If the pack has not been properly 
cut. 

(C) If a card is dealt incorrectly, and 
the error is not corrected before another 
card is dealt. 

(D) If the trump card is placed face 
down upon any other card. 

Ija-w 6.— The Trump Card, 

Section i. Trun»p Slip on Original 
Deal. — The trump card and the number 
of the deal must be recorded before the 
play begins, on a slip provided for that 
purpose, and must not be elsewhere re- 
corded. Such slip must be shown to an 
adversary, then turned face down aud 
placed in the tray, if one is used. 

Sec. 2. "When to take up the Tramp 
Card. — The dealer must leave the trump 
card face up until the first trick is turned 
and quitted, unless it is played to such 
trick. He must take the trump card into 
his hand and turn down the trump slip 
before the second trick is turned and 
quitted. 

Sec. 3. On the Overplay. — When a 
deal is taken up for overplay the dealer 
must show the trump slip to an adver- 
.sary, and thereafter treat the trump slip 
and trump card as in the case of an 
original deal. (See I^aw 5, Sec. i.) 

Sec. 4. Naming Trump or E^xam- 
Ining Slip. — After the trump card has 
been lawfully taken into the hand, and 
the trump slip turned face down, the 
trump card must not be named nor the 
trump slip examined during the play of 
the deal; a player may, however, ask 
what the trump suit is. 

Sec. 5. Penalty.— If a player unlaw- 
fully looks at the trump slip his highest 
or lowest trump may be called; if a player 
unlawfully names the trump card his 
partner's highest or lowest trump may be 
called. 

Sec. 6. Inflicting Penalty^.— These 
penalties can be inflicted by either ad- 
versary at any time during the play of 
the deal in which they are incurred, be- 
fore the player from whom the call can 
be made has played to the current trick; 
the call may be repeated at each or any 



APPENDIX 



563 



trick until the card is played, but can- 
not be changed. 

Sec. 7. After Deal Has been'Played. 

— When a deal has been played the cards 
of the respective players, including the 
trump card, must be placed in the tray 
face down, and the trump slip placed face 
up on top of the dealer's cards. 

Sec. 8. Turning tlieWrong Trump. 

— If, on the overplay of a deal, a trump 
card is turned other than the one recorded 
on the trump slip, and such error is dis- 
covered and corrected before the play of 
the deal is commenced, the card turned 
in error is liable to be called. 

Sec. 9. Penalty. — If such error is not 
corrected until after the overplay has 
begun, and more than two tables are en- 
gaged in play the offender and his part- 
ner shall be given the lowest score made 
with their hands on that deal at any 
table; if less than three tables are en- 
gaged the offender's adversaries may 
consult, and shall have the option either 
to score the deal as a tie or to have the 
pack re-dealt, and such new deal played 
and overplayed. 

Sec. 10. Recording Wrong Trump 

—Penalty.— Should a player, after the 
cards are dealt, record on the trump slip 
a different trump from the one turned in 
dealing, and the error be discovered at 
the next table, there must be a new deal; 
if the deal has been played at one or 
more tables with the wrong trump the 
recorded trump must be taken as correct, 
and the pair of the player making the 
error be given the lowest score for that 
deal. If, however, less than three tables 
are in play there must be a new deal. 



laavr 7. — Irregularities in the 
Hands. 

Section i. More or Less than Cor- 
rect Number of Cards — Penalty. — In 

case a player on the overplay is found to 
have either more or less than his correct 
number of cards, if less than three tables 
are engaged, there must be a new deal ; 
but if more than two tables are in play, 
the hands must be rectified and then 
passed to the next table. The table at 
which the error was discovered must not 
overplay the deal, but shall take the aver- 
age score. 

Sec. 2. Cards IJeft in tlie Tray.— 

If, after the first trick has been turned 
and quitted, a player is found to have less 
than his correct number of cards, and the 
missing card or cards are found in the 
tray, such player and his partner shall be 
given the lowest score on that deal. 



Iraw 8. — Playing, Turning and 
Quitting the Cards. 

Section i. Playing the Card*. — Each 
player, when it is his turn to play, must 
place his card face up before him, and 
towards the centre of the table, and allow 
it to remain upon the table in this posi- 
tion until all have played to the trick, 
when he must turn it over and place it 
face down, and nearer to himself, placing 
each successive card, as he turns it, so 
that it overlaps the last card played by 
him and with the ends toward the win- 
ners of the trick. After he has played 
his card, and also after he has turned it, 
he must quit it by moving his hand. 

Sec. 2. After Cards are Played. — 
The cards must be left in the order in 
which they were played and quitted, until 
the scores for the deal are recorded. 

Sec. 3. Turning Another's Card. 
— During the play of a deal a player 
must not pick up or turn another player's 
cards. 

Sec. 4. Asking to See the Liast 
Cards Played. — Before a trickisttirned 
and quitted, any player may require any 
of the other players to show the face of 
the card played to that trick. 

Sec. 5. Triclc Once Turned and 
Quitted. — If a player names a card of a 
trick which has been turned and quitted, 
or turns or raises any such card so that 
any such portion of its face can be seen 
by himself or any other player, he is liable 
to the same penalty as if he had led out 
of turn. 

La-vr 9. — Cards Liable to be Called. 

Section i. The following cards are lia- 
ble to be called : 

(A) Every card so placed upon the table 
as to expose any of the printing on its 
face, except such cards as these laws 
specifically provide shall not be so liable. 

(B) Every card so held by a player that 
his partner sees any of the printing on 
its face. 

(C) Everycard (except the trump card) 
named by the player holding it. 

(D) The trump card, if it is not taken 
into the dealer's hand, and the trump 
slip turned face down before the second 
trick is turned and quitted. 

Sec. 2. <' I can Trin the rest," etc. — 
If a player says, "I can win the rest," 
"The rest are ours," " It makes no differ- 
ence how you play," or words to that 
effect, his partner's cards must be laid 
face up on the table, and are liable to be 
called. 

Sec. 3. — M'^here to Place and -when 
to Play Cards Liable to be Called. — 
All cards liable to be called must be 



564 



APPENDIX 



placed and left until played face up on the 
table. A player must lead or play them 
when lawfully called, provided he can do 
so without revoking; the call maybe re- 
peated at each or any trick until the card 
IS played. A player cannot, however, be 
prevented from leading or plajdug a card 
liable to be called; if he can get rid of it 
in the course of play no penalty remains. 

Sec. 4. By Wliom and. wlien Cards 

Can toe Called. — The holder of a card 
liable to be called can be required to play 
it only by the adversary on his right. If 
such adversary plays without calling it 
the holder may play to that trick as he 
pleases; if it is the holder's turn to lead, 
the card must be called before the pre- 
ceding trick has been turned and quitted, 
or before the holder has led a different 
card; otherwise he may lead as he 
pleases. 

liavF 10.— licading Out of Turn. 

Section i. Penalty Lost.— If a player 
leads out of turn, and the error is discov- 
ered before all have played to such lead, 
a suit may be called from him or from his 
partner, as the case may be; the first time 
thereafter it is the right of either of them 
to lead; but the card led out of turn is not 
liable to be called, and must be taken 
into the hand. The penalty can be en- 
forced only by the adversary on the right 
of the one from whom a lead can lawfully 
be called. If all have played to the false 
lead, the right to the penalty is lost; if 
one or more, but not all, have played to 
the trick, the cards played to such false 
lead must be taken back and are not 
liable to be called. 

Sec. 2. "VVlien it is an Adversary's 
Turn to Lead. — If a player leads when 
it is the turn of an adversary to lead, the 
right to call a suit is lost, unless the 
player having the right to inflict the pen- 
alty announces the suit he desires led be- 
fore the first trick thereafter won by the 
offender or his partner is turned and 
quitted. 

Sec. 3. Wlien it is Partner's Tnrn 

to Lead. — If a player leads when it is 
his partner's turn the proper leader must 
not lead until a suit has been lawfully 
called or the right to inflict the penalty 
has been waived or forfeited by his ad- 
versaries. If any one leads while liable 
to this penalty the card so led is liable to 
be called; but if either adversary plays to 
such lead the right to call a suit is lost. 

Sec. 4. Penalty Paid.— If a player, 
when called on to lead a suit, has none 
of it, the penalty is paid and he may lead 
as he pleases. 



Law 11.— Playing ont of Turn. — 

Section i. If the third hand plays be- 
fore the second, the fourth hand also may 
play before the second. 

Sec. 2. If the third hand has not played 
and the fourth hand plays before the 
second, the latter may be called upon by 
the third hand to play his highest or 
lowest card of the suit led, or, if he has 
none of it, to trump or not to trump the 
trick ; the penalty cannot be inflicted 
after the third hand has played to the 
trick. If the player liable to this penalty 
plays before it has been inflicted, waived 
or lost, the card so played is liable to be 
called. 

Lavr 12.— Tlie Re-voke. 

Section i. Revoke Gstatolislied.— A 

renounce in error may be corrected by the 
player making it, except in the following 
cases, in which a revoke is established 
and the penalty therefore incurred: 

(A) When the trick in which it occurs 
has been turned and quitted; 

(B) When the renouncing player or his 
partner, whether in his right turn or 
otherwise, has led or played to the fol- 
lowing trick; 

(C) When the partner of the renounc- 
ing player has called attention to the re- 
nounce. 

Sec. 2. Asking Adversary if ke 
Renounced.— At any time before a 
trick is turned and quitted, a player may 
ask an adversary if he has any of a suit 
to which such adversary has renounced 
in that trick, and can require the error to 
be corrected in case such adversary is 
found to have any of such suit. 

Sec. 3. Correcting Renounce, — If a 
player who has renounced in error law- 
fully corrects his mistake, the card im- 
properly played by him is liable to be 
called; any player who has played after 
him may withdraw his card and substi- 
tute another; a card so withdrawn is not 
liable to be called. 

Sec. 4. Penalty for Revoke. — The 
penalty for a revoke is the transfer of two 
tricks from the revoking side to;their ad- 
versaries; it can be enforced for as many 
revokes as occur during the play of that 
deal, but is limited to the number of 
tricks won by the offending side; no pair, 
however, can score more than thirteen on 
the play of any one deal. The revoking 
player and his partner cannot score more 
than the average on the deal in which 
the revoke occurs. 

Sec. 5. Claiming Revoke.— A re- 
voke may be claimed at anj"^ time before 
the last trick of the deal in which it oc- 
curs has been turned and quitted and 
the score recorded, but not thereafter. 



APPENDIX 



565 



Sec. 6. ESxaiululng Hands for Re- sary to win the first or any subsequent 

-voke. — At the end of the play of a deal, trick to which any of said cards are 

the claimants of a revoke can examine played, and the remaining cards so 

all the cards ; if either hand has been played are liable to be called, 

shuffled, the claim may be urged and P. J. Tormey, Chairman, 

proved if possible ; but no proof is neces- San Francisco, Cal. 

sary and the revoke is established, if, Theodore Schwarz, 

after it has been claimed, the accused Chicago, 111. 

player or his partner disturbs the order Robert H. Weems, 

of the cards before they have been ex- Brooklyn, N. Y. 

amined to the satisfaction of the adver- Leoni Melick, 

saries. Philadelphia, Pa. 

I.aw 13.-Miscella«e««s. ^™ ^- %^^^^^^ ^,. 

Section i. Calling Attention to N, b. Trist, 

Trick. — If any one calls attention in any New Orleans, La. 

manner to the trick, before his partner John T. Mitchell, 

has played thereto, the adversary last to Chicago, 111. 

play to the trick may require the of- E;. i^eRoy Smith, 

fender's partner to play his highest or Albany, N. Y. 

lowest of the suit led, or, if he has none Walter H. Barney, 

of that suit, to trump or not to trump the Providence', R. I. 

ti^i<^k. BBNjAMm L,. Richards, 

Sec. 2. Reminding Partner as to Rock Rapids, Iowa. 

Penaltj^.— A player has the right to re- Committee on Laws of the 

mind his partner that it is his privilege a merican Whist League. 
to enforce a penalty, and also to inform 

""'f^lT^l'^^tl^i^S^^^k^o.. of ^:^^^ Corresponding Secretary in 

Irregnlarity — A player has the right nlS report Stated : 

to prevent his partner from committing "At the beginning of the past whist 

any irregularity, except revoking. year we had a membership of 158 club, 

Skc. 4. £}nforcing Penalties — If four auxiliary associations, thirty-three 

either of the adversaries, whether with associate members and five honorary 

or without his partner's consent, de- members, a decrease of twenty-five clubs 

mands or waives a penalty to which they and a decrease of one associate member 

are entitled, such decision is final; if the "The clubs which have withdrawn 

wrong adversarydemands a penalty, or since the Seventh Congress are a 

a wrong penalty is demanded, none can total of seventeen. Those which have 

beenlorced^ been dropped from the rolls on account 

„ Sec- 5. "'ailing to Comply with of having disbanded, two. Those sus- 

£*", .if Pi^^F '! lawfully called upon pended, a total of seventeen. The new 

to play the highest or the lowest of a club members are : Grand Raoids Whist 

suit, to trump or not to trump a trick, to club; Sioux City Whist, Chess and 

it^c -1 "J- •', °''+ ^"^ \ trick, and unne- Checker Club; Pyramid Whist Club; New 

Irlfll^ fails t° comply he is liable to Rochelle Whist"^ Club ; Topeka Whist 

li^^^^3^.^^''i^%^^\^''^^^^- Cl"'^: Passai'^ Whist Club; Mt. Bowdoin 

.!«« 6 Playing Twice in Sncces- -whist Club; Newport Business Men's 

sion.— If any one leads or plays a card. Association; Jackson City Club- Alter 

f^^tv, f '• i^^°r ?'^ partner has played e?o Club; Woburn Whist Club-a total 

to the tnck, leads one or more other of eleven 

*^^y^^' °\^'^Y^\^T' or more cards to- " The strength of the I^eague may bet- 

gether, all of which are better than any ter be realize'd by looking ft the follow- 

ner mIv'hrn?ll.H f,^n ^^^ ""Jl' ^'"J"*' ^'^^ ^^""'^^ representing persons hold^^g 

ner may be called upon by either adver- direct allegiance : 

Whist Total 

independent Whist Clubs ''^''''!, ^'fZ'' Membership. 

Chess and Whist Clubs ...... l ^&^ f,l^ 

Social and Athletic Clubs .... ' ' ' 62 ^ «8 18 ^^o 

Auxiliary Association Clubs not Members 

of the A. W. I. 31 3,610 4828 

Associate Members'' ; '. ^ '. \ \ -. '. ; ■. " ''' "^^ ^i 

Honorary Members ^j. 

Grand Total 28,564 



566 



APPENDIX 



"But that is not all the story. There 
are throughout the land whist associa- 
tions that are not members of the A. W. 
Xi- as such, but are governed by its rules 
and laws. They should be enumerated 
and taken in account, in consideration of 
the hold that the game has upon our 
nation. They are : 



Name of Association. 
Central Whist Association 
Indiana " 
Michigan " 
Missouri " 
Nebraska " 
Nor. Pac. " 
North w'n " 
Ohio " 

Pac. Coast " 
Red River " 
Tennessee " 
Uti.Penin. " 
Wisconsin " 



Total 128 

Of the above there are hav- 
ing A. W. Iv. charters ... 38 
I^eaving to be added to above 
mentioned strength of the 
game 90 



No. 


Mem- 


of 


ber- 


Clubs. 


ship. 


• 15 


500 


. 12 


316 


. II 


607 


. 8 


627 


• 4 


345 


• 23 


1697 


8 


377 


. 8 


748 


• 13 


1177 


• 7 


15S 


. 6 


190 


• 9 


236 


• 4 


141 



Or a grand total of organ- 
ized whist-players follow- 
ing the laws and rules of 
the A.W. L.,, amounting to 



7117 
301 1 



4106 



32,670 



The following officers were unani- 
mously elected: 

President, EJ. LeRoy Smith, Al- 
bany, N. Y. 

Vice-President, B. L,. Richards, 
Rock Rapids, la. 

Recording Secretary, Clarence A. 
Henriques, New York City. 

Corresponding Secretary, I^. G. 
Parker, Toledo, O. 

Treasurer, John T. Mitchell, 
Chicago, 111. 

Directors, three years. — Hon. 
George I/. Bunn, St. Paul, Minn.; 
E. C. Fletcher, West Newton, Mass.; 
Joseph S. Neff, Philadelphia, Pa.; 
J. Eberhard Faber, Staten Island, 
N. Y. 

Director, one year. — William E. 
Talcott, Cleveland, O. 

In the tournament the winners 
of the trophies were as follows: 



The Hamii,ton Trophy. 

The American Whist Club, of 
Boston. 

Players.— L. M. Bouv6, W. S. 
Fenollosa, F. H. Whitney, H. P. 
Perkins, E. C. Fletcher (the last 
two alternating). 

The Minneapoi,is Trophy. 

The Newton Club, of Newton, 
Mass. 

Players. — F. W. Richardson, W. 
E. Hickox. 

The a. W. Iv. Chai,i,enge 
Trophy. 

The American Whist Club, of 
Boston. 

Players.— C. L. Becker, H. H. 
Ward, C. S. Street, H. P. Perkins, 
E. C. Fletcher (the last two alter- 
nating). 

The Brooklyn Trophy. 

The New York State Whist Asso- 
ciation. 

Players.— E. L- Smith, A. Rath- 
bone, R. M. Cramer, A. Gilhooley, 
A. E. Taylor, J. B. Elwell, B. Shire, 
I. M. Levy, J. E. Faber, H. B. 
Newman, D. Muhlfelder, C. F\ 
Snow, C. R. Watson, B. C. Fuller, 
William Hudson, M. Shire. 

Woman's Whist League, Sec- 
ond Annual Congress. — The 

convention was held in the 
Horticultural Hall, Philadelphia, 
May 26, 27, and 28, 1898, and was 
attended by about five hundred 
delegates. From every point of 
view the gathering was more suc- 
cessful than that of the previous 
year. 

In the tournament, entries were 
numerous for all the principal 
events, and the play of an excep- 
tionally high order. 

The Washington Trophy, repre- 
sentative of the championship of 



APPENDIX 



567 



" fours," resulted in a tie on match 
scores between two "Cavendish" 
chibs, those of Boston and Phila- 
delphia, the former winning the 
prize, however, on the trick score. 
The teams were as follows : " Cav- 
endish " Club of Boston, Mesdames 
Fletcher, Adams, Talbot and An- 
drews. ' ' Cavendish ' ' Club of 
Philadelphia, Mesdames Pettit, 
Rogers, Newbold and Lowrie. 

The Toledo Cup, presented by the 
Collingwood Club, of Toledo, for 
contest between teams of four, was 
played for upon this occasion for 
the first time. It fell to Mesdames 
Cohen, Hart, Fleming and Cannon. 

The Philadelphia Cup, the em- 
blem of the pair championship, was 
won by Mrs. Baird Snyder and 
Miss Edith Snyder, of the Otis 
Club, of Pottsville, Pa. 

The following ofl&cers were 
elected for the ensuing year: 

President — Mrs. Joseph R. Haw- 
ley, Hartford, Conn. 

First Vice-President — Mrs. Clar- 
ence Brown, Toledo, O. 

Second Vice-President — Mrs. 
Waldo Adams, Boston. 

Secretary — Mrs. O. D. Thompson, 
Allegheny City, Pa. 

Treasurer — Mrs. Silas W. Pettit, 
Philadelphia. 

Governors — Mrs. Emlen T. I,it- 
tell. New York; Mrs. C. H. Reeves, 
Baltimore; Mrs. J. P. Wetherill, 
Philadelphia; Mrs. J. M. Walker, 
Denver; Mrs. O. W. Potter, Chi- 
cago; Mrs. Henry E. Waterman, St. 
Louis; Mrs. William Endicott, Bos- 
ton, (who subsequently resigned. 
Miss Kate Wheelock being elected 
her successor); Mrs. George E. 
Bates, San Francisco; Miss Susan 
D. Biddle, Detroit; Mde. deSibour, 
Washington, D. C; Mrs. J. M. Mc- 
Connell, Brooklyn, and Mrs. Lu- 
cien Swift, Minneapolis. 

In her address to the Congress 
Mrs. Andrews, the retiring presi- 



dent, referring to the Woman's 
Whist League, said: 

Geographically it extends from the 
Upper St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mex- 
ico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
It has fifty-nine clubs with 2500 members, 
twenty clubs being in this State and seven 
in New York — thus Pennsylvania is the 
banner State. 



Woman's Metropolitan Whist 
Association. — At a meeting of 
representatives of the leading 
women's whist clubs, situated with- 
in a twenty mile radius of Brook- 
lyn Bridge, held in the city of New 
York, June 2, 1898, an association 
was formed ' ' for the purpose of 
encouraging the study and practice 
of whist ' ' among the women play- 
ers of the metropolitan district. 
The proposition, which emanated 
from Mrs. H. E. Wallace, met with 
enthusiastic acceptance. Organi- 
zation was effected and arrange- 
ments made for a series of inter- 
club matches. 

The following officers were 
elected: 

Mrs. H. E. Wallace, Staten 
Island, president; Mrs. Brecken- 
ridge, Brooklyn, first vice-presi- 
dent; Mrs. F. H. Johnson, New 
York, second vice-president; Miss 
Inez Coleman, Bergen Point, secre- 
tary, and Mrs. T. E. Otis, East 
Orange, treasurer. The other di- 
rectors now are: Mrs. Alfred 
Cowles, New York; Mrs. E. S. 
Gaillard, New York, and Mrs. Will- 
iam Townsend, Bayonne. 

A list of the clubs included in 
the Association, and their represen- 
tatives, follows: 

The Woman's Club, of Brook- 
lyn. — President, Mrs. Brecken- 
ridge; Delegate, Mrs. J. M. McCon- 
nell. Bergen Point — President, 
Mrs. A. A. Smith; Delegate, Miss 
Inez Coleman. Ladies' New York 
Whist Club— President, Mrs. M. F. 
Johnson; Delegate, Miss Martha 



568 



APPENDIX 



Campbell. New Amsterdam — 
President, Mrs. Alfred Cowles; 
Delegate, Mrs. George H. Bosley. 
Long Island — President, Mrs. 
Irish; Delegate, Miss Rutherford. 
Otis Club, of East Orange — Presi- 
dent, Mrs. T. E. Otis; Delegate, 
Miss Cameron. Southern Club — 
President, Mrs. Galliard; Delegate, 
Mrs. William Read. Bayonne — 
President, Mrs. Townsend; Dele- 
gate, Mrs. Burritt. Kate Wheelock, 
Staten Island — President, Mrs. H. 

E. Wallace; Delegate, Mrs. Sidney 

F. Rawson. Delegations not em- 
powered to act for their clubs were : 
Yonkers — President, Mrs. Ten 
Eyck; Delegate, Mrs. Rockwell. 
Newark — President, Mrs. Chapman ; 
Delegate, Mrs. Howarth. Jersey 
City — President, Mrs. Eveland; 
Delegate, Mrs. Ballou. 

Canadian Whist League. — At 
the third congress, Toronto, July 
21-23, 1898, occurred the first inter- 
national whist match, although it 
■wa^'of an informal character. About 
a dozen American players, on their 
way home from the American 
Whist Congress, called on the 
Canadians and were cordially re- 
ceived. Among them were D- G. 
Parker, corresponding secretary of 
the A. W. L.; E. B. Cooper, Nash- 
ville, and Moses and B. Shire, of 
Bufifalo, the latter two members of 
the team which had just won the 
Brooklyn trophy. 

The Canadians selected Athe- 
naeum (B) team, which had tied for 
the Canadian championship at this 
congress, to play against the Amer- 
icans. The latter won by three 
tricks. The Canadian players were: 
C. H. Fuller, E. Corlett, T. D. Rich- 
ardson, and H. J. Coleman. 

In the pair contest, M. Shire and 
E. B. Cooper also carried off the 
victory, beating A. H. Barnes and 

G. C. Biggar, of the Victoria Club, 
Toronto, by seven tricks. 



The American Whist-Player. — 

A monthly periodical, edited and 
published in Boston, by W. E. 
Hickox. The first issue of the 
American Whist-Player appeared 
in July, 1898. It is conducted upon 
general lines much after the man- 
ner of Whist, of Milwaukee. Mr. 
Hickox is an accomplished whist- 
player. At the eighth congress of 
the American Whist League he was 
one of the winners of the Minne- 
apolis trophy. 

Whist Opinion. — A weekly jour- 
nal published in Philadelphia, 
edited by Lennard Leigh. The 
chief feature of the paper is the re- 
production of selected matter from 
the various periodicals devoting 
space to whist. It also contains 
news of the game, portraits of 
whist celebrities, articles for begin- 
ners, problems and other interest- 
ing matter. It was successfully 
launched in March, 1898. 

B. Lowsley, of London, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Royal Engineers 
(retired), is the author of "Whist 
of the Future," which left the 
press in the early part of 1898, and 
has since created a great deal of in- 
terest. The writer, who is an able 
exponent of the short-suit, or " com- 
mon sense ' ' theory, advances sev- 
eral novel arguments worthy of 
consideration. Colonel Lowsley is 
a frequent contributor to Whist. 

Lennard Leigh. — The nom de 

plume of C. H. F. Lindsay, whose 
entrance upon the field of whist 
literature is of comparatively recent 
date. In addition to editing Whist 
Opinion he contributes regularly to 
four or five daily and weekly jour- 
nals. Lennard Leigh's articles and 
vers du jeu, as he styles them, are 
widely quoted. 



3lt77-3 



